Emily Robbins

Mr. Tierney
History 1st
Prompt: Respond to Ted W. Gillneys article about global curriculum in the schools. Do
you agree with him? Why or why not?
Who is Really Missing the Mark?
America has changed tremendously in the past 100 years, everything from our
cars to our very values. More understanding people and ideas have come about through
the exploration of the world around us; delving into other cultures has allowed Americans
more variety and knowledge to enrich their lives. We are now integrating our broadened
horizons into the school curriculum. In Ted W. Gillneys article, Global Education Misses
the Mark, he states that children should learn more about the better Western
Civilizations and less about the flawed Eastern Civilizations. While Mr. Gillney has a
few good points, his incorrect facts, elitist/judgmental attitude, and ranting, rambling
paragraphs overshadow those points, ultimately he misses the mark.
First and foremost, he loses credibility through false evidence and facts. In the
very first sentence he list Jesus Christ as an American hero. This is almost laughable,
because Jesus was born in Bethlehem and was part of an Eastern culture, which Gillney
very clearly despises. He goes on to state that the West invented science, democracy,
human rights, and conquered the world with those things. Each of these ideas existed and
were practiced before the rise of the modern Western Civilization. He shames schools for
lying to schoolchildren about how math, science, etc. was created in the China and
India. He puts blame on the schools for depicting the West in a bad light. When in reality
every culture that is learned about in schools has the good and evil doings put on display.
One prime example he states about misrepresentation of the West is the portrayal
of the pioneers and [other] heroic explores as thieves. He tries to prove that the land was
not stolen from the Native Americans. According to Gillney the Indians were not smart
enough to use their land properly, and the Europeans simple made good use of it. The
natives may not have been as technologically advanced or sophisticated as the Europeans,
but they were still human beings and deserved better treatment.
Other than his false statements, he turns people off to his point by writing in a
tone that is closed minded and extremely elitist. He comes off as a conspiracy theorist
when he states that global curriculum is propaganda and lies. He calls tolerance and
globalism mythology[ies]being fed to children. Tolerance and globalization are
not things to be frowned upon; the ability to look past race, gender, nationality etc. has
moved not just Americans, but the entire world forward. He thinks that the only way to
judge whether or not a culture is successful is by its power and probability and if
cultures do not meet those standards they are flawed[and we shouldnt] ask students
to learn about [them]. Because a civilization has not spread its culture worldwide

doesnt make it a weak civilization. America may be the dominant culture, but it is not by
far the best one. The entire world is sharing their cultures, not just adopting the American
or Western way of life. Western cultures have embraced parts of Eastern cultures and vice
versa. 50 years ago there were few sushi bars or Indian food restaurants, westerners also
use all kinds of foreign technology and cars, along with many different case studies and
experiments done in different countries. Its unrealistic for him to think that we can
reverse globalism; thanks to air travel and the Internet, the argument over whether or not
one can resist globalization is over. The world has become smaller and it is essential to
understand and deal with other people and culture.
Even if a culture is small what they have to contribute still matters. Other cultures
can be respected without embracing or becoming part of it. In the world today tolerance
is expected and commended. Gillneys way of thinking is slowly being weaned out and
for a good reason; the world is small and in order to make it in this world one must adapt
to whatever conditions.