Harold Rugg Textbook Controversy

The Harold Rugg textbook Controversy happened in the period of the Second World War. Harold Rugg was an educator that wrote a series of social studies textbooks that became extremely popular during this time. At first, school districts had no issue using these textbooks in their classrooms, but conservative organizations like the American Legion began to make charges that the textbooks were ““subversive” and “un-American”” (p. 457). Some even said that the books presented “perceived threats to the American Way of Life” (p. 465). Rugg knew that his texts might be perceived as controversial, but he realized the need to put these materials in his textbooks so that students wouldn’t be receiving education that “suppresses facts about controversial questions” (p. 469). He didn’t want to educate students with an ignorance that only learns half of the story. Although many conservative groups and leaders did not agree with Rugg, eventually his argument won and his books were not banned. Most educational historians even say that “the Harold Rugg textbook controversy serves as an example of the mid-twentieth-century “assault” on progressive education” (p. 458). Even though this debate happened more than 50 years ago, it is said to say that the issue of censorship and restriction still occurs today. Very recently, the dispute over the use of the “n” word in Huckleberry Finn has been a big controversy that has been eliciting many responses. Conservatives want to remove the word each time it is used in the book and replace it with the word “slave.” Mark Twain’s advocates argue that there is a specific meaning for the word in the book and that each time it is used, it is meant to open up the readers eyes about slavery and the way that blacks were treated during the time the book takes place. These are just two examples of how book censorship has taken its toll on education. As an educator, it is sad to see that some people want to sugarcoat and suppress ideas because they think that it is “protecting” the minds of children. I think that it does more damage to leave our children in ignorance rather than to teach them possibly controversial topics. It would serve our children best to teach them the whole truth and not just half the truth.

Bibliography:

Dorn, C. (2007). “Treason in the textbooks”: reinterpreting the Harold Rugg textbook controversy in the context of wartime schooling. Paedagogica Historica, 44 (4), 458-479.

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