I didn't spot an argument in the whole piece. Some assertions, maybe, but no argument. I thought that arguments and logic (if not fierce) were somewhat integral to rational enquiry and the enlightenment period.

;-)
Odsoc

I think that's a well-balanced article. Professor Melleuish refers, quoting Howard, to "broad influences that have moulded Australian culture: Judeo-Christian ethics, the progressive spirit of the Enlightenment and the institutions and values of British political culture." I would add the Greco-Roman tradition.

I came to Australia in 1979, my children started school in 1987, 1989 and 1992 respectively, the youngest graduated a year ago. I was amazed to discover that so much of their education revolved round aboriginals - whether history, geography, maths or whatever, the examples constantly referred to aboriginals, highly localised "aboriginal trails" featured prominently. To me, this was bizarre. Aboriginals were then and are now a small minority of the community, with a culture and tradition which is a tiny and uninfluential part of the global heritage. Of course, we should respect them and their culture as we do others; but the environment and way of life of almost all Australians - including modern aboriginals - arises from, and reflects, the four elements in my first para. Understanding those elements is a key to understanding the modern world, no amount of critical thinking will help without a solid foundation of where we (the current population) came from and the basis of our civilisation. Without that, we are living in a vacuum, without a compass. A fertile ground for cults and fundamentalist sects rather than analysis and understanding.

Of course, Howard has many flaws and is driven by political imperatives, but I think he is correct here. Not the nonsense about Aussie flags in schools etc, but the global heritage as well as a non-ideological look at the last 200 years which underpin our present context.

an example of the type of 'isms' being taught and how they misrepresent the truth is nazism. just by way of commenting, I wonder how many young people believe that all germans should be ashamed for the rest of eternity? But in truth, the two world wars, the second of which is likely the only one taught in school (as it was for me, with breif references to gallipoli aside), are a tiny part of the history of Germany, which is integral to the formation of democracy as much as is that of france and england.

another one is communism. People weren't taught in my school any of australias communist history, or that the labor party is socialist in nature, or that the principal of egalitarianism (so prominent in australia) is the foundation of communism. And we were not taught what led to communist thinking, how the revolutions panned out etc.

Feminism is taught with regards to the rights that women have gained, with no mention of how they gained them (or a critical study of thier validity regarding abortion, in fact abortion was definitely encouraged in my school).

what the prime minister was saying was to get rid of the isms and return to chronology. Isms will obviously always be studied at the tertiary level, but teaching in this manner before critical thinking is available to children is a serious mistake (witness the acceptance of abortion in the public, compared to medical experts who see it as killing, if legalised).

This article, like the almost weekly articles attacking current trends in history and calling for a more traditional approach to history following narrative and fact which appear in the Australian, is excellent.

Having very recently finished my schooling, I can say with confidence that the Australian history taught is quite inadequate. The early Australian history, especially that of the early colony, is woefully inadequate. White settlers are portrayed as being ignorant, violent, sexist and racist. Aborigines are potrayed as enlightened, peaceful, inclusive and accepting. It's worse that the goodies/baddies of the old cowboy and indian films. The treatment of 20th century Australian history is not much better, though it's harder to mess it up. The glorification of Whitlam, shunning of Menzies, and lack of talk of the development of our institutions and our traditions from their roots to now are shameful. I remember in my textbook that the position of women was described as "near total oppression" when that of Aboriginal girls forced into marriage at the age of 13, or having their fingers cut off as a rite of passage... well, those things wern't mentioned at all.

Thanks to some good teachers, we ignored our textbooks.

I fear the Australian will continue to print such stories until Labor looses some state elections.

Greg.John Howard is not about a new guide line for open minded and enlightened debate about Australia's history.It is about re-writing history, to suite his own political agenda.John Howard is reviled by the so called left historical critics,who see him as a jingoistic pretentious apostle of imperialism.Now I didn't have a long education,due to family circumstances I left school at 2nd year high to go out and work.This meant I didn't have a lot of time to have my mind muddled by university accademics,however I have read a few books,and Charles Dickens was writing about history and the humane condition long before his own mind became muddled by "residual marx".I don't think it was really fashionable to be a marxist before, Das Kapital 1867.Although Rudyard Kipling the par excellance of imperialism probably did.Are you still with me Gregy.

Of course what all this clap trap is about at the end of the day is,it is either a fact or it aint,simple I would have thought.But the bottom line here is really about the history of the Aboriginals of this great land.Cause you see we started to educate them, and they are gaining credibility for their causes, they can even tell sh@% from clay.And of course when you are settling a mining claim or such like this is very important.Im so glad I got through life with out all those dogmatic idealogiccaly driven teachers.

John Howard is simply deflecting debate away from other issues such as the AWB scandal. He is very deft at tapping into racisms as these posts demonstrate. Remember the children overboard lies that deflected people from looking too deeply at Howard and co.
Australia has a black history and learning the past can help people understand the present and plan for the future.
Try reading the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women's Taskforce on Violence Report, Qld 2000, to see what impact past and present policies have had on peoples lives. If you do read it, try to imagine what your life was like when a 40 year old woman tells her story of servitude, abuse and torture by the property owner who she was forced to work for as a young person. Check the dates, and you will see that some of the horrors of the past are not that far past.