The French Revolution for 6 Year-Olds...
Tuesday, 5 September 2006 13:58![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
montagnarde1793Lest you think that the following monstrosity is the isolated work of an insane and sick 13 year-old (me, I'm sad to say), the assignment sheet:
This is really not way to teach history to impressionable 13-14 year-olds. Note especially that the first five items all happened before and during 1789, and that according to the logic of this course, history moves straight from the March on Versailles to the "Reign of" Terror, and that there is no Directoire.
As such, try not to blame me as much as I (illogically) blame myself for the following "storybook." Thank you. *weeps*
No, there is not a good reason why all the men are dogs and all the women are cats in this book, nor why Capet and many of the other, erm, dogs in this have very poofy pants that would have been more appropriate a century before.
Note throughout this whole thing the horrible over-simplification of everything.
Try to ignore the fact that I didn't know how to spell "bourgeoisie"....please? >__<
Note that they didn't tell us the essential fact that the three orders didn't meet together. *facepalm* Or the slightly more minor detail that the Tiers-Etat had to wear black.
Note also that they didn't inform us that, while in English this incident is referred to as the Tennis Court Oath, the jeu de paume wasn't exactly tennis per se. And again with the really inaccurate and brightly colored costumes.
Actually, as they didn't bother informing us, they had weapons. What they wanted was gunpowder. And naturally of course, the Bastille was so short they could have just climbed over the wall with their not-yet-existing tricolor flag and power-less guns. (And one might noice how illogical it is that they're carrying guns at all in the illustration when the words tell us they had none.)
I'm really not sure why I thought there were peasants in Paris, or why these particular ones also seemed to be dressed for the wrong century: the 19th.
And yes, I a) confused there and their, b) must have thought that the Women's March on Versailles had something to do with writing of the Constitution of 1791, and c) wasn't aware that Antoinette never said "Let them eat cake!"
....You knew it was going to be bad. At least I didn't mention Maxime; I think if I had I would have hated myself forever. But as horrific as this is, this is what they taught us in class, what they taught last year's Freshmen, what they're teaching this year's Freshmen, and what they will continue to teach Freshmen forever if we don't do something about it.
The reason this is so vague is because they didn't bother to teach anything about this period "in depth" (or as in depth as it ever got) after 1789 (and even then they missed many important events and didn't teach the ones they did tell us about properly).
And that last bit is what they told us. I kid you not. Never mind that although the French Revolution is indeed important the years following the Revolution didn't exactly unfold that way.
I think this is the most horrible of all.
I still rightfully cringe when I think of it.
...........Something needs to be done. I don't know what yet, but THIS CANNOT ENDURE.
Any ideas?
This is really not way to teach history to impressionable 13-14 year-olds. Note especially that the first five items all happened before and during 1789, and that according to the logic of this course, history moves straight from the March on Versailles to the "Reign of" Terror, and that there is no Directoire.
As such, try not to blame me as much as I (illogically) blame myself for the following "storybook." Thank you. *weeps*
No, there is not a good reason why all the men are dogs and all the women are cats in this book, nor why Capet and many of the other, erm, dogs in this have very poofy pants that would have been more appropriate a century before.
Note throughout this whole thing the horrible over-simplification of everything.
Try to ignore the fact that I didn't know how to spell "bourgeoisie"....please? >__<
Note that they didn't tell us the essential fact that the three orders didn't meet together. *facepalm* Or the slightly more minor detail that the Tiers-Etat had to wear black.
Note also that they didn't inform us that, while in English this incident is referred to as the Tennis Court Oath, the jeu de paume wasn't exactly tennis per se. And again with the really inaccurate and brightly colored costumes.
Actually, as they didn't bother informing us, they had weapons. What they wanted was gunpowder. And naturally of course, the Bastille was so short they could have just climbed over the wall with their not-yet-existing tricolor flag and power-less guns. (And one might noice how illogical it is that they're carrying guns at all in the illustration when the words tell us they had none.)
I'm really not sure why I thought there were peasants in Paris, or why these particular ones also seemed to be dressed for the wrong century: the 19th.
And yes, I a) confused there and their, b) must have thought that the Women's March on Versailles had something to do with writing of the Constitution of 1791, and c) wasn't aware that Antoinette never said "Let them eat cake!"
....You knew it was going to be bad. At least I didn't mention Maxime; I think if I had I would have hated myself forever. But as horrific as this is, this is what they taught us in class, what they taught last year's Freshmen, what they're teaching this year's Freshmen, and what they will continue to teach Freshmen forever if we don't do something about it.
The reason this is so vague is because they didn't bother to teach anything about this period "in depth" (or as in depth as it ever got) after 1789 (and even then they missed many important events and didn't teach the ones they did tell us about properly).
And that last bit is what they told us. I kid you not. Never mind that although the French Revolution is indeed important the years following the Revolution didn't exactly unfold that way.
I think this is the most horrible of all.
I still rightfully cringe when I think of it.
...........Something needs to be done. I don't know what yet, but THIS CANNOT ENDURE.
Any ideas?
