Anti-Americanism spoonfed to Canadian grade school kids

It’s not just overreaction or Yankee imagination. Anti-Americanism is not only alive and well, it’s spoon fed in Canada.

And it stems from a taxpayer paid source: the classroom.

The Three `Rs, Canada style, have been teaching school children as young as grade school an image of Americans as dishonourable, churlish and even bullying. This less than admirable image emerges in a study, presented this week to the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, hosted by the University of Manitoba.

Amy von Heyking is a professor of education at the University of Alberta. A specialist in the history of curricula and teaching materials, von Heyking relied on actual Canadian classroom textbooks--75 of them--used in Canadian history, geography, civics and social studies courses in elementary and secondary schools.

Ironic that the release of the study coincides with the 60th Anniversary of D-Day.

The Canadian grade school set get their anti-Americanism during the school day.

Down through the decades, in Canadian textbooks American society has been portrayed as revolutionary and lawless. America’s contribution to World War 1 is dismissed, textbook form, as coming late, when the tide had already turned.

Bad Housing as the American way is documented in a chapter of its own because of the supposed role it plays in the development of crime.

America’s children are portrayed as being brought up in "filthy tenements, driven out upon the streets to play in `gangs’," according to a 1934 textbook that was prevalent in Canadian classrooms of the day.

In contrast, Canadians are depicted as orderly, harmonious and gentlemanly.

States the study author: "After the Second World War, the United States emerged as a champion of democracy around the world. This allowed Canada to trumpet its status as middle-power broker to negotiate and compromise in a way that the United States couldn’t."

This explains where little Paulie (Martin), little Johnny (Chretien) and the plethora of anti-American Canadian journalists got their base for Yankee bashing. They, too are among the masses, which were educated in Canadian classrooms.

Chretien and Martin, the last two Liberal Canadian prime ministers have been avid boosters of the United Nations. Both men count UN Secretary General Kofi Annan special advisor, Maurice Strong as mentor and friend.

Not only did Canada refuse to join the U.S. and allies in the Iraq war; its government has been openly critical of the U.S. and its allies in Iraq.

The Liberals’ proposal for a "Peace and Nation-Building Initiative" that would not employ fighting troops, but rather "troops tasked to build institutions in fractured countries, has raised the dander of experienced Canadian peacekeepers.

Running for re-election in the Canadian June 28 federal election are Carolyn Parrish, a Liberal MP who stated publicly "I hate those American bastards" and MP Colleen Beaumier, whose visit and sympathies for Iraq earned her the nickname "Baghdad Beaumier".

Meanwhile, while anti-Americanism flourishes in America’s next door neighbour, the U.S. is Canada’s number one trading partner and because of Canada’s marginalized Armed Forces, its chief protector.

I wonder what American kids are taught about Canada? Oh yeah. They don't study anything that is not American.

This is ridiculous. As a product of the Canadian education system, I can assure you that I was not taught any anti-Americanism in school. (The media, however is a whole different story)

American contributions to the war are not so much marginalized as briefly mentioned, if mentioned at all, and moved on. We focused on Canada's role in the war and the role of other countries as it related to us. ie. xxxx tried and failed, but Canada succeeded in taking xxxx. Our education was very Canada-centric. Which doesn't make us all that different from American schools.

To say that America came into the war late is not untrue. The claim that the tide had already turned is perhaps debatable, but once again, not necessarily untrue. I don't see how it is anti-American to state the truth. Perhaps it is unflattering, but no country can look good all the time. Besides, this was mentioned almost in passing.

As for America being revolutionary and lawless. Well, it was at one time. You also got your independence in a violent way. We kind of stumbled upon ours over the years. There is a contrast in the way things happened. Don't you find it interesting that two countries who started out almost exactly the same should have developed in such different ways? If the textbooks play it up to make Canada look good, can you blame them? Every country does this, Japan, Canada, Britain, France, and the USA.

Just because we're your neighbour and #1 trading partner, does not mean we have to agree with *everything* you do. We have supported you when we felt it was right (Afghanistan) and disagreed with you when we felt it was wrong (Iraq). That doesn't make us anti-American, it just means we don't have a puppet government.

Excellent post, Canrane.

gideon...You say that Canada is irrrelevant to the rest of the world. I will take that as your personal opinion and nothing more than that. That being said I want to ask you what you learned in school about European history. Or perhaps Ancient History. Growing up in Canada I was taught alot of European history as well as American and Canadian history. Depending on the textbooks being used history can always be skewed and open to interpretation but isn't that what education is about. History books are written from different perspectives.

NYC..I take it that you were taught that the Vietnam war was justified. It seems that no matter who speaks out against your beliefs they are instantly judged. You used a quote from a history book printed in 1935. Is that the best you can do?

I have yet to see you write or say anything other than your opinion. Which is generalzations at best. You let your self be judged by what you say. Say general statements and people will judge you for that. Is that the best you can do?

As far as the 1935 quote I was trying to show how long this has been brewing. I was not taught that the war was justified most of my teachers were liberal. After all I grew up in New York. I learned that on my own that the war was nessary and justified. It halted the spread of Communism. But thats a whole different topic.

My wife grew up in Canada can you beleive a teacher told her to sew a Canadian flag on her bag when she travels so no one thinks she is American. How small minded is that. She has lived here in NY for two years and cannot understand why here teachers lied to her about so many things refering to the US.