Teenagers in Germany are being taught that schools in the United States are “still divided by skin colour” .
The Access 10 Bayern schoolbook, designed for secondary-level education in Bavaria, shows that pupils in the State are being educated with sometimes controversial information on issues such as race, gender ideology and national identity.
One section of the book focuses on the experience of African Americans in the US.
In one passage, it is claimed that black children and teenagers are still de facto segregated from their white peers in school.
“Already in my school corridor I saw how the people were divided: by skin colour,” read one account of an US school in the book, which was vaguely credited to a German exchange student.
“In class everything was mixed, but in the working groups the division continued. Except for a few sports, there were mostly only white people.”
The author went on to describe having asked their American foster mother about such segregation, expressing horror at her reaction.
“Aren’t black people interested in music? When I asked my host family this absurd question, my host mother said that it would be a shame for the African-American kids, but that I, on the other hand, could be happy,” the passage read.
“Without them, at least there wouldn’t be any trouble in the group. I heard such statements again and again during my year in South Carolina, from people who were completely convinced they were not racist.”
Pupils reading the book are asked to answer the following questions: “Do you see the USA as a racist society? Do you think African-American students and others are treated equally?”
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Other sections of the book heap praise on the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, crediting it for helping remove former-president Donald Trump from the White House.
According to Access 10 Bayern, the BLM movement “used voting power to change the direction of the presidential election of 2020”.
It also said the group’s protests were one of the reasons the US justice system convicted an officer of murdering George Floyd. The African American man died as he was arrested by Derek Chauvin, a white policeman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2020.
“Partly because of the mass protests throughout the country and all over the world following his murder, the offending police officer was convicted of murder,” the book stated.
The section of the book dedicated to black America includes passages detailing African American culture and teaches German pupils about the differences between Anglo-American English and African American Vernacular English (AAVE).
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The publication drew controversy online in July over its apparent promotion of “gender ideology”.
Liebe x Gemeinschaft,
ich brauche euer Schwarmwissen.
Dies soll ein Schulbuch aus Bayern sein.
Hat jemand näher Infos für mich?#Bayern #Schule pic.twitter.com/7fMkVOJ4C5— Jörg Baumann MdL (@BaumannMdL) July 25, 2024
One section titled “How Do You become You?” includes content promoting transgenderism.
“Gender identity refers to a person’s deeply felt, internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond to the person’s designated sex at birth,” one page read, before insisting: “There are many gender identities besides male and female”.
The book goes on to detail the story of transgender US YouTuber Jazz Jennings — who was diagnosed with “gender dysphoria” at four years of age — as well as that of actor Elliot — formerly Ellen — Page.
It discusses the experiences of a Polynesian sportsperson who identifies as “fa’afafine“, a gender identity that exists within Samoan culture. Another section briefly discusses the prevalence of “non-binary characters in film”.
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The text dedicated one of its three sections to discussing the history and culture of Scotland, with emphasis placed on its various efforts to gain independence from the UK.
One text in this section, titled: “Scotland: The Road to Independence“, detailed the country’s various independence struggles up to and including the 2014 referendum.
Another included an excerpt from a novel that detailed the fictional account of a medieval Scottish princess and her violent mistreatment at the hands of the English.
While room was set aside to explain the arguments some Scots had to stay a part of the UK, these passages were shorter than the pro-independence parts.
The section detailing the results of the failed 2014 referendum also emphasised that a majority of young people in the country voted in favour of leaving the UK.
That was followed by a section discussing how important it was to take the views of young people seriously, with one statement emphasising that a “huge number of young Scottish people voted for independence”.
“71% of us voted YES. 71% is a serious majority!” another read, with the next one reading: “Isn’t it time to hear what we have to say about our own future?”
Later in the section, students are asked to draw comparisons between Scotland and Bavaria and the latter’s “political, cultural or historical uniqueness and its relationship to the rest of the German Federation”.
Of all the German States, Bavaria has the strongest separatist movement. While secession has been deemed illegal under Germany’s Basic Law, one poll in 2017 found that almost one-third of the State’s residents backed independence.
One further section mentions the international climate protest movement Fridays for Future, as well as some of the damage leaving the European Union has allegedly done to the UK.
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In response to a Brussels Signal request for comment, Access 10 Bayern publisher Cornelsen said the schoolbook was in keeping with the criteria set out by Bavaria’s education ministry.
“Cornelsen complies with the curriculum guidelines and the criteria of the accreditation procedure when producing its textbooks,” it said.
“The topics specified by the federal State are taught using current examples that reflect society.
“The immediate living environment of the pupils (in this case the pupils of the federal state of Bavaria) is also taken into account,” it added.
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