Coincidentally, the class discussion in my classroom on Monday overlapped with our class discussion. Several groups chose to discuss the question on pg. 21 in the text regarding patriotism being a school requirement. Pros and cons were shared by the groups and several others shared personal stories of being proud to say the pledge of allegiance. When discussing the cons, I noticed many seemed to overlapping the concepts of patriotism and nationalism.
In my classroom we were finishing up a discussion of Western Europe in the 19th century and moving into studying imperialism in the 19th century. Nationalism is an important theme is this unit. Further, it relates to the current problems in Egypt, Yemen, and the Sudan. I introduced my students to George Orwell's essay "Notes on Nationalism" written in 1945. Orwell argues that nationalism can be positive and it can also be dangerous. Nationalism goes beyond pride in one's nation. Nationalism leads people to feel their country is the best, has not flaws, and should stop at no costs to be the best. Patriotism is a feeling of pride in one's country. While a patriot may feel his country is best, he does not think his country is perfect or needs to "beat" another country. During the group discussion, many objected to patriotism being taught in schools, but what they really object to is nationalism. Most agree there is nothing wrong with teaching students to respect their country, however, they do object to teaching students that our country is better or to be overly militaristic.
Other teachers' interest in the concept of patriotism was a bit of a multicultural lesson to me. I brought up the patriotism/nationalism issue in my class because I wanted my students to consider the negative side of nationalism. My students stand and say the pledge every day. Many think that Toby Keith song about America putting a boot in your a** is great. They completely agree that America is superior to everywhere else in the world. I didn't realize patriotism, or lack thereof, was such an issue in other communities.
My group discussed cultural relativism, experiencing the world through the lens of another culture. Several of my group members described experiences abroad where they experienced feeling like an "other" for the first time. I am interested in exploring this concept with my students as we study different cultures in World History.
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