Taner Akcam
Education is extremely centralized in Turkey. All issues, including
setting policy, the administration, and content of education are decided
and implemented by the national government. Textbooks that are to be
taught in schools are either prepared by the Ministry of National
Education (MEB) or must be approved by the Ministry’s Instruction and
Education Board.1 For this reason, there’s a direct
connection between the books taught in schools and the Turkish
government’s policies. The content of history textbooks, in particular,
reveals firsthand information about government policies and goals.
The MEB made elementary and middle school textbooks available on the
internet for the 2014-15 school year. Anyone can now download and read
these books.2 I did a quick review of the history books that
are to be taught this year, to see what is being taught to our children
about the Armenian Genocide. I have to characterize what I found as both
shocking and saddening.
