ILSANGAM-L Archives

Archiver > ILSANGAM > 1998-07 > 0899915472


From: "beverly" <>
Subject: Re: ANN LANDERS
Date: Wed, 08 Jul 98 09:31:12 PDT


Too bad for Ann. She just doesn't get it! I have come across people who told me that they didn't give a toot about their relatives and could care less. I find these people to be very self absorbed. I guess she doesn't believe in family values, its just talk. I will send her a letter or two!

----------
>
> Did anyone besides me read Ann Landers' column in today's paper? 'She
> received a letter from "Louisville Mom" who wrote to complain about the
> fact that her children who were adopted from Korea were being asked in
> school to do a project on family history. The Mom was expressing the opinion
> that schools should keep out of such family information and should not be
> encouraging children to look into their family backgrounds. She went on to
> say that some children (those in foster care or from troubling family
> situations) may be embarrassed by such a project. Ann Landers' response was as
> follows:
>
> "I'm glad you wrote. Your letter gives me an opportunity
> to speak out about family trees, lineage and other topics that should
> have no place in our schools.
> It is nobody's business whether a child's family came over on a slave
> ship or the Mayflower. Teachers should not be asking about family
> background. If I had to draw a picture of my family tree it would look like a
> shrub. My parents and grandparents immigrated from Russia, and beyond that, I
> don't have a clue as to my lineage, and I have never given it a moment's
> thought."
>
> Well guys--I think we should all clobber Ann with letters!!!!!! She
> obviously is looking at a person's interest in their lineage as
> something that would connote snobbery. She is implying that society would
> think there is something inferior about the child whose parents arrived on
> the slave ship compared to those with Mayflower ancestors. I think those who
> do not have a natural curiosity about their family history (no matter what
> that history is) have the misconception that those of us with an interest in
> genealogy do our research out of some sort of desire to feel superior to
> others. (MY ancestors arrived in 1727, just when did YOR ancestors arrive--oh
> not until 1855--then I MUST be superior to YOU!) I think we need to set Ann
> Landers straight as to WHY we are interested in the pursuit of our family
> history--as well as the history of the times our ancestors lived in, in
> general.
>
> I can't remember when I have gotten this worked up about something I
> read in an advice column in the newspaper but Ann Landers has clout--and is in
> a position to impact on the thinking of others. Therefore, it is our
> responsibility to correct this misstatement of fact.
>
> In the first place, schools should not, and DO not, mandate a family
> history research project--at least they don't in New Jersey where I live. I
> would assume a similar situation exists elsewhere. Students in New Jersey
> schools are given a list of projects to chose from with family history
> research being one of the choices (and even within this topic the children can
> chose to study a famous person or anyone they choose--it does not have to be
> their own ancestry). Family history research is a popular choice from the
> list of topics as curiosity about one's history is a natural thing for most
> people--no matter what that history is concerned with, and regardless
> of whether that history takes us to Colonial America, Europe, Asia, or
> Africa.
> The history is sill there--no matter WHERE your people came from! We
> all studied history in school with each of us preferring an emphasis on the
> history that we were most interested in based on our family and ethnic
> backgrounds--that is also natural and even desirable. Are we so shallow and
> rooted only in the present day that we do not even give a thought as
> to the accomplishments and sacrifices of our ancestors? How can any student be
> expected to have an interest in, and understanding of, history if they are not
> encouraged to associate those events of long ago with thoughts of what it must
> have been like to have lived through them--and with the knowledge of the fact
> that their own forbears did just that. Whether it be the remarkable tribute to
> the strength of human character that kept the slave families alive through the
> generations of our American past, or the survival of the Jewish people in more
> recent times; or the sacrifices made by my own German ancestors who set sail
> into the unknown in the mid 1700s to come to a new home called Pennsylvania by
> means of a perilous sea voyage. What was the driving force behind all of the
> actions of these peoples? In my opinion it was to seek a better life for
> themselves and a hope for the future of an even better life for their
> descendants. To take the time to find out who these ancestors were, to learn
> their names, dates, and what their lives were all about, is an extremely
> important part of teaching our next generation of Americans, wherever they
> came from, and no matter what their background, to have respect for themselves
> and those who came before them. what better lesson could there ever be for
> today's, or any day's, school children.
>
> OK--now I will get off my soapbox for today. Anyone who would like to
> copy this to any other list has my complete unrestricted permission to do
> so!
> Here's where you can write to voice your opinion on Ann Landers'
> column!
> http://www.creators.com/lifestyle/landers/writelan.asp
>
> I hope we all remember that all we want to do is have her respect our
> opinions and to see that genealogical research is not a quest for
> superiority, but heritage and family loves and strength...so we also
> need to respect hers.....and turn the light on for her!!!!
>
>
> ==== ILSANGAM Mailing List ====
> Search this list's archived messages!
> http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl
>
>
>
>

This thread: