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YEREVAN, MARCH 26, ARMENPRESS: At a recent national teaching conference, Fresno Unified's Mary Janzen asked her colleagues if they had ever heard of the Armenian Genocide. 28 of the 30 teachers in the room told her they had no idea what she was talking about. Incredibly, this was a room full of history teachers, Armenpress reports, citing the websiteyourcentralvalley.com.
The Armenian Genocide has always been the lesser known of 20th century genocides, a fact that understandably frustrates the Central Valley's large Armenian population. These people had relatives-- often entire families-- killed by Ottoman Turks. 1.5 million were killed. And still, 28 out of 30 history teachers from around the country had never heard of it.
In recent years, California's 10th grade curriculum included learning about the Armenian Genocide. But a recent law is taking that a step further-- requiring the subject to be taught and funded thoroughly. New history textbooks, when published, will be required to include the genocide, without any hint of controversy it has carried in the past.
In Fresno Unified, students begin learning about Armenia at a young age. Students begin learning about the country's music in elementary school-- it isn't until later that the Armenian Genocide is taught in detail.