Pedagogy and Nationalism

[PygmyPlaidGiraffe]

Point Of View

Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

by James Loewen - professor of Sociology

ISBN: 0684818868


Canadian History textbooks have similiar faults as the American textbooks Leowen highlights. Bias is always difficult to exclude in converstation, analysis, and presentation in media.

Leowen's points are worth considering. Evaluating sources of information is necessary, and determining the bias in history books will allow us to have perspective.

Are history textbooks, especially those used to teach children, full of glurge? What skills can be developed to detect glurge?

I am a sucker for inspirational stories and I am always amazed at the "historical" stories I was taught as a kid turning out to be apocryphal. Heck I was even surprised when I realized the Bible and Jesus' teachings were apocryphal. :eek:

Are there some American History books that people at this forum can recommend? What is the bias of the recommended textbook?

What are the responsibilities to youth that we have as parents and educators when it comes to exposing children to literature, history, news, and "collective wisdom".

[Agammamon]

One thing I have noticed in history textbooks (at least those for HS and lower) is that the histories of the important/influential people in America are written as hagiographies. All of the negative traits are edited out and the positive written to make these people seem like saints. I've never seen a history textbook tell students that the reason George Washington fought the British is that the British had previously turned down his requests for a commision, which he needed for his social climbing. You don't hear much about Franklin and the womanizing or his bout of syphillis. And let's not get started on Lincoln and the Civil War.

All these men were heroes and men. They had their good points and bad ones. But to disclude the bad and only paint them in a good light prevents people from fully understanding history.

[aerocontrols]

I own a copy of Loewen's book. Very interesting stuff.

I completely agree with Agammamon: hiding this information hurts our understanding of history. This deprives us of context that would be useful in judging today's leaders.

MattJ

[Baker]

I agree with both of you but as the old saying go’s history is wrote by those who made it.