Loewen, Chapter 12

I think that no quote could better speak for the problems in American history classrooms today: according to Marc Ferro, "there is no other country in the world where there is such a large gap between sophisticated understanding of some professional historians and the basic education given by teachers". I think this quote speaks volumes of the problems in our curriculum. Teachers are presented with textbooks that lack any meaningful data and are expected to educate students with only half the picture. Of course, we can deviate and add in our our resources and agendas- but how far can we go before we've left the curriculum and teaching standards behind? Teachers have to remember that not only are they teaching history, they're molding patriotic citizens who are ready to make an impact in our democracy. According to Loewen, textbooks are written with student audiences in mind, and this means that the books are going to focus on optimism, and most importantly- in presenting an American society that students actually want to be a part of. In a way, textbooks are huge modes of propaganda for our nation.

Part of the problem with education today is that it is reflective of the stratified class system in America. Schools cater to upper class students, while working class students face limited opportunities. Upper class students are going to the theater and museums and gaining bachelor and master's degrees, working class students are barely graduating high school. The conflict between the classes creates a strain which leads to crime and all the other ugliness in society which our educational system opts to ignore, or else to teach in such a negative light so that students have no question in their mind on what makes a good citizen and what makes a criminal.

Overall, it seems that the publishers of textbooks are in charge. Even when people go up against publishes, nothing has changed in the way that these books are presented to our students. In my classroom, I will keep this in mind and always go the extra step to find primary documents that go beyond the fairy tales presented in textbooks. I have to be an open-ended teacher as suggested by Loewen, because it seems that there is no winning against textbook publishes in the near future. There are many great resources that I can use to veer away from the bland representation in American textbooks, including a look at the Japanese Internment following the attack on Pearl Harbor. By investigating controversial issues in our past, students will receive a refreshing, honest portrayal of the past- and this is definitely something that can be done without tainting any pride in the United States of America.

The Big Question- How do we ensure that we are finding reliable sources, and how do we know what topics to expand on and which ones to trust to textbooks?