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Everyone who has had an American history course either needs to read this book or have a good friend who has read it. James Loewen walks the reader step by step through major events in American history and separates common myths from facts. He shows that what commonly passes for history is simply patriotic myths that are designed to cause school children to become "good citizens." He then makes the point that history would me much more effective and relevant if it presented the controversies still being debated instead of regurgitating feel-good stories about American heroes (or perhaps worse--making students memorize dates and places of events that have little to do with what is going on in the world today!). Exposing schoolchildren to controversy helps them understand why there are differences in thinking today and helps them to formulate their own views. It is more important to teach students how to think and learn the facts for themselves instead of simply telling them what to think. Loewen is also very skeptical of the approach to American history through the viewpoint of European Americans. Starting with Columbus and going through the Pilgrims, the Founding Fathers, the Civil War leaders, Reconstructionists, the Civil Rights Movement to today, he shows how racism emphasizing white supremacy has always been what determines U.S. policy. He warns that teaching history as if the only important matters are what white men did isolates students of other backgrounds, which will continue to harbor attitudes of intolerance in the States. Lastly, Loewen suggests several practical matters dealing with how history can be taught better. He claims that history is so poorly being taught that it is the only subject in which more education leads to more ignorance. The chief problem lies in the way textbooks are written with no coherence and no accountability for the truth. There is a great gap between what is in textbooks and what can be found in primary and secondary sources. Teachers also can be responsible for making history boring and avoiding or distorting anything controversial. Personally, the book was quite enlightening. If you have not studied much about history reconstruction, I would suggest starting with Lies My Teacher Told Me.

2020-12-26 17:28