I just read this op/ed piece by Timothy Egan. It's an interesting coincidence it appeared in today's NYTimes because I was thinking along the very same lines yesterday while reading The Promised Land! As a society we have neglected the common knowledge of our past. What does that say about our future?? Lost in the Past
It's the stories that are neglected. They are often "spun" for self-interest and blindly accepted, as Egan points out with Palin. The history textbooks that I remember were boring, crammed with so many names and dates that they put you to sleep. The good instructors focus on the people and events that create the stories. The not-so-good just assign the textbook chapter by chapter and expect the students to memorize for the next test. There is no compelling reason to dig deeper.
ReplyDeleteI was so fortunate! I had incredible history teachers at Pershing and at Bellaire!!! All of them were absolutely passionate about what they taught -- and they focused on the stories with limited attention to timeline of events. Very little memorization of dates/people. Mostly kept it all in context -- and I think that's why I love history!!!
ReplyDeleteI love history and even minored in it for my bachelors at Tech. But my favorite thing to do was to read biographies. I'm enjoying Charcoal and Chalk for that reason. I was turned on to biography in elementary for some unknown reason and just never enjoyed reading the course textbook in later years.
DeleteI agree -- textbooks are too dry -- it's much more interesting to read contemporary texts from the time period -- or biographies! That's why I'm enjoying "The Promised Land" -- the author does a great job of placing the books in contemporary context, and then provides his thoughts as to how the ideas in those books helped shape American thought. Certainly emphasizes the importance of knowing our history!! :-)
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