Out of all the many classes I’ve taken so far, history is one my least favorite class. History incredibly uninteresting me, but in addition to that, American history textbooks, neglect to include what I believe to be very important details about history. Since history textbooks wish depict the United States as one of the greatest country in world, the authors try to leave out any information that might hurt Americas image. “Lies My Teacher Told Me” by James W. Loewen, tries to inform students of today, the important information that was hidden from them in their American history textbooks. Loewen does great with explain certain topics and unnecessary errors in the student’s American history education, throughout his book In the start of the …show more content…
In the first of these two chapters, Loewen tries to bring realization to the conflict surrounding Christopher Columbus and his ill-guided intentions. This, however, is a very commonly disputed topic and needn’t have this book attempt to shine its own 'glory' upon it because that 'glory' is nowhere to be found. If a student were honestly interested about the Columbus dispute, they should take out one of the many videos or entire books about it from their library. They will definitely have a better understanding of the topic there rather than trying to stay awake while reading this book and sorting through all of the unnecessary convolutions.
The latter of the chapters continues almost directly after Columbus chronologically by then bringing up the topic of the first settlers of what is now known as the United States. Loewen, in the beginning of this chapter, claims to have asked college classes when the first settlers arrived in America, only to receive the unanimous answer of"1620". While it is truth that many do believe that the first settlers to be the Pilgrims, he must have been working at a remedial school to have received a unanimous consensus concerning the first settlers. While a dimwitted consensus such as this will most definitely not be found everywhere, Loewen apparently thought it prominent enough an issue to develop. Once again, he
States have been removing or hiding history from students. In Denver, students are protesting about a school board review which wants to “[ensure] that teaching materials present positive aspects of the U.S history” and promote citizenship” (Wallace n. pag.).Tulsa Race Riot history is an important U.S. history event which hasn’t been incorporated into many textbooks, even though there were “dozens of deaths [and] hundreds of injuries” and also the destruction of Greenwood which later results in students poor knowledge of where they came from (Hoberock n. pag.). In Texas, it is being taught that slavery was just a side issue of the Civil War because guidelines for teaching American history do not include the teaching of the Ku Klux Klan or Jim Crow Laws. This gives a false impression to students.
As the goal of the writer was to educate, the book achieved success in both ways as the reader is left much more informed about early America than when they began reading the novel. The book covers the its main topics in three sections, Discovery, Conquest and Settlement. Each section includes information from various geographical regions in America with information pertaining to one of the specific sections above. Each section gave a comprehensive look at the main topic in a way that was easy to understand as well as
Overall, the authors make a correct point, because it is easy to fabricate a story, but it’s harder to hide the factual information. The people who care enough to delve into the factual books will gain the benefits of it. I agree with Katz and Vishny that those factual books need to be put in the education system, because they serve a vital purpose to the students. History cannot be taught correctly when everything isn’t shared from the
In the book, Lies My Teacher Told Me, author James Loewen talks about historical misconceptions in American school textbooks. Are these actually misconceptions though? What is the author saying about American history when details or whole events are untold? Lowen delves into these deep topics head on and gives examples as he goes. This book is not only intended for those who have read an American history book, but for those who have never heard the truth.
Poor people were treated very treated unequally in comparison to the rich. In the book, Lies My Teacher Told Me, Loewen writes about how poor people were offered education, but weren’t given an equal opportunity for higher education. Chapter 7 of Lies My Teacher Told Me notes that rich people were treated more fairly than the poor people, more specifically with more respect and honor especially in the classroom.
In the beginning of the
Loewen argues, “The authors of history textbooks have taken us on a trip of their own, away from the facts of history, into the realm of myth.” As historical events regress further into the past, writers may misinterpret facts that they may have studied. A story of discovery and friendship or a tale of conquest, murder, and greed, which of these are Christopher Columbus’ true stories? I believe the best method to teach American high school students about Christopher Columbus’ story is through historiography because historiography teaches students to compare and distinguish different outlooks from different writers’ point of views instead of just remembering misinterpreted facts. Historiography would guide and force students to study and learn history through a diverse set of historians who focused on the same subject and come to different conclusions.
Inclusively, the professor explained that stories such as the flat earth, and the challenges Columbus faced while discovering America, only help to empower the concept of heroification. Surprisingly, Loewen explains that these and other erroneous stories are learned through history textbooks. Dr. Jendian explained that these misconceptions, keep students unaware of the real nature of history. According to Loewen (32), “The authors of history textbooks have taken us on a trip of their own, away from the facts of history, into the realm of myth.” As mentioned previously, Columbus is presented to us as a symbol of heroification, demonstrating how history textbooks contain errors about his real life.
Text books are continuously giving false information. Loewen states that a majority of high school students do not understand any of the continuing issues. History textbooks leave out a plethora of information regarding social class. Teachers may leave out social class information because they feel it is a touchy subject and do not want to offend students.
When pronouncing Miss Representation aloud it sounds out as misrepresentation. This title is a clever play on words that has so many meanings. It shows how women are misrepresented in the media and how one body type or “Miss” is being used to represent and reinforce the stereotypes portrayed by the media of women. One way women are misrepresented is age. The women portrayed in movies and TV shows are predominantly in their twenties or thirties.
The book also gives an account of the Pennsylvania Dutch. They were the settlers who came to America from Germany. Their immigration to America began in the late seventeenth century. The book reveals
In the first chapter Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your AMerican History Textbook Got Wrong, James Loewen explores the common process of heroification within America’s history. The flaws of many individuals, specifically Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller in this chapter, are usually overlooked when recounting their achievements. Loewen points outs that when heroes are recognized for certain things it only covers a short person of the person’s life. The media and schools filter out the bad to leave room for inspiration and good.
History does not always convey the absolute truth. It offers only one side of the story. The strong and powerful voices always drown out the sounds of the weak and beaten. The winner’s word will always be taken over the loser’s. The content that lies within the textbooks was not written by the defeated.
4. South Sudan is an independent country from Sudan. Sudan was plagued with major civil wars, and those in the Southern region of Sudan were targeted and attacked. Southern Sudanese were killed off in large numbers; many villages were raided. Those who weren’t killed or sold off into slavery had to make mass migration to surrounding countries- the most being allowed in Kenya in refugee camps.
American History Education Reforms The definition as well as the specific parts of accurate American history is a highly debated topic- especially in regards to educating children on American history. In “Let’s tell the Story of All America’s Cultures” by Yuh Ji-Yeon gives her point of view on the controversial topic of the success of American history education. As the author is a Korean immigrant she has a special connection to this topic, and is writing this article to giver her opinion in the debate of reforming education in America. Ji-Yeon successfully persuades the audience that American history education in the United States is discriminatory by using her personal experiences and emotions as she informs the audience of a possible solution