Teaching (in)accurate history?

[Grandma Diana]

It's pretty shocking sometimes to read what's in (and *not* in) history text books when compared to "reality."

So while it's clear that school tends to sanitize and whitewash history, is that perhaps appropriate with younger kids? How can we guage when children are ready to learn the more bitter and complex facts about the past? And then how can we pass on this more accurate information to our own kids at home without making them cynical about their schools as well as history and even humankind itself?

How do you handle this one? Thanksiving is coming up!

[lauren]

I have always talked about the Thanksgiving story as though it is a "myth", a story that people make up because it seems likely, but that stories (like 'whisper down the lane', which is a game my kids are familiar with) tend to change and become different over time. Same thing with Columbus Day.

You raised a good question. I'm not sure if schools can know when individual kids are ready for complex analysis of history, though I think by junior high they are, and most history/social studies teachers are (or should be!) teaching analysis, not just 'learning the story' by then. But I do know when my own children are ready (because they start asking questions and probing!) so I can supplement what they are learning at home, and teach them to be critical learners at home, even if the school is not promoting that.

[lorijds]

In some ways, I'm surprised at how *un*white washed my kids' history classes are, but that may be because we live in a college town that always has some sort of protest or vigil going on. For example, there is a sizable Native American population here, due to the fact that we have a Native American university, and there is always a march protesting the honoring of Colombus Day. When I was talking to oldest dd about it, she acted like what I was saying was old news, and told me they had already discussed that in class (3rd grade).

It is a tough thing, to balance history with age approriate lessons. My family is German, my husband is a german teacher, and we've visited Germany twice with the kids. But we've never really discussed the Holocaust with them. They know about the fact that there was a war (in part because some of my relatives died fighting for the Germans, while some had already moved here and were fighting for the US), but they don't know about the concentration camps. I just don't think it is age appropriate, and I haven't figured out a way to bring it up.

I know the history that my dds learn in school will never be perfect, but I guess that is what *I* am there for, to balance it out. I think we can all agree that history is extremely subjective; I guess we just have to keep involved in our children's education, and make sure that they learn not only what the state board of education feels is important, but what we ourselves feel is important.

[Jen123]

I don't know how old your kids are ,but you may get a charge out of reading this book "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James Loewen. Fascinating read. I plan on reading it to the kids next year.

[wildmonkeys]

Jen - that is crazy! I was actually responding to this thread holding the book "Lies my Teacher Told Me" as I was going to recommend it. It is sooo interesting. I was esp intrigued by the fact that the teaching of recent history is often less accurate that of ancient hsitory since the teachers and textbook authors bring their own baggage and discomfort to the table.

Anyway, as for Thanksgiving my four year old just told me the story of the first Thanksgiving that really hadn't been sweetened to the simmple preschool version I thought he would hear. I just explained that the pilgrims were people who came here from Europe to start a new life - some were good and some were bad but on the first Thanksgiving dinner the Native Americans were being great hosts and expressing their wish that everyone would live here together and be nice and share. Now that we live in America it is our job to follow their lesson and be good hosts to people that want to come and live here.

Don't know if that was a good or bad response but it was the best I came up with in a pinch.

BJ
Barney & Ben

[Rhonwyn]

National Geographic has some great books out this year on Thanksgiving. The pictures are photagraphs from the re-enactment done a few years ago at Plymouth Plantation. Native Americans from the same tribe that interacted with the Pilgrams participated. They are fascinating books. They talk about Pilgrams and who they were, who the Native Americans were, why there was no on living where Plymouth was established and what most likely happened on the 3 day event that was the inspiration for Thanksgiving story everyone knows.

[applejuice]

I recall being told lots of lies that I disputed as time went on.

If you want to dispute something your children are being taught, find a counter reference to dispute it.

I recall doing this in fourth grade, and the nun simply smiled and presented it to the class as something of an adjunct and thanked me.

Remember that history is written by the winners of the past disputes. There are always two sides to each and every story. I never have whitewashed anything with my own children, and they are avid history readers and we have many lively discussions now that they are older.

I recall telling them about the Pilgrims/Separatists, and told them that these religious people lived for about a year in Amsterdam; I told them that Amsterdam is and was really no place for these Separatists and why, and my children understood. Children take in as much as they can handle at their level.

Anyway, the truth always is the best policy in my ever so humble opinion.

[journeymom]

I know that I enjoyed learning the Pilgrim Story when I was in K thorugh 2nd. This is the sweet, almost mythical story that gets played out on stage. I liked making construction paper pilgrims and turkeys and indians. I vaguely remember learning about indians teaching the pilgrims to bury a fish in the ground with their crops. And about planting beans and corn together so the beans could climb up the corn stalks.

Of course later I learned about how cruel the Europeans were eventually with the native Americans.

And just 3 years ago I read "Lies My Teacher Told Me" and just loved it! What an eye opener! I - had - no - idea, for example, just how much our nation was built on slavery. I had no idea how long slavery existed in the Americas (almost from the time of the first Europeans) before the civil war.

My mom was a high school history teacher. We discussed Thanksgiving/pilgrim/indian history as it's taught to little kids one time. She suggested that it is cultural indoctrination, and reinforces patriotism. Though she wasn't saying this is necessarily bad, just a fact.

Ds is in Kindergarten and brought home a homework project. They are learning to read the names of colors. The work sheet had a man's head without any facial features, just a band around his head. Ds was supposed to color in a green feather, a blue feather, a purple feather, etc on the head band. He was supposed to color in a red mouth, brown ears and get this: two blue eyes! Oh, come on already! This is 2004! Do we truely not know that most native americans will have brown eyes??

I thought about instructing him to color them brown anyway, and I'd write a pithy note to his teacher pointing out the inaccuracy. But then I could just imagine getting an argument that well, she knew a native american with blue eyes once, and certainly there are plenty of n.a's who made children with blue eyed Europeans and it's just a reading project anyway, not a social studies project. Oh, for pity's sake. So I didn't say anything and ds made some right proper blue eyes on his indian brave. :

[Ravin]

My cultural anthropology professor touched on the issue of what we're taught in school. Americans have very little grasp of the realities of the rest of the world. We're mystified or insulted that people in other countries resent our influence and have no grasp of what ethnic conflicts are all about. World History is often not required in schools and when it is tends to focus on Western Civilization and leave out a lot about the actual implications of Imperialism, etc.

Most of American History is very much an origin myth. It stresses the good bits and glosses over the bad bits. It is replete with folk heroes and reinforces a certain set of ideaologies. I will probably teach it to my children, but as a tiny footnote in the overall play of history, and when they're old enough this will include considerable discussion of the nature of history as a subject of study and comparisons of different historical origin myths, and how such have changed over time to reflect modern changes in our society, etc.