LOEWEN MAULS HISTORY CURRICULUM

HISTORY UNVEILEDJames Loewen opens it up

ACCORDING TO LOEWEN, THERE ARE MANY THINGS WRONG WITH THE WAY HISTORY IS GENERALLY TAUGHT ...

HISTORY TEXTS ARE TOO FAT!

History textbooks and courses try to cover too much. There is a lot of breath, but not a lot of breadth in what students learn.

HISTORY IS BORING!History is more than a recitation of facts.

HISTORY IS NOT RELEVANTStudents don’t get the connection between all these facts and themselves.

HISTORY IS TAUGHT WITH AN AGENDA.

INSTEAD OF TEACHING HISTORY THE TRADITIONAL WAY, LOEWEN PROPOSES DIFFERENT TEACHING STRATEGIES …

MAKE HISTORY RELEVANT

RE-INTRODUCE THE DRAMA BACK INTO THE STUDY OF HISTORY

ADD DRAMA

• Introduce controversy

• Investigate diverging opinions

• Include more perspectives

• Create emotional connections

INTRODUCE STUDENT TO

THE PRACTICE OF HISTORY

STUDENTS PRACTICE HISTORY BY:

• Examining primary and secondary sources

• Arguing based on historical evidence

• Interviewing and investigating in their own communities

LOEWEN TO TEACHERS:

• Cover fewer topics and examine them thoroughly.

• Teach history backwards.• Delve into historical

controversy.

LOEWEN TO TEACHERS:• Allow students to disagree

with you.• Encourage students to

practice history.• Teach students how to deal

critically with historical sources, including their own textbook.

MY RESPONSE TO LOEWEN

HOW LOEWEN HAS INFLUENCED ME AS A TEACHER

• Make history relevant

• Use Multiple texts• Teach textual

criticism• Present multiple

contributions• Encourage student

historians

• Keep learning my self

FIVE HISTORICAL FACTS I LEARNED FROM JAMES LOEWEN

1. The Confederacy violated states rights (p. 168, 233).

FIVE HISTORICAL FACTS I LEARNED FROM JAMES LOEWEN

2. West Africans might have sailed to the Americas. (p. 63).

FIVE HISTORICAL FACTS I LEARNED FROM JAMES LOEWEN

3. “Eastern Indians had observed autumnal harvest Celebrations for centuries.” (p. 117)

FIVE HISTORICAL FACTS I LEARNED FROM JAMES LOEWEN

4. The first permanent non-Native settler in the Western Hemisphere were Africans. (p. 163)

FIVE HISTORICAL FACTS I LEARNED FROM JAMES LOEWEN

5. Woodrow Wilson was a racist who supported Jim Crow laws. (p. 40-44)

A SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS REGARDING THE BOOK

Great idea

A SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS REGARDING THE BOOK

Great idea

A SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS REGARDING THE BOOK

Great idea

Is history subjective?

MY BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY

The purpose of teaching American History is to:

• Help students understand the past and the present in relation to each other.

• Give students the skills to interpret past and present events critically and independently.

• It is the students choice how the decide to employ these skills.

MY BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY

In order to achieve these goals, American History teachers need to keep in mind:

• We have to connect students to History through authentic and relevant teaching.

• Historical drama and controversy need to be fostered, so that students have the opportunity to explore history themselves.

• We must introduce the critical study of primary and secondary documents and teach historical argumentation, in order to foster engaged amateur historians.

CHAPTERS READ

• Introduction• Ch. 1: Handicapped by History (The

Process of Hero Making)• Ch. 2: 1493 (The True Importance of

Christopher Columbus)• Ch. 3: The Truth about the First

Thanksgiving• Ch. 4: Red Eyes

CHAPTERS READ

• Ch. 5: Gone with the Wind (The Invisibility of Racism in American History Textbooks)

• Ch. 6: John Brown and Abraham Lincoln (They Invisibility of Antiracism in American History Textbooks

• Ch. 13: What is the Result of Teaching History Like This?

• Afterword: The Future Lies Ahead, and What to Do About Them