History unveiled

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LOEWEN MAULS HISTORY CURRICULUM

Transcript of History unveiled

Page 1: History unveiled

LOEWEN MAULS HISTORY CURRICULUM

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HISTORY UNVEILEDJames Loewen opens it up

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

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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.

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

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

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HISTORY IS TAUGHT WITH AN AGENDA.

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

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MAKE HISTORY RELEVANT

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RE-INTRODUCE THE DRAMA BACK INTO THE STUDY OF HISTORY

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ADD DRAMA

• Introduce controversy

• Investigate diverging opinions

• Include more perspectives

• Create emotional connections

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INTRODUCE STUDENT TO

THE PRACTICE OF HISTORY

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STUDENTS PRACTICE HISTORY BY:

• Examining primary and secondary sources

• Arguing based on historical evidence

• Interviewing and investigating in their own communities

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LOEWEN TO TEACHERS:

• Cover fewer topics and examine them thoroughly.

• Teach history backwards.• Delve into historical

controversy.

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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.

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MY RESPONSE TO LOEWEN

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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

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FIVE HISTORICAL FACTS I LEARNED FROM JAMES LOEWEN

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

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FIVE HISTORICAL FACTS I LEARNED FROM JAMES LOEWEN

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

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FIVE HISTORICAL FACTS I LEARNED FROM JAMES LOEWEN

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

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FIVE HISTORICAL FACTS I LEARNED FROM JAMES LOEWEN

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

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FIVE HISTORICAL FACTS I LEARNED FROM JAMES LOEWEN

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

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A SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS REGARDING THE BOOK

Great idea

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A SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS REGARDING THE BOOK

Great idea

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A SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS REGARDING THE BOOK

Great idea

Is history subjective?

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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.

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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.

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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

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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