Teaching What Really Happened: How to Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks and Get Students Excited About Doing History (Multicultural Education Series)

In this follow-up to his landmark bestseller, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, Loewen goes beyond the usual textbook-dominated curriculum to illuminate a wealth of intriguing, often hidden facts about America's past. Calling for a new way to teach history, this book offers teachers specific ideas for how to get students excited about history, how to get them to DO history, and how to help them read critically. It will specifically help teachers tackle difficult but important topics like the American Indian experience, slavery, and race relations. Throughout, Loewen shows how "teaching what really happened" not only connects better with all kinds of students, it better prepares those students to be tomorrow's citizens. Book features: A refreshingly candid assessment of the pitfalls and potential of American history education; Ideas from teachers across the country who are empowering students with the real story of America's history; Strategies for teaching historiography and incorporating project-oriented, self-learning; Specific chapters dedicated to the five content topics usually taught particularly badly in today's schools. - Publisher. In This Follow-up To His Landmark Bestseller, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, Loewen Goes Beyond The Usual Textbook-dominated Curriculum To Illuminate A Wealth Of Intriguing, Often Hidden Facts About America’s Past. Calling For A New Way To Teach History, This Book Offers Teachers Specific Ideas For How To Get Students Excited About History, How To Get Them To Do History, And How To Help Them Read Critically. It Will Specifically Help Teachers Tackle Difficult But Important Topics Like The American Indian Experience, Slavery, And Race Relations. Throughout, Loewen Shows How “teaching What Really Happened” Not Only Connects Better With All Kinds Of Students, It Better Prepares Those Students To Be Tomorrow’s Citizens. Book Features: A Refreshingly Candid Assessment Of The Pitfalls And Potential Of American History Education.ideas From Teachers Across The Country Who Are Empowering Students With The Real Story Of America’s History.strategies For Teaching Historiography And Incorporating Project-oriented, Self-learning.specific Chapters Dedicated To The Five Content Topics Usually Taught Particularly Badly In Today’s Schools. James W. Loewen Is The Bestselling Author Of Lies My Teacher Told Me And Lies Across America. He Taught Race Relations For Twenty Years At The University Of Vermont And Gives Workshops For Teacher Groups Around The United States. He Has Been An Expert Witness In More Than 50 Civil Rights, Voting Rights, And Employment Cases. “james Loewen's New Book Should Be In The Hands Of Every History Teacher In The Country. It Is Not Only A Devastating Critique Of How Our Nation's History Has Been Taught In Our Schools, But Also A Wonderful Guide To How The Teaching Of History Can Open Up Minds, Excite The Imagination, And Educate A New Generation Dedicated To Making This A Better World.” —howard Zinn, Author Of A People’s History Of The United States “loewen’s Candid And Revealing Descriptions Of Institutional Racism In U.s. Society And In Textbooks Are Not Presented To Make Students Cynical Or Disempowered, But To Help Them Acquire The Knowledge, Skills, And Commitments Needed To Attain Agency And To Act To Create A Better World.” —from The Series Foreword By James A. Banks, Director Of The Center For Multicultural Education At The University Of Washington, Seattle; Past President Of The The National Council For The Social Studies (ncss) • James Loewen, Recipient Of The 2012 “spirit Of America Award” From The National Council For The Social Studies • James Loewen, Recipient Of The 2012 “cox-johnson-frazier Major Award” From The American Sociological Association • Foreword Magazine Book Of The Year Award Finalist In Education, 2010 Contents Series Foreword by James A. Banks Acknowledgments Introduction: History as Weapon A Lesson from Mississippi A Lesson from Vermont Why History Is Important to Students Why History Is Important to Society 1. The Tyranny of Coverage Forests, Trees, and Twigs Winnowing Trees Deep Thinking Relevance to the Present Skills Getting the Principal on Board Coping with Reasons to Teach “As Usual” You Are Not Alone Bringing Students Along 2. Expecting Excellence Racial and Socioeconomic Characteristics Affect Teacher Expectations Research on Teacher Expectations “Standardized” Tests Affect Teacher Expectations Statistical Processes Cause Cultural Bias in “Standardized” Tests Social Class Affects “Standardized” Test Scores Internalizing Expectations Teachers and “Standardized” Tests Teachers Can Create Their Own Expectations 3. Historiography A Tale of Two Eras The Civil Rights Movement, Cognitive Dissonance, and Historiography Studying Bad History Other Ways to Teach Historiography 4. Doing History Doing History to Critique History Writing a Paper 5. How and When Did People Get Here? A Crash Course on Archeological Issues Presentism Today’s Religions and Yesterday’s History Conclusions About Presentism Chronological Ethnocentrism Primitive to Civilized Costs of Chronological Ethnocentrism 6. Why Did Europe Win? The Important Questions Looking Around the World Explaining Civilization Making the Earth Round Why Did Columbus Win? The Columbian Exchange Ideological Results of Europe’s Victory Cultural Diffusion and Syncretism Continue 7. The $24 Myth Deconstructing the $24 Myth A More Accurate Story Functions of the Fable Overt Racism? Additional Considerations 8. Teaching Slavery Relevance to the Present Hold a Meta-Conversation Slavery and Racism Four Key Problems of Slave Life Additional Problems in Teaching the History of Slavery 9. Why Did the South Secede? Teachers Vote Teaching Against the Myth Examining Textbooks Genesis of the Problem 10. The Nadir Contemporary Relevance Onset of the Nadir Historical Background Underlying Causes of the Nadir of Race Relations Students Can Reveal the Nadir Themselves During the Nadir, Whites Became White End of the Nadir Implications for Today Afterword: Still More Ways to Teach History Notes Index About the Author In this follow-up to his landmark bestseller, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, Loewen once again takes history textbooks to task for their perpetuations of myth and their lack of awareness of today's multicultural student audience (not to mention the astonishing number of "facts" they just got plain wrong). "How did people get here?" "Why did Europe win?" In Teaching What Really Happened, Loewen goes beyond the usual textbook-dominated social studies course to illuminate a wealth of intriguing, often hidden facts about America's past. Calling for a new way to teach history, this book will help teachers move beyond traditional textbooks to tackle difficult but important topics like conflicts with Native Americans, slavery, and racial oppression. Throughout, Loewen shows time and again how "teaching what really happened" not only connects better with all kinds of students, it better prepares those students to be tomorrow's citizens. "How did people get here?" "Why did Europe win?" "Why did the south secede?" In Teaching What Really Happened, Loewen goes beyond the usual textbook-dominated viewpoints to illuminate a wealth of intriguing, often hidden facts about America's past. Calling for a new way to study history, this book will help readers move beyond traditional textbooks to tackle difficult but important topics, like the American Indian experience, slavery, and race relations. Throughout, Loewen shows time and again how "teaching what really happened" connects better with all kinds of students to get them excited about history In this follow-up to his landmark bestseller, Lies My Teacher Told Me, James Loewen continues to break silences and change our perspectives on U.S. history. Loewen takes history textbooks to task for their perpetuations of myth and their lack of awareness of today's multicultural student audience (not to mention the astonishing number of "facts" they just get plain wrong)