I read an essay the other day written by, James W. Lowen titled "Handicapped By History", and I noticed a reference directed at a company named McGraw-Hill. K-12 I would see the name “McGraw-Hill” on the spine of my textbooks, and I would always wonder why all my textbooks where made by the same company. McGraw-Hill has shaped the way I view history.
Textbooks are written in a way intended to color the way we view history. The article mentioned Helen Keller and how she is portrayed in textbooks as such a good, inspirational person who despite being deaf and mute, had accomplished a lot. Textbooks do not mention the fact that she was a socialist who praised to communist party. The essay extensively discussed the 28th U.S. president, Woodrow Wilson. The way he is talked about in textbooks makes him seem like a good person but in reality he was a racist who did not believe in the women’s suffrage movement.
Why would textbooks portray these people like heroes? I believe, that by leaving all the bad the person did in his or her lifetime and merely presenting the good, you create the ideal person, the role model that everyone can follow and aspire to be.
The way American history heroes are portrayed is almost like the celebrity obsession Americans have now in days. We see these heroes and celebrities as perfect, flawless, successful, role models who do no wrongdoing and many aspire to be like them, because we are under the illusion that they are such great people. Textbooks frame stories a bit, and the history children learn in school is slightly altered. If you think about it, it's easier for a child to comprehend good rather than bad because they are so naive.
I am an advocate of finding truth when the world around you does not make sense. You can never be too sure about anything. My tenth grade AP World History teacher wrote in my yearbook to "keep questioning the world". My point is that we should question everything, and you might uncover a hidden truth. My problem is, when that truth is attained what do we do with it? Should we learn how to take the good with the bad and hope it all evens out in the end? What about exposing the truth (as Lowen did)? Does that make a difference?
Children are ill equipped to comprehend the complexity of life. Thus, the text books used to teach us tell us that the Indian helped the pilgrims. That Christopher Columbus discovered a new world. To tell children that Columbus brought syphilis to those natives, that the pilgrims swindled the Indians that our life is horrible would be too rough on children. That is why as we get older we explained and expected to understand the truth.
ReplyDelete