Teaching History and Multiculturalism

As I read LaVarr Webb's comments on David McCullough's visit to Utah in Utah Policy a couple of days ago, I felt that maybe it was time to tackle once again a controversial topic in the multicultural arena.

Historian Daniel Boorstein said, "Trying to plan the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant cut flowers." Famed author and historian David McCullough states that if we are to be successful in the present, it is critical that we study history and be knowledgeable about the past

McCullough also made the following important points:

• "Because you were born into this particular era does not mean it has to be the limit of your experience. Move about in time, go places."


• "..you can't understand yourself or your country without a sense of your past."


• "History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are."


• "..history is a larger way of looking at life."
  

In spite of the fact that probably most would agree with all these statements, the results revealed from one survey is indicative of what our young people know (or rather don't know) about history: The survey shows that almost half the kids polled don't know the purpose of the Declaration of Independence. And about 1 in 6 parents don't know that the document declared the American colonies free from British rule. The survey also shows that only about 1 in 8 children can correctly identify the nation's founding fathers, that only about half know that "the shot heard round the world" started the Revolution, and that a third don't know that the "Redcoats" were British soldiers who fought in the Revolution - and not in either the Civil War or World War I.

This is a travesty. Yet, there are some things happening in education that could help explain reasons for this. One is the focused emphasis on reading and math in order to meet NCLB mandates....and forgetting that teaching history could help with reading comprehension. Another reason could be the paranoid educators feel ---that while teaching history they may say or do something that is not politically correct and/or in contradiction to multicultural advocate demands.

Tomorrow's post will further address this issue--with help from the wisdom of David McCullough on this topic.