According to McCullough, since we are a government of the people, the answer as to what is to be done to advance the cause does not depend on some longed-for leader, but rather on the the person in the mirror.
What to do:
Universities:
David McCullough feels that universities must change the way they educate teachers. He feels that teachers get their degrees in education and they don't know any subjects. He suggests that teachers should have majors in the liberal arts to help ignite the passion for history. Teachers without passion for history won't spark any passion among their students as it's this passion that makes teachers effective.
Schools:
- Tell stories
- Delve into literature from history (biographies, poems, speeches, etc.) from all ethnic backgrounds, not textbooks, to improve reading---According to David McCullough the quality of textbooks are so filled with "politically correct mush" that they kill the interest of students.
- Write and participate in historical plays
- Encourage all students to participate in history fairs
Parents:
- Turn off the TV more often and when it is turned on, use it more productively--watch the History Channel, "American Experience," the C-SPAN presidential series, etc.
- Have conversations about history at the dinner table or in the car
- Visit historic sites
- Read to and with children the history literature
- Keep journals to record one's own personal history
Libraries:
Become involved in the "We the People" project sponsored by NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities)
There is so much to learn about tolerance, patience, courage, human nature, and life from those who have gone before us. Winston Churchill reminded us, "We haven't journeyed this far because we are made of sugar candy.""Indifference to history isn't just ignorant, it's rude. It's a form of ingratitude," McCullough emphasizes.
As each of us commits to fight the battle we face of raising a generation that is historically illiterate, may we also follow the example of McCullough who describes himself as a "short-range pessimist, but long-range optimist." Not only have there been great accomplishments in the past, there are more to come as we accept the opportunity to build upon the past.