Take a photo of a barcode or cover
1.04k reviews for:
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
James W. Loewen
4.04 AVERAGE
1.04k reviews for:
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
James W. Loewen
4.04 AVERAGE
When I was in school, I could memorize lots of scattered facts. I still can, and I owe my love for trivia shows to this ability. I was also a pretty lazy child, though teachers who teach gifted students would say I was bored with the ease of material. I never found that much compelling about any subject really, so my favorite class defaulted to history due to its outsized reliance on memorization. I probably retained a lot more than the average student. I can name many of the events in American history and tell you at least an approximation of when they happened. I couldn't understand other people's trouble with this easy subject. Devour some terms, some dates, and maybe a few names and you were golden.
I don't say it to brag. Memorization of this type is a glorified parlor trick. I could have tell you when John F. Kennedy or Jimmy Carter was elected, but not [i]why[/i] they were elected. It's perfectly pointless knowledge; trivia, if you will. Ostensibly the reason we learn history is to learn from our past. It's a perfectly fine cliche, and it's what we should aspire to. But I realized when I began reading outside of the classroom that this just wasn't true. Or at least it didn't make it to the people writing textbooks and designing curricula. In [i]Lies My Teacher Told Me[/i], Loewen lays out a multi-faceted case on how our American history classes came to be so trivial and non-engaging for students.
Still today, I find things in this book (and others) jaw-dropping, even things I already knew. How could so much of this been left out of our classes? How could I have gone so long knowing dates and figures but not have any understanding of the meaning they actually have? The author argues that textbooks, due to quirks in the process of adopting, the class stature of those who are making the decisions, and lack of actual historian's input all contribute to the proliferation of high school American history texts that seem to be more concerned with creating good (a.k.a. docile) citizens than actually reckoning with and learning from our history.
If I become a history teacher, I could pretty confidently credit Loewen with a share of that decision. Reading this book some years ago and re-reading it in the past month has made me want to passionately pursue teaching students the real history, and in so doing teaching a history that is actually interesting.
I don't say it to brag. Memorization of this type is a glorified parlor trick. I could have tell you when John F. Kennedy or Jimmy Carter was elected, but not [i]why[/i] they were elected. It's perfectly pointless knowledge; trivia, if you will. Ostensibly the reason we learn history is to learn from our past. It's a perfectly fine cliche, and it's what we should aspire to. But I realized when I began reading outside of the classroom that this just wasn't true. Or at least it didn't make it to the people writing textbooks and designing curricula. In [i]Lies My Teacher Told Me[/i], Loewen lays out a multi-faceted case on how our American history classes came to be so trivial and non-engaging for students.
Still today, I find things in this book (and others) jaw-dropping, even things I already knew. How could so much of this been left out of our classes? How could I have gone so long knowing dates and figures but not have any understanding of the meaning they actually have? The author argues that textbooks, due to quirks in the process of adopting, the class stature of those who are making the decisions, and lack of actual historian's input all contribute to the proliferation of high school American history texts that seem to be more concerned with creating good (a.k.a. docile) citizens than actually reckoning with and learning from our history.
If I become a history teacher, I could pretty confidently credit Loewen with a share of that decision. Reading this book some years ago and re-reading it in the past month has made me want to passionately pursue teaching students the real history, and in so doing teaching a history that is actually interesting.
Read to see how it differs from "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn, I think the most obvious difference is that this focuses on specific textbooks and the pitfalls they present. I wish I had read this while I was still in high school, maybe I would've enjoyed history better then. But truly I don't believe history is supposed to be enjoyed during one's K-12 education, there's no room outside of blind patriotism as shown in this book. Only when I got to college was I exposed to a history where one can debate and discuss the multitudes of different perspectives throughout American history.
almost forgot love how he included photos and other graphics
almost forgot love how he included photos and other graphics
informative
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Classism
Minor: Abortion, Alcohol
Must
One of the best history books , I have ever experienced. Should be required reading for every history teacher. Excellent!
One of the best history books , I have ever experienced. Should be required reading for every history teacher. Excellent!
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This book was a captivating summary of what my high school American history class SHOULD have taught as well as what it probably did teach. It was a fascinating read, covering the truth and complexity behind America's less than glamorous past, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in race issues, class struggles, and a fascinating treatment of historical struggles. My only real complaint is that the chapters aren't broken down into sections, which makes some of the transitions abrupt.
Entwined with fascinating, but often blood curdling, historical details, the main thrust of the book is that by leaving out the stories and ideas behind history, primarily to emphasize the "good" and "right" qualities of the dominating culture, history textbooks fail to teach anything meaningful and fail to capture students' attention long enough to teach them anything at all.
The result is scary. A recent poll (from the 90s) revealed that for the first time in history, young white adults are less tolerant than those over 30. Unlike similar books in this genre, this one provides little hope for change or guidance for protest. The profit motive is the main reason that textbooks have failed so miserably; it's no shock that the intolerant protest more loudly from America's school boards when a book presents more balanced information.
Entwined with fascinating, but often blood curdling, historical details, the main thrust of the book is that by leaving out the stories and ideas behind history, primarily to emphasize the "good" and "right" qualities of the dominating culture, history textbooks fail to teach anything meaningful and fail to capture students' attention long enough to teach them anything at all.
The result is scary. A recent poll (from the 90s) revealed that for the first time in history, young white adults are less tolerant than those over 30. Unlike similar books in this genre, this one provides little hope for change or guidance for protest. The profit motive is the main reason that textbooks have failed so miserably; it's no shock that the intolerant protest more loudly from America's school boards when a book presents more balanced information.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Read this in undergrad - the truth about historical events is so much more interesting than what one usually learns in K-12.