Hiding the Truth Most students will study U.S history in American high schools simply because it is a requirement. The government believes it important to know how we became an independent nation and our past struggles before we can make decisions about the future. Some may be excited to learn about events such as the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, while others actively dislike any type of history. However, U.S History has a huge potential to be intriguing and eye opening to all students that study it. This would be true only if they were properly taught by high school history teachers. American history teachers fail to teach what is outside of the textbook, obscure the truth behind controversial events, and highlight insignificant
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In Chapter 8 of Lies My Teacher Told Me, Loewen explains that textbooks only teach positive topics about the American government and are afraid to condemn it for nationalistic reasons. This becomes evident in how textbooks explain controversial events such as the Cold War. Loewen points out that all of the textbooks he analyzed did not mention how we tried to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro numerous times. According to Loewen, “The federal government had tried to kill Castro eight times...by 1975 Castro had thwarted twenty-four attempts” (Loewen 230). Our failed attempts at eliminating the communist leader contradict our “good guy” status by illustrating the U.S’s willingness to take a violent role in other nations’ domestic affairs, even against the will of the people. As a result, students studying the Cold War and our strained relations with Cuba will somehow miss this crucial piece of information, and go out into the outside world with a closed mind, thinking that we are the perfect country. Additionally, Loewen mentions that only a handful of the textbooks even mention the word, Chile. Students may have background knowledge of the coup’de’tat that took place in 1973 that pushed Marxist leader Salvador Allende out of power. What they may not know, however, is that the US had been …show more content…
Every American high school student will know the story of the Pilgrims: the group of English Puritans hoping to escape religious persecution that sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in search of the New World. Most students will have no idea that St. Augustine was actually the first European settlement in the American mainland, and not the good ol’ Mayflower that sailed across the Atlantic. In fact, the association with Plymouth and the Thanksgiving holiday is the only reason why this event has so much significance (Loewen 84-85). Textbooks devote pages to events such as this, but may overplay the significance. Loewen explains that students taking American history courses will develop misunderstandings of certain times in history due to the idolization of our nation’s foundings. Textbooks also present information that glorify certain people in history so students will remember those people and their accomplishments, but students fail to learn the negatives. They accomplish this through a process called hero making, which turns our leaders into “pious, perfect creatures without conflict, pain, credibility, or human interest” (12). Loewen exhibits this definition through the presidency of Mr. Woodrow Wilson. Textbooks love President Wilson, and history students take from them that he had the country 's best
In Chapter 8 of Lies My Teacher Told Me, Loewen explains that textbooks only teach positive topics about the American government and are afraid to condemn it for nationalistic reasons. This becomes evident in how textbooks explain controversial events such as the Cold War. Loewen points out that all of the textbooks he analyzed did not mention how we tried to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro numerous times. According to Loewen, “The federal government had tried to kill Castro eight times...by 1975 Castro had thwarted twenty-four attempts” (Loewen 230). Our failed attempts at eliminating the communist leader contradict our “good guy” status by illustrating the U.S’s willingness to take a violent role in other nations’ domestic affairs, even against the will of the people. As a result, students studying the Cold War and our strained relations with Cuba will somehow miss this crucial piece of information, and go out into the outside world with a closed mind, thinking that we are the perfect country. Additionally, Loewen mentions that only a handful of the textbooks even mention the word, Chile. Students may have background knowledge of the coup’de’tat that took place in 1973 that pushed Marxist leader Salvador Allende out of power. What they may not know, however, is that the US had been …show more content…
Every American high school student will know the story of the Pilgrims: the group of English Puritans hoping to escape religious persecution that sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in search of the New World. Most students will have no idea that St. Augustine was actually the first European settlement in the American mainland, and not the good ol’ Mayflower that sailed across the Atlantic. In fact, the association with Plymouth and the Thanksgiving holiday is the only reason why this event has so much significance (Loewen 84-85). Textbooks devote pages to events such as this, but may overplay the significance. Loewen explains that students taking American history courses will develop misunderstandings of certain times in history due to the idolization of our nation’s foundings. Textbooks also present information that glorify certain people in history so students will remember those people and their accomplishments, but students fail to learn the negatives. They accomplish this through a process called hero making, which turns our leaders into “pious, perfect creatures without conflict, pain, credibility, or human interest” (12). Loewen exhibits this definition through the presidency of Mr. Woodrow Wilson. Textbooks love President Wilson, and history students take from them that he had the country 's best