Summary Of Marian Wright Edelman Teaching American History

One may argue that the past defines the future. It sets the framework for our society and tells the story of those who came before us. We are constantly being told what to believe about the past through history books or more dangerously, we are not being taught about it at all. As with the law, to give misleading or false information - even partially, should be a crime to the citizens of the United states. In the case of education, this has been a problem where students emerge from elementary and secondary school misinformed, being given a vague, tendentious version of the past. Whether or not this is a failing of the system or the individual schools themselves, American history is not a simple thing. It cannot be abstracted nor summarized;

As told by the President of the Child Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman. In the Article Teaching American History Edelman outlines the story of a text book which describes as immigrants stating that “The Atlantic Slave Trade between the 1500s and 1800s brought millions of workers from Africa to the southern United States to work on agricultural plantations.” Nowhere does it mention that they were basically kidnapped from their native land nor does it detail the fact that they were forced to work on these plantations. Had the student mentioned in the article not spoken up, the publishers would not have revised the book and this would have been passed off as true and accurate information. This, however, does not negate the fact that these books have been published The Civil Right Movement is an important turning point in American history and does not solely represent the bad and injustice in America but also its ability to recognize and rectify this as a nation. However, this is one other thing not being

Apparently, students want to know about other facets in American history. The history teachers also want to correct this. Such is the case for Los Angeles public high school AP American History teacher David Jocz. Jocz attempts to integrate all types of history – Black, Latino and Asian History, women’s’ rights, gay rights in an effort to blur the lines of distinction in American history claiming “To not teach this history year round is to do a disservice to our nation’s rich, complicated past.” Jocx makes several valid points. We tend to reserve the teaching of the history for special occasions, being the month they were supposedly reserved for but in fact it is American