Customer Reviews

Teaching What Really Happened: How to Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks and Get Students Excited About Doing History (Multicultural Education Series)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Loewen proves again why traditional tesxtbook publishers hate him so much. His insights into the problems of teaching history are spot on. Reliance on a textbook is relying on a very limited and deficient weapon. The key is that a real teacher of history needs to be constantly reading, articles, books, editorials, et al, to provide their students with a true history education. History is the easiest subject to teach badly and the hardest subject to teach well. Take the time and do it well.
Kevin Clark

Wow, some other reviewers have an ax to grind, but I am not sure why they pick on Mr. Loewen to do so. The book is a thoughtful (although sometimes polemic) presentation on why teachers should teach the process of how history is written as well and cover meaningful content. This is in contrast to the "laundry list" style of teaching that most history classes consist of. Loewen argues for more thoughtful and deliberate units that call for analysis and connections between concepts. He asks teachers to ask "Why am I teaching this?" in order for them to be able to communicate to students the significance of the material they are studying.

I did not see any "America hate" in the book. What I see is a passion for history and a call for meaningful and thoughtful history education.

This is an amazing book that provides a lot of creative solutions to common problems in the diversity of education. For example, he offers the idea of having students study secondary sources about the same topic, but written in different eras, and compare them as a way to learn that history is a reflection of the time in which it is written.

This book is also very informative, whether the topic is problems in archaeology or problems in race relations, I learned a lot.

The final thing I want to say is this book is a very easy, very fast read. The text looks dense, but I assure you, it is only an illusion.

This book is partly an attack on how history is taught at the high school level and partly a rewriting/explanation of the six areas that teachers get wrong most often. Both are problematic, although his main point-- that bad textbooks are boring-- is indisputable. (His constant mentioning of his own previous book as the antidote certainly made it clear what he thought a good one looks like!) I'll admit I was surprised at the statistics on how few high school teachers had taken history classes, until I looked in the footnotes and found the number was from 20 years ago-- they've changed the standards since then, actually. Eventually I found myself reading with one finger in the back so I could see how old & outdated his information was, point by point, although I appreciate that there were footnotes at all.
Some of his points seem well-argued, others are odd (his argument that you should not teach anything you don't understand, for instance-- he doesn't teach the Progressive Era, apparently-- why wouldn't you go learn about it if it's your job to teach history?), and still others are just silly-- I have a PhD, and, while I love to see my students learn about history, they don't immediately know more than me when they start learning (if they did, I'd want my money back from my grad school!)
The part of secession was interesting, and there he quotes to back up his argument, but the facts start getting very funky toward the end of this book. The final chapter presents an argument for a periodization of American history that features "The Nadir," supposedly the low-point of race relations, dating from 1890-1940. Loewen's constant conflation of "race" and "African-American" is on full display here-- Japanese-Americans hit their nadir after this period, for instance, while Native Americans preceded it (something Loewen clearly knows, but doesn't engage with). His explanation of why "the Nadir" happened is so oversimplified as to be bizarre (for example, we didn't take over Hawaii because, as racists, we tjust hought we could "govern better than brown people," we also did it due to a combination of economic interests related to sugarcane and to provide a naval base closer to an expanding imperial Japan). And where does teaching the Nadir leave teachers who want to talk about African-American service in WWI, or the Harlem Renaissance, or the rise of LULAC...? I understand the reviewers reading this who have been turned off by the politics, but, as a historian, I was turned off by the bad history.
By all means, teachers saddled with lousy textbooks should find ways to engage students-- and I think, to their credit, the vast majority of them try. This book, however, doesn't offer a solid alternative, although readers may find some of it thought-provoking (it would help to have enough historical background to separate out the good from the false information, however).

James Loewen's scholarship and philosophical perspective liberate his history-writing from the WASP mono-cultural perspective that has distorted learning in the U.S. for generations. A model for critical pedagogy and multicultural reform of curriculum.

Loewen has a way of scaring conservatives as evidenced on this board. The truth and deconstruction of the American Myth we are constantly fed terrifies them. Facts tend to clash with their (AND FOX'S) agenda. This is an excellent read, and is highly recommended for any educator.

A great book, very insightful for teachers who want to teach what really happened and keep their jobs. There are examples and suggestions in the book. A great read.

When it has been provenly shown on these amazon boards that this man uses unreliable sources (and sometimes doesn't even give sources) for where he gets his "information".

I have tried to force myself to read every one of this "author's" works and usually just wind up disgusted and needing another dose of Maalox. Ironic in that on nearly the same week this title was released I had a co authored book come out with the same famous art work thus my attention was drawn to it. First and foremost Lorenz is not an historian. If you want accurate advice on brain surgery, go to a brain surgeon, not a podiatrist. When I have challenged him to reply with proper documentation to his assertions i have been met with silence. The fact that he thinks he can advise teachers as to what to teach is appalling. I once managed to convince him to debate on an hour long radio program prior to his coming to my region for a day long teacher's workshop (where teachers would get recertiication credits while thousands of students were stuck with substitutes for that day). After but one segment of pressing him on what I felt was the shoddy nature of his documentation, footnoting, and wild assertions without basis in well documented fact he dodged off and hung up. So much for open debate. If he should be coming to your school district to "teach teachers how to teach" for heaven's sake, do some back ground checking and then wonder what your tax dollars are "supporting and how this will impact your children in the future. His work is, for lack of a better term "America Sucks 101."

This book is yet another tirade and I fully agree with the one other reviewer who points out that if this work is popular with some teachers it shows the abysmal state of our educational system.

This alleged scholar reminds me of Winston Smith in "1984" whose job was to erase the past and rewrite it to what is politically correct for the moment.

William R. Forstchen Ph.D.
Professor of History
Montreat College

Do NOT read this book!

On page 22 the following is stated:

"a teacher did not understand the importance of the controversy about the national bank..." the teacher asks "Do I have to teach it?" The answer the author responds with is "No. Indeed, she should not teach it, precisely because she does not understand its importance..." and "She does not know what she wants students to do with the information - and for the record, neither do I".

The author concludes that teachers should teach what they understand and teachers who do not understand something should not teach it! What a disastrous concept!

The author spends most of the book talking how to teach, of all things, slavery! He has no concept of the role money plays as a, if not THE, central theme of the history of our country, nor a desire to learn!

The fact that the author's bestselling books and workshops seem to be popular with teachers is, in my opinion, a clear indictment of the competency of teachers in this subject area.

Teaching is all about forming the opinions and future decisions of students. Parents who do not want their children to be indoctrinated by teachers need to know what their students are being taught in high school and college.

This book, part of the Multicultural Education Series, advocates an agenda that has little to do with improving student's understanding of our history. The author appears to be an expert in race relations but certainly not an expert in teaching American History!

I purchased this book expecting a cogent explanation of how to teach "what really happened". I have seldom, if ever, been so disappointed. I am even more disappointed that it is a best seller and published by the Teachers College Press! Teachers and students deserve better!

I believe the author to be well intended, and it is a good book, but the title has little to do with the book's content! If it has been titled "How to Teach About Slavery" I would give it at least three stars!

For someone interested in teaching a course on slavery I strongly recommend the following be considered:

A book that takes a very balanced approach to slavery is

Slavery and the Making of America

and has an excellent companion DVD -

Slavery and the Making of America


Another DVD found interesting is the following as it deals with the religious aspect of slavery.

Prince Among Slaves

I did not purchase the book that is the companion to the above DVD but I reference it here for your consideration.

Prince among Slaves