[Vision2020] RE: our history books

[Robert Probasco]

-- 
  Robert Probasco
  rcprobasco at fastmail.fm

----- Original message -----
From: "Tom Hansen" <thansen at moscow.com>
[snip]  ... let's study our history books .... [snip]

If we study only the history books used in American schools, we'll
continue to be woefully ignorant consumers of the mass media.  The
sanitized version of history produced by American publishers is
guaranteed to generate naive questions like, "Why do they hate us?"

A decade ago, I served on the Moscow public schools textbook selection
committee for Social Studies.  I was so appalled at the Pablum in those
books I recommended none be adopted.  Naturally, the chairwoman
ramrodded her choice through the committee.  Six months later, the
California school board rejected all submissions from social studies
publishers as unworthy.  

I would recommend each student acquire a World Almanac so they can
reference basic facts and dates, then creative assignments would enable
them to research and recreate historical events.  They would gain an
appreciation for the complex and contradictory events that led to the
seminal events in the historical (or is that hysterical?) record.
Bob Probasco