I plan to share information I learn through my studies related to education. I hope my posts will be informative and inspiring to current and future educators!
I'm confused on what it means to "do" history. As a college prep program, the students must learn to read the textbook. My only history class at UGA had 6 different books (some primary source books), and was more difficult than anything I read in high school. I'm all for well-rounded classes, but the presentation comes off (at least to me) as "ignore the textbook".
I think to "do" history according to Loewen means to do historiography (the study of the writing of history). Loewen does not encourage to abandon or ignore the textbook. He recommends that teachers do not use it as their only source. He actually mentions that examining many textbooks (especially if you have older books to span across various time periods)can be quite fruitful for learning. He specifically mentions examining how John Brown has been portrayed throughout various textbooks across time. He was portrayed as insane (even in pictures) in early textbooks because obviously a white man as an abolitionist must be insane. I think students must learn to read a variety of sources including primary source documents. Lindsey Cafarella has introduced me to some helpful reading strategies to assist struggling readers with even the most difficult texts. I hope this was helpful. I really appreciate the comment and hope we can continue discussion.
I'm confused on what it means to "do" history. As a college prep program, the students must learn to read the textbook. My only history class at UGA had 6 different books (some primary source books), and was more difficult than anything I read in high school. I'm all for well-rounded classes, but the presentation comes off (at least to me) as "ignore the textbook".
ReplyDeleteI think to "do" history according to Loewen means to do historiography (the study of the writing of history). Loewen does not encourage to abandon or ignore the textbook. He recommends that teachers do not use it as their only source. He actually mentions that examining many textbooks (especially if you have older books to span across various time periods)can be quite fruitful for learning. He specifically mentions examining how John Brown has been portrayed throughout various textbooks across time. He was portrayed as insane (even in pictures) in early textbooks because obviously a white man as an abolitionist must be insane. I think students must learn to read a variety of sources including primary source documents. Lindsey Cafarella has introduced me to some helpful reading strategies to assist struggling readers with even the most difficult texts. I hope this was helpful. I really appreciate the comment and hope we can continue discussion.
ReplyDelete