U.S. History can be a fascinating subject – but as James Loewen points out in Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, often the purpose of high school history classes is less about educating students about the complexities of the history of our nation, and more about reinforcing a sanitized narrative that engenders national pride and carefully avoids controversy and criticism. Much of what we learned in our high school history courses was at best somewhat distorted, and at worst outright fabrication.
If you are unable to read the book in time for the session, the article below provides an excellent summary of the issues discussed in the book:
“History through Red Eyes: A Conversation with James Loewen: James Loewen’s Lies My Teacher Told Me Was a Challenge to Our Preconceived Notions of Who We Are as a People and of Our National History”
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=638555068
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