Flaws in History Textbooks

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The overall, topic for this week’s reading is Social Studies Textbooks and what is there point of view. In Loewen’s book, Lies My Teacher Told Me, the author makes the point that books show one-sided viewpoint of historical figures, fail to show conflict happening today, and fail to present multiple sides of an issue. The second article by David Tyack, Monuments Between Covers, talks about the idea to show that our past was full of right moments and if anything that was immoral was a small part and no big deal. Tyack points out the constant influence from political groups with different agendas fighting to influence and control what textbooks tell our countries’ children. In the last reading History Lesson by Dana Lindaman talks about the view point of American History throughout the world’s public schools’ textbooks. Overall, each of the countries diminished the role their nation played in terrible events and criticized other nations for their actions.
In Loewen’s book, Lies My Teacher Told Me, talks about the real point of view of textbooks in the classroom. Many textbooks create this idea of Heroification, were people from the past are perfect creatures without conflicts and pain. The idea is to influence the students to strive for great things and become like these people. However, by showing only the good side of people or events is misleading. We need to show both sides- the good and the bad in order to show a complete picture of the past. Another, thing textbooks do is hid events or makes them more simplistic. Many textbooks show the idea that racism is over, and hid the fact that society is still dealing with racism. The textbook companies do this because they want not to have students have the tough conversations. The la...

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...ced because of the alliances with the allied powers. My favorite was that Great Britain said it was a hard choice to go to war. I completely disagree with that statement, because needed to defend the sovereignty of Belgium and the connection with the Hanoverians in Northwest Germany.
Overall, we see the textbook companies being pulled in multiple directions fearing influence from powerful lobby groups to create bland textbooks, which have limited multiple viewpoints, and controversy. Loewen, talks about only the good traits of historical figures like Woodrow Wilson, instead of showing both sides. Tyack presents a similar viewpoint, that textbooks are all about American Acceptualism and that we as society did no wrong. Lastly, in the Lindaman piece, each nation does the same thing in order to show their nation is good light or limit the dirty laundry of their past.

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