Liberals and Conservatives Agree on Guidelines For Teaching American History

By Crosscurrents Group CONTRIBUTOR

Introduction

Teaching US history in schools particularly in grades 6-12 has become controversial and is the subject of legislation in many states, including a bill pending in South Carolina. Crosscurrents is a group with both conservative and liberal political perspectives seeking to find common ground through dialogue and reach bi-partisan agreement on difficult public policy choices. We recently tackled teaching of history and describe below what we came to agree on.

Key Objectives for Learning History

Crosscurrents members believe there are at least two important objectives achieved in teaching US history besides learning about the important events and people which have shaped that history. The first is understanding that your point of view influences how you interpret the facts of history, and that different points of view should be considered in reaching a fuller understanding. A second is improving critical thinking skills. A by-product of reaching both objectives is greater tolerance for the opinions of others.

Facts vs Opinions

Crosscurrents participants learned it is misguided to believe that history can be taught exclusively in an objective fact-based manner. Subjectivity is inherent in weaving together related facts to create a narrative that explains the facts. The goal is not to eliminate subjective individual or teacher perspectives. More than one interpretation of history can be created to help explain events, and students must learn about and critically weigh alternative explanations to achieve a more definitive understanding of history.

Failures vs Accomplishments

Teaching history requires selection of which facts are to be presented which also involves subjective choices. Facts which describe both the mistakes made in the past as well as the accomplishments are desirable. Mistakes made provide the opportunity to learn and avoid repeating them, and facts about accomplishments are a means of fostering patriotic love of country. Overall, students should have a balanced and realistic understanding of our past.

Values, expert standards, and curricula control

Precisely because teaching history in grades 6-12 has such high stakes, it is important to hire well-qualified teachers. They must navigate the challenging terrain of teaching history in ways that avoid bias. They must also balance competing goals for learning from mistakes and taking pride in accomplishments. Sometimes that content is bound to make some students and their parents uncomfortable. That is unavoidable. Nevertheless, parental and community voices, while not subject matter experts, have a right to be heard.

It is important for teacher retention to avoid making the job even more stressful than it already is. School professionals and school boards working together with expert history consultants, teachers and parents can provide guidance and oversight to ensure the purposes of teaching history are being accomplished. In a time of heightened partisanship in the US, a balanced view of American history is vital to prepare young citizens for the country they will inherit.

To join the Crosscurrents initiative and help expand civil public dialogue, contact rogbernier@gmail.com

Current members of Crosscurrents group who worked on this statement are Starr Barnum, Roger Bernier, Greg Blackburn, Haim Bober, Marnie Brophy, Bruce Bunevich, George Clare, Gerry Cyr, Raymond Dominick, Ray Haley, Mark Koenig, Laura McFadden, Michael Sacks, and Suzanne Yuskiw.