Lies My Teacher Told Me

I recently read James W. Loewen’s Lies My Teacher Told Me for the second time. The book highlights the historical inaccuracies that many American history textbooks include and explains why they are included in textbooks even though they are at best misleading and at worst, factually incorrect. Prior to reading the book, I knew that many textbooks related a simplistic view of American history, but I was unprepared for the depth and breadth of the misconceptions. After my second reading I still was struck by the fallacies that many textbooks propagate, but even more so by Loewen’s explanation for why many historical inaccuracies are included in American history textbooks.

Loewen argues that large textbook publishers write books that will be accepted by state ratings boards and other public evaluating bodies. Some of these evaluating bodies have slightly skewed conceptions of American history to say the least. Many textbooks in the South called the Civil War “the War between the States” or “the War for Southern Independence.” Still other states have passed laws preventing textbooks from including anything but a lily-white version of American history. I find it hard to believe that the groups responsible for choosing the text that thousands of children will use would consciously decide to limit the information that they are given, especially when that version of history might disenfranchise a significant portion of our students.

As a history teacher I have to decide: toe the line and teach the standardized version of American history, or find new texts that examine the “dark areas” of American history. It is a lot more work to go and find new and independent texts, but teaching a whitewashed version of American history is not an option because it is not American history. It would be more similar to teaching “the American Dream” where nothing bad ever happened, no one ever made the wrong decision. Teaching in Baltimore City makes it all the more crucial to introduce our students to a wider version of American history. Many of our students arrive at school already underserved and marginalized; it would be a crime to restrict the information they are provided with in the classroom.