Gifted Issues Discussion homepage
Posted By: Dude US History - Revised - 10/05/15 04:35 PM
The blatant distortions and whitewashing of US history have reached the point where the African slave trade and the Irish potato famine had nearly the same result:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...cktracks-after-mothers-online-complaint/

Among the other distortions mentioned in the article: Thomas Jefferson wasn't that big a deal in the founding of the country, separation of church and state is an open question, and slavery was a secondary cause of the Civil War.

This highlights a need for parents to monitor their children's curriculum and be ready to step in and correct as necessary.
Posted By: JonLaw Re: US History - Revised - 10/05/15 05:01 PM
Originally Posted by Dude
The blatant distortions and whitewashing of US history have reached the point where the African slave trade and the Irish potato famine had nearly the same result:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...cktracks-after-mothers-online-complaint/

Among the other distortions mentioned in the article: Thomas Jefferson wasn't that big a deal in the founding of the country, separation of church and state is an open question, and slavery was a secondary cause of the Civil War.

This highlights a need for parents to monitor their children's curriculum and be ready to step in and correct as necessary.

Separation of church and state is, by definition, an open question.

A constitutional amendment could negate it.

The other two are historical facts.
Posted By: Nyaanyaa Re: US History - Revised - 10/05/15 05:29 PM
Where would one find accurate historical information, and how would one ascertain its accuracy?
Posted By: Val Re: US History - Revised - 10/05/15 05:43 PM
Originally Posted by Nyaanyaa
Were would one find accurate historical information, and how would one ascertain its accuracy?

There are things called "documents." They have been known to help in that regard.

Originally Posted by Texas secession declaration
...based upon the unnatural feeling of hostility to these Southern States and their beneficent and patriarchal system of African slavery, proclaiming the debasing doctrine of the equality of all men, irrespective of race or color--a doctrine at war with nature, in opposition to the experience of mankind, and in violation of the plainest revelations of the Divine Law. They demand the abolition of negro slavery throughout the confederacy, the recognition of political equality between the white and the negro races, and avow their determination to press on their crusade against us, so long as a negro slave remains in these States.

Originally Posted by Mississippi secession document
Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery-- the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization.

IMO, this is the sort of stuff that gifted kids (and adults) excel at understanding: not just the reality of the situation, but the reality that underlies attempts at hiding icky truths. Kudos to the kid in the Washinton Post story and his mom!
Posted By: Dude Re: US History - Revised - 10/05/15 05:57 PM
Originally Posted by JonLaw
Separation of church and state is, by definition, an open question.

Not really, because the Supreme Court has answered the question definitively in a number of instances. Thomas Jefferson's famous interpretation of the First Amendment has been affirmed.

The boundaries of that separation are still frequently being tested, of course, but that a separation exists is well-established.

Originally Posted by JonLaw
A constitutional amendment could negate it.

We're an amendment away from constitutional monarchy, too.
Posted By: indigo Re: US History - Revised - 10/05/15 06:16 PM
Originally Posted by Nyaanyaa
accurate historical information
National History Day (NHD) suggests conducting research via primary source documents and artifacts. The US Library of Congress (LOC) and Harvard libraries, among others, provide access to digitized collections of primary sources, including the LOC primary source sets, while museums including the Smithsonian present artifacts. The National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) is one example. There is also an International Slavery Museum (ISM) which educates about the experiences of enslaved people, sharing both current-day events and history of trans-Atlantic slave trade. While the museum houses collections of artifacts, an online interactive lesson presents "Enslaved Africans: Our Truth".

Because many primary source documents were written in cursive, being able to read cursive is necessary to "access" these primary sources. Unfortunately, cursive is no longer taught in many US public schools.

Harvard Library Research Guide defines primary sources here and secondary sources here.

Quote
how would one ascertain its accuracy
Often by comparing several independent primary sources for corroboration, a degree of confidence can be developed about the accuracy of the journals, letters, newsclippings, etc.

When reading books such as textbooks, it may be wise to check the list of reference materials. Some books which have helped kids learn about and appreciate history include DK books and Eyewitness to History.
Posted By: Dude Re: US History - Revised - 10/05/15 06:21 PM
Originally Posted by JonLaw
The other two are historical facts.

By that, I hope you mean that their opposites are historical facts. As the author of several policy documents in the rebellion era (culminating in, not beginning with, the Declaration of Independence), as a party to the drafting of the Virginia constitution, as the leader of the first opposition political party in US history, and as a president who successfully doubled the size of the country, he was kinda a big deal.

As for the Civil War, the organized governments of four secessionist states felt it necessary to draft a document expressing their reasoning, all four reviewed and approved in much the same was as the Declaration of Independence, and all stating in unequivocal terms that their separation is motivated entirely by the preservation of slavery.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/primarysources/declarationofcauses.html

The "but-but-but, states rights!" crowd should pay particular attention to the position the secession declarations take on the northern states' non-enforcement of the federal Fugitive Slave Act, as that reads as an anti-anti-Federalist screed.
Posted By: Nyaanyaa Re: US History - Revised - 10/05/15 07:33 PM
Thank you very much, indigo! I have never had the opportunity to properly study history in school, which always saddened me. It looks like the recommended way is playing detective. This'll be fun! Thank you so much!!! smile
Posted By: JonLaw Re: US History - Revised - 10/05/15 09:38 PM
Originally Posted by Dude
Originally Posted by JonLaw
Separation of church and state is, by definition, an open question.

Not really, because the Supreme Court has answered the question definitively in a number of instances. Thomas Jefferson's famous interpretation of the First Amendment has been affirmed.

The boundaries of that separation are still frequently being tested, of course, but that a separation exists is well-established.

Originally Posted by JonLaw
A constitutional amendment could negate it.

We're an amendment away from constitutional monarchy, too.

Yep.

We could probably get some traction on a constitutional monarchy amendment.
Posted By: Val Re: US History - Revised - 10/05/15 10:06 PM
Originally Posted by JonLaw
Yep.

We could probably get some traction on a constitutional monarchy amendment.

The Bush and Clinton families would probably agree. Though I wouldn't want to be around for the civil war to determine which family gets the job.
Posted By: indigo Re: US History - Revised - 10/05/15 11:50 PM
Originally Posted by article
The changes will be made in the textbook’s digital version and included in its next run.
...
On the other hand, few students use the digital version, and as her son’s textbook is brand new (copyright year 2016), another print version likely won’t come out for another ten years...,
This article's mention of the light use of the digital version of the textbook, plus previous discussion threads mentioning publishers going digital to save money and increase profits cause me to question whether the blatant error(s) in the print version of the book may have been allowed as a strategy to stimulate a drive toward greater usage of the more readily updated/corrected digital version of the textbook.
Posted By: ElizabethN Re: US History - Revised - 10/06/15 03:22 AM
Wow, indigo, that's paranoid, but it might still be correct. It would not have occurred to me.
Posted By: Nyaanyaa Re: US History - Revised - 10/06/15 05:09 AM
Seems like hindsight bias to me. I do not think they would have been able to accurately predict the public reaction. Such errors can also drive customers to the competition.
Posted By: Dude Re: US History - Revised - 10/06/15 03:45 PM
Originally Posted by Nyaanyaa
Seems like hindsight bias to me. I do not think they would have been able to accurately predict the public reaction. Such errors can also drive customers to the competition.

Quite the opposite, unfortunately. The misinformation is there on purpose in order to satisfy the demands of a massive customer: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/11/was-moses-a-founding-father/383153/

As mentioned in the article, the Texas school board selections often go way beyond Texas.

It must be remembered that parents are not the customer base here.
Posted By: indigo Re: US History - Revised - 10/06/15 03:54 PM
LOL, one person's paranoia is another person's familiarity with marketing history.

Marketing can be an artful blend of making product changes appear to be driven by consumer demand and/or driven by research. The history of marketing is one of strategies to create a need, and then fulfill it. The process of creating a need can at times seem counter-intuitive or self-effacing.

When a commercial enterprise is driving the consumer demand and/or research which creates the need which is then readily fulfilled by the commercial enterprise, some may inquire as to the true chronological order of events... what came first... the chicken or the egg... the planned change or the consumer demand/research?

In this case, we see that McGraw Hill, long thought of as a "textbook publisher" no longer self-identifies that way, but rather as MH Financial and MH Education, "A leading provider of customized and adaptive digital learning solutions." whose webpage contains recent press release and posting with titles such as "... Accelerate Digital Conversion (6/29/2015)" and "Dear Students and Faculty: Please Go Digital (8/20/2015)".

A healthy dose of skepticism is... healthy. smile

Tangently related, an example of this type of marketing may be the undisclosed research which College Board claims has driven changes to the SAT.
Posted By: indigo Re: US History - Revised - 10/06/15 03:58 PM
Originally Posted by Dude
It must be remembered that parents are not the customer base here.
Exactly. The students/families/parents are the ultimate consumers of this product, however they are not the customers... the schools are. While US public schools are funded by taxpayers, there are many steps in-between, obscuring both transparency and taxpayer control/influence over the purse strings.
Posted By: Nyaanyaa Re: US History - Revised - 10/06/15 04:23 PM
Dear Gandalf! I already knew our systems of education were a total mess, but it appears I ever overestimate the competence of the people in charge. . . .

Breathe in . . . Breathe out . . .

Well. At the very least school is ever improving, albeit slowly. We can call out such malpractices swiftly and find a global audience, and we can pressure companies to correct mistakes. Some errors have now been corrected in the digital versions; errors can more swiftly be corrected in digital publications. Those things, at the very least, are good.

ETA:
Originally Posted by dude
It must be remembered that parents are not the customer base here.
That I am actually aware of. But I naively assumed that the schools actually cared for precision and accuracy.
Posted By: Dude Re: US History - Revised - 10/06/15 06:11 PM
Originally Posted by Nyaanyaa
Some errors have now been corrected in the digital versions; errors can more swiftly be corrected in digital publications. Those things, at the very least, are good.

True. But what's not good is that a textbook can last up to 10 years, and those aren't being updated.

And the alternative isn't very good either, because switching to digital content means the schools can no longer go 10 years between purchases, but must renew a content license every year. This is why publishers are so eager to switch to online publications, because they eliminate costs (printing) and raise revenues at the same time.
Posted By: Nyaanyaa Re: US History - Revised - 10/06/15 06:26 PM
Originally Posted by Dude
Originally Posted by Nyaanyaa
Some errors have now been corrected in the digital versions; errors can more swiftly be corrected in digital publications. Those things, at the very least, are good.

True. But what's not good is that a textbook can last up to 10 years, and those aren't being updated.

And the alternative isn't very good either, because switching to digital content means the schools can no longer go 10 years between purchases, but must renew a content license every year. This is why publishers are so eager to switch to online publications, because they eliminate costs (printing) and raise revenues at the same time.
Schools have also started to use Khan Academy, which is without financial cost; the development will hopefully continue in that direction with more such opportunities. If so, publishers will be forced to adjust. There are also platforms like Avaaz that can apply immense public pressure on corporations and policy makers to drive positive change, as well as support.
© Gifted Issues Discussion Forum