What do you think students in the United States should learn about their country’s history?
How schools teach U.S. history has been the subject of fierce debate in recent years. What do you think students in the United States should learn about their country’s history? Should social studies education focus on the positive accomplishments and contributions the country has made to the world? Or should it reveal the uglier sides of the country’s history, such as persistent racism and economic inequality? In other words, what do you think is the purpose of teaching U.S. history in schools? Is it to foster patriotism? To prepare active and informed citizens? To create change makers? Or something else?
In the interactive “What’s Actually Being Taught in History Class,” The Times talked to social studies teachers about what they teach and why. The video below includes some of their responses.
What’s Actually Being Taught in History Class
We spoke to seven social studies teachers about how they run their classrooms, what they teach and why.CreditCredit...Noah Throop/The New York Times
The interactive also includes teachers’ perspectives on how the political climate has changed their classrooms: I was asked by an administrator to not teach political parties.
CATHERINE REIDENBACH, NORFOLK, VA.
The governor wants you to email if you feel that the teacher is doing a bad job. And it was almost like, ‘What?’
ALISHA SANDERS, GETTYSBURG, PA. I do oftentimes feel that I have to teach in certain ways to appeal to everyone’s sensitivities.
MICHAEL HJORT, ROUND ROCK, TEXAS
When you’re going to look at these pieces of legislation, you can find good things and bad things.
Students, explore the entire interactive, including the video interviews, then tell us:
What do you think should be the purpose of teaching U.S. history in schools? Did reading the interactive and hearing the teachers’ views change your thinking?
The text states that since last year, 17 states have imposed laws or rules to limit how race and discrimination can be taught in public school classrooms. How do you feel about that? How have these laws and debates affected your schools, teachers and classrooms?
Ms. Sanders says that “there’s a large misunderstanding of what teachers are actually doing in the classroom.” Do you agree? What do you make of fears about the “indoctrination” or “brainwashing” of students?
Ms. Nakatsuka says, “It’s the job of a history teacher to tell the full, complex story of U.S. history.” What does that mean to you? Do you think you have learned the “full, complex story of U.S. history”? If not, what do you think has been missing?
A law passed in Texas last year said that slavery and racism should be framed as deviations from the country’s founding principles. Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, who signed the law to ban the teaching of “critical race theory” in the state’s public schools, said “they’re trying to rewrite history and redesign the future of the United States” and “undermining the very values and core of what America stands for.” How persuasive is his argument? Are teachers and educators rewriting history, or is the law rewriting history?
Mr. Hjort says that the new Texas law might make “teachers that have felt like their job was to be more activists” aware that they went “too far.” Do you agree? Are laws like the one in Texas good for the teaching and learning of American history? Or will they have a harmful and chilling effect on teachers and classrooms?
Tell us about your experiences learning history in and out of school. Do you like history? Is it one of your favorite subjects? Why or why not? Do you think your teachers have done a good job of teaching you history over the years? Have any of your teachers made the past come alive? How could teachers make history more engaging and meaningful to you? Schools have been caught up in spirited debates over what students should — and should not — learn about the country’s history.
In the interactive “What’s Actually Being Taught in History Class,” The Times talked to social studies teachers about what they teach and why. The video below includes some of their responses.
What’s Actually Being Taught in History Class
We spoke to seven social studies teachers about how they run their classrooms, what they teach and why.CreditCredit...Noah Throop/The New York Times
The interactive also includes teachers’ perspectives on how the political climate has changed their classrooms: I was asked by an administrator to not teach political parties.
CATHERINE REIDENBACH, NORFOLK, VA.
The governor wants you to email if you feel that the teacher is doing a bad job. And it was almost like, ‘What?’
ALISHA SANDERS, GETTYSBURG, PA. I do oftentimes feel that I have to teach in certain ways to appeal to everyone’s sensitivities.
MICHAEL HJORT, ROUND ROCK, TEXAS
When you’re going to look at these pieces of legislation, you can find good things and bad things.
Students, explore the entire interactive, including the video interviews, then tell us:
What do you think should be the purpose of teaching U.S. history in schools? Did reading the interactive and hearing the teachers’ views change your thinking?
The text states that since last year, 17 states have imposed laws or rules to limit how race and discrimination can be taught in public school classrooms. How do you feel about that? How have these laws and debates affected your schools, teachers and classrooms?
Ms. Sanders says that “there’s a large misunderstanding of what teachers are actually doing in the classroom.” Do you agree? What do you make of fears about the “indoctrination” or “brainwashing” of students?
Ms. Nakatsuka says, “It’s the job of a history teacher to tell the full, complex story of U.S. history.” What does that mean to you? Do you think you have learned the “full, complex story of U.S. history”? If not, what do you think has been missing?
A law passed in Texas last year said that slavery and racism should be framed as deviations from the country’s founding principles. Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, who signed the law to ban the teaching of “critical race theory” in the state’s public schools, said “they’re trying to rewrite history and redesign the future of the United States” and “undermining the very values and core of what America stands for.” How persuasive is his argument? Are teachers and educators rewriting history, or is the law rewriting history?
Mr. Hjort says that the new Texas law might make “teachers that have felt like their job was to be more activists” aware that they went “too far.” Do you agree? Are laws like the one in Texas good for the teaching and learning of American history? Or will they have a harmful and chilling effect on teachers and classrooms?
Tell us about your experiences learning history in and out of school. Do you like history? Is it one of your favorite subjects? Why or why not? Do you think your teachers have done a good job of teaching you history over the years? Have any of your teachers made the past come alive? How could teachers make history more engaging and meaningful to you? Schools have been caught up in spirited debates over what students should — and should not — learn about the country’s history.
