"Don't Know Much About History": How the Teaching of American History Endangers Our Democracy

Facilitators: Kent Brown, kent.c.brown@comcast.net, 970-672-8401 and Fred Schrekinger, fredschrek@earthlink.com, 970-223-8957 Dates: Fridays, April5 — May 31, 2024 Time: 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Text: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, by James W. Loewen. Published by The New Press, 2018. Presentations: Short presentations (20 minutes) by class members will be strongly encouraged. Location: Senior Center, Foxtail 2 Class Limit 20

Most Americans (83%) never take a U.S. history class beyond high school!

From Christopher Columbus to Viet Nam, the U.S. history books often used in high schools have left students with an inaccurate, incomplete or false understanding of our past. This class will explore some of these misunderstandings and misconceptions ( the Lies My Teacher Told Me) and search for the truth.

We are also living in an era of profound misinformation, disinformation about the United States and its history. It is a time of widespread "alternative facts" (lies) and "fake news" (news we don't like). Would a better educated public make better political decisions?

Many forms of communication now exist which are not fact based, but are intentionally designed to mislead, confuse and anger people. This lack of honest and accurate information can lead people to make potentially dangerous decisions.

Democracy requires a well-educated populace with a strong knowledge of its history. A poorly educated populace endangers our democracy. Uninformed citizens are vulnerable to political extremism, ultranationalism and populist appeals which can undermine, distort and even destroy democracy.