Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Overwhelmed
'Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.'
I feel like this is a mantra I've heard my entire life. And I can't dispute the wisdom imparted within. Which is a big part of the reason I am feeling a bit bowled over by one of the books I'm in the middle of right now: "Lies My Teacher Told Me", by James W. Loewen.
Yes, I already mentioned this book at least once, but as I go thru it, I have to fight the urge to pull out quote after quote. Things that I never learned in any history class (tho granted, I was not the most involved pupil)(and I didn't take any history beyond what was required in high school) are popping out as being important lessons to learn from, here in these times in which we are repeating previous errors.
Details are too numerous for me to supply on here, but suffice it to say, it's sad that our (the US of A) history has been glossed over in textbooks to not only enable rote memorization of dates and 'facts', but also to make our predecessors look virtually faultless, our conquests justified or at least not morally wrong and also to eliminate debates and deeper discussions.
Great. Another venue of information/learning that I am more compelled to wander down. History classes will have to wait a bit, I'm afraid!
Check out the book. Especially if you are in high school. You'll probably drive your teachers nuts, but being inquisitive isn't a bad thing (or at least it shouldn't be...)
I feel like this is a mantra I've heard my entire life. And I can't dispute the wisdom imparted within. Which is a big part of the reason I am feeling a bit bowled over by one of the books I'm in the middle of right now: "Lies My Teacher Told Me", by James W. Loewen.
Yes, I already mentioned this book at least once, but as I go thru it, I have to fight the urge to pull out quote after quote. Things that I never learned in any history class (tho granted, I was not the most involved pupil)(and I didn't take any history beyond what was required in high school) are popping out as being important lessons to learn from, here in these times in which we are repeating previous errors.
Details are too numerous for me to supply on here, but suffice it to say, it's sad that our (the US of A) history has been glossed over in textbooks to not only enable rote memorization of dates and 'facts', but also to make our predecessors look virtually faultless, our conquests justified or at least not morally wrong and also to eliminate debates and deeper discussions.
Great. Another venue of information/learning that I am more compelled to wander down. History classes will have to wait a bit, I'm afraid!
Check out the book. Especially if you are in high school. You'll probably drive your teachers nuts, but being inquisitive isn't a bad thing (or at least it shouldn't be...)
Comments:
Post a Comment
