The Price To Be Paid
Dear Diane,
Back to choice vs. a standard one-size-fits-all curriculum. (For a fuller explanation of my views, plus responses to them, read Will Standards Save Public Education?)
The idea of an official history of the United States appalls me. Historical interpretation is the one and almost only reason to require studying history. It's true that I, for example, devour stories of the 15th and 16th century English royalty. But for novelistic reasons! I might also learn things of importance, on the side. I might also mis-learn.
But historical study is another matter. There is no way to just tell the facts, ma'am. And the best way to remember, to turn the past into a historical narrative, is filled with danger. (While there are ways to lie that one can get caught doing, the "truth" is harder to defend.) What isn't included deserves consideration as well as what
