Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, January 23, 2020

History Wars: How Politics Shape Textbooks – Have You Heard

History Wars: How Politics Shape Textbooks – Have You Heard

History Wars: How Politics Shape Textbooks

What are students learning about American history in these hyper-polarized times? That’s what New York Times reporter Dana Goldstein wanted to know. And so she set off on an epic reading adventure: 43 middle and high school American history textbooks, 4,800 in all. Have You Heard talks to Dana about how our divided nation shows up on the pages of these books on subjects such as immigration, the economy and suburbanization. Also, Jack revisits the great debate in the 1990’s over history standards. Full transcript of the episode is available here.
And in this episode’s segment of In the Weeds, available to our Patreon subscribers, Jack and Jennifer discuss the emergence of the National Parents Union, a new group with an old cause and some powerful friends. Listen in by becoming a patron!



History Wars: How Politics Shape Textbooks – Have You Heard