It's Critical in the Classroom - Summer Edition

Greetings! I hope you are having the most triumphant summer! Last week I discussed teachers and our summer breaks. And it’s true – we have them, which gives us a minute to reflect and regroup before the fall semester begins. But, unlike what many civilians think, we teachers do not stop working during the summer months. True story! I have spent my summer reading, attending virtual and in-person seminars, working on curriculum development, and thinking about new and innovative ways to engage my students once the school year is back up and running.

What I’ve been thinking about in terms of the first week back in class is a series of exercises reinforcing this foundational idea in the study of history: it is perfectly fine to criticize the assigned reading material. I always tell my students that anything (and everything) is open for criticism. No matter what it is – all scholarship, textbooks, op-eds, journalism, whatever. Even if the material presented seems to fit with our current moralistic proclivities, we can think about it critically. I am suspect of anyone claiming to have written something beyond the reach of criticism. 

In sort of the same way, I am suspicious of any scholarship claiming to be the “definitive” history of something. Really? How can one claim such a thing? This discipline is constantly evolving, scholars are continually discovering new evidence and asking novel questions. Our circumstances are always in flux opening new doors of inquiry. So how can anyone claim to have the final word on anything? This sort of claim is simply perplexing. I want my students to understand this and always be ready to hold any scholar, journalist, or teacher (including yours truly) accountable.         

One of my favorite things to do is assign something one day and the very next class assign something from a different perspective – often critical of the previous work. I’m not talking about partisan hit pieces “debunking” something, but valid criticism from respected and knowledgeable scholars – experts in their field – who have arrived at different conclusions. When kids discover and begin to work with this sort of discourse, it really opens their eyes to how the discipline works. 

And….if you are or know a high school student who needs to think about these sorts of things and then put them into practice, might I recommend my new book, Mastering the Past: Unlocking Excellence in High School History. I discuss this and all sorts of of other things with an emphasis on moving beyond mediocrity in the classroom. You can pick up a copy HERE.

With compliments,

Keith