It's Critical in the Classroom End of September Edition

Greetings!

So we’re about a month into school – give or take depending on your schedule – and you’ve had some time to settle in. So, now’s the perfect time to remember that the whole point of education, in my estimation anyway, is to think deeply about the material, ask questions, and interrogate ideas.

Really, in the history classroom, it’s all about the evidence. It’s easy to make an assertion, but without evidence the very best one can hope for is plausible speculation. In other words – a guess that might be right, but also might be absolutely wrong.

As someone who embraces the concept of the free exchange of ideas, I train my students to speak their mind and offer their conclusions, but at the same time I push them to provide evidence for their claims. Some things may “sound” right…but I’ll say it again, without evidence – you’ve got a pretty thin case.  

I wrote about this very topic in my book, Mastering the Past. Now, I wrote this book with high school students in mind but I will also point out that this applies to teachers. That’s right – teachers need to provide supportive evidence for their conclusions too. Students - make sure you hold your teachers accountable!! If something they tell you sounds suspect, or even if you just want to know, ask them for their evidence. They should be able to provide it…and if not, well you can call them out on the speculative position. YAY!

So anyway, short and sweet today…but an important point, nonetheless.  

With compliments,

Keith