Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past by Sam WineburgMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I got a hold of this book primarily because of the title. It reminded me of a comment I read along the lines that any adult who willingly closes the door behind him as he enters a roomful of 16 year olds to teach them history has got to be nuts. I’ve been willingly closing the door for the last twenty years.
Read the first chapter, then skip to the last two chapters. If I had done this I would give the book four stars. Instead I read the whole thing. The chapters in between quickly reminded me why I avoided as many education courses as possible.
Wineburg asks important questions about the understanding of history, the teaching of history, and collective memory. Fourteen years after the publication of Wineburg’s book, the teaching of history remains controversial at best, deadly boring at its worst. So my advice, make it enjoyable, develop a thick skin, don’t worry too much about making people (students/parents) mad, (it is amazing the research students will do when they want to prove you wrong,) and hope you have a supportive principal.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment