A Lesson from the Past

            This weekend I went to see the movie “Lincoln.”  In my humble opinion Lincoln was very good and a movie and it should get a couple of Oscar nominations and possibly a couple of wins.

            The great part about “Lincoln” was its portrayal of the internal conflict over federalizing the abolishment of slavery, what this action meant for the present and future of a young United States and the future of an oppressed people.  “Lincoln” portrayed the emotion and fortitude of a President who had to bring together and heal a nation torn by an ideological chasm.  This portrayal was not the type of Lincoln children are taught in school.

            As I reflected over the movie while eating dinner, my thoughts drew upon my love of history and how this love was supported and flourished during my high school and college years.  I recalled the passionate teachings of my history teachers and how they made history relevant.  There was one specific teacher in high school who during the summer break traveled to various states and countries abroad making documentaries that he would show us during the school year to enhance the curriculum and to expose us to places and countries outside of our world of Santa Monica, California.  History became more than just dates and events, it was something that we could visualize and sometimes touch during the times when the teacher would bring artifacts from his trips.

            In college, my professors provided us a sense of our heritage by placing the African and African-American experience in the context of history.  We were taught the rich heritage that was left out of our high school history texts and we were taught to view history through a critical and multicultural lens that encompassed the contributions of people of color.  Our textbooks gave us the historical perspective from the conquered and the oppressed giving voice to the Native American, the African slave and women.  We also learned how people of color throughout the world continued to thrive under oppression and eventually overcame their oppressors.  Lastly, we were reminded that we are living history everyday and our directive was to make history no matter how large or small and to write the history so that our children would understand the tremendous contributions and achievements people of color have made throughout the world.

            This is how history should be taught.  History (or any subject) should not be taught in a manner that is stale or irrelevant.  History is a living and relevant subject that has the ability to teach children social justice, equality, compassion and develops the tools to become the agents of change the world needs.  Teaching history in this manner also develops the decision-making skills by showing how to consider all aspects of problem and to consider the impact on the people in the final decision.

This is how children should learn history.