Today, my family was watching American Idol, and as I was doing work on the computer, I couldn't help but notice what was going on in the program. At one point, though I'm not entirely sure why, American Idol did a quick interpretation of American History in about two minutes. Watching this segment made me consider another possibility of areas in which people are exposed to sugar-coated histories. It seems as though some of the problem lies within popular culture and what students are exposed to at home. For an American who has little interest in history and finds it irrelevant, the segment on T.V. could be all that they care to really understand about the history of our nation.
Another example that I can think of is a show that I used to watch on PBS called "Liberty Kids." Essentially, the show would simplify events from the Revolutionary period into short, half-hour segments. The show, of course, was extremely nationalistic, and I remember having to push some of the things I "learned" from watching the show to the back of my mind in order to comprehend what really went on during that time period.
Essentially, I found it really interesting to see how a person's interpretation of history can be skewed, not just by what they might not be taught in the lower grades, but by what they might be watching at home. Thoughts?
-Tara
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I definitely agree that both pop culture and what you watch at home affects both what you know and what you enjoy. Tara enjoys history now, probably partially because she was exposed to the concepts in an entertaining manner at such a young age. I do not enjoy history, but I did not watch "Liberty Kids." I grew up watching Animal Planet and mind-numbing cartoons. Granted, some aspects of history might have been represented in parody form in some cartoons, but I most likely didn't know that I was being educated.
ReplyDelete-Alexa
Did anybody read those Dear America books or the boy-version of those? They were historical fiction targeting a younger age group. They were meant to be entertaining, but still managed to give a pretty good background to history. It is a little simplified, given the age group, but I don't think they gave a completely sugarcoated history. I remember one in particular about WWII was pretty detailed about censorship in letters, the telegram when the pilot father was injured, and the domestic war effort, and had additional information at the back of the book. Kids just have to look for the history education if they're interested. But many kids aren't, and will only get the abridged, sometimes biased view from school.
ReplyDelete-- tori
One of the things I remember about my elementary school history education was putting on a play about the American Revolution in third grade. (I think Colin may actually have been George Washington?, or maybe King George?) Anyways, the play was entirely pro-America in just about every way I remember, from the depiction of the "heros" at the Boston Tea Party to the "Cherry Tree Chop" song about how George Washington could never tell a lie.
ReplyDeleteLooking back, I realize now that the play may not have been the most fair way to depict history. However, I was just a little kid at the time, so I wonder if I would've even been able to the more complex view of history that I learned last year in AP US. My question for you guys is whether it is ok to simplify/sugarcoat history for the sake of making it easier for little kids to learn? Is it morally justifiable? And finally, where is the line drawn between being just a little bit pro-American and being rabid with nationalistic fervor?
-Bryce C.
While it's hard to know for sure, I think that simplification of history for small children is justifiable, as long as it is followed up by a more in depth look at the topics later in those children's educational careers. In the case of the Baker play, I don't believe that it took nationalism too far (though it was very pro-America). On the contrary, it helped me remember basic aspects of American history well into middle school. While activities, like the play, should certainly not be considered as an extremely important part of a student's educational process, I do believe that they can lay a good foundation (as long as they are purely factual-unlike the two programs I mentioned in my original post).
ReplyDelete-Tara