To be honest with everyone I was really nervous about the whole discussion thing. I am not one to really share my opinions with other people and really just join in big group conversations for all that matter. However, I have to admit that even though I did not talk that much I thought that the discussion went very well. I got to hear other people's opinions about the topic of the history books and listen to new ideas that I had not thought of before. I enjoyed listening to other ideas because it got me thinking about the subject more and I felt that it also kept everyone involved with the discussion.
To answer some of the questions in the prompt I feel that it would be very hard and require a lot of work on many people's part to create and unbiased textbook. There would have to be much editing by many people all with different viewpoints to create something that they could all agree on. However, I believe that in order to do something like this it would take a very long time because it would probable take a while to have everyone agree on something. This is why I believe that historians should be the ones who create the history books. They would be the most knowledgeable about what is important to teach students.
I also remember from our discussion the idea of constantly learning from the past. If we all know our history and can learn from previous mistakes that were made we can possibly save ourselves from making that same mistake again. This concept however, was not the case in 1984. Their history was constantly being rewritten to make it seem that the party was always right so the people never really learned about the mistakes that were made and could possibly be prevented again because they never knew their real history.
Well, for starters, you rocked the discussion! You seemed very comfortable speaking (ie no trembling, redness, or other undesireable nervous indicaters). So, don't worry about that! In regards to your post, I agree that historians should be in charge of history textbooks, but I also feel that average students should also have a say in what they learn about. By this I do not mean if they get to skip the Civil War, etc., but maybe what historical events get the most focus. This might alleviate arguments ovr what race's history dominated the books, as a multicultural pool of people would help decide. However, even these "selected" events would, like the entirety of the textbook, have to be told objectively, or the whole point of tellng history "fairly" would be lost. Furthermore, I agree again with your comparison of 1984 (pardon me but I can't seem to put this in italics) and how changing history can lead to more "mistakes." This is yet another reaason that history should not be tampered with, and told by educated historians (with input from students, etc.) :)
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job speaking with in the group. I can relate with you on how you were a little afraid of the session, its hard to speak when there is a group full of people all wanting to share their own opinions. From reading your blog I thought you brought up a great point about having the historians right the history. It never occurred to me to have someone who was involved with “history” and what took place during that time to write what happened. That way every one else will be able to get a first hand experience and that will also lower the likeliness of mistakes or opinions. I also thought your point about learning from the past and relating that into 1984 was brilliant. It never occurred to me that since the government was covering the past, the people weren’t able to learn from the past mistakes. I think in many ways this is the reason they got in such a predicament. They weren’t aware of the true nature of democracy as well as capitalism, and their for didn’t know what they were missing out on. They believed that things were in much better condition compared to the past. Overall I loved reading your blog, as well as hearing you begin the discussion in class.
ReplyDeleteShannon I feel you! It's pretty hard to speak up in a group with that much intelligence. But you did great! :) The conversation also got me thinking in different ways and it really opened my eyes to various viewpoints. Your post even just opened my eyes to something new and interesting. I never really thought about the idea of having the historians write the history books. In my opinion, this would eliminate most of the chaos that would be taking place in the process of creating an unbiased textbook. I also think that no matter how hard the people would try to come to an agreement, there would somehow be some opinion in it. But having the historians write it would be better because it would contain straight facts about what happened. That way there is no question. So good job on that girl! I also agree with your connection to 1984. You are absolutely right. That advantage that America has of being able to learn from our mistakes is not present in Oceania. The government has told them that their past was horrible compared to the ways things are now; however, they have no idea what went on.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Shannon!