history education — Bunk History

Why Does American History Feel Like Ancient History to High School Students?

An argument for returning the recent past, and the history of modern conservatism, to classrooms.

by Lightning Jay via HNN on April 10, 2024

Student reading history textbook

A 1920s Lesson for the History Textbook Fight

The struggles of a century ago show that historians need to keep explaining their work and role to the public.

by Bruce W. Dearstyne via Made By History on April 8, 2024

A Native American man wearing a cowboy hat.

Abbot Appointee Slams Brakes On American Indian/Native Studies Course

The course was getting a first read after years of review. Then, the Texas Board of Education needed more time to assess it without “drama or controversy.”

by Josephine Lee via The Texas Observer on January 30, 2024

An open textbook.

The Right-Wing Textbooks Shaping What Americans Know

Conservative curricula are being pushed into tax-funded history classrooms.

by Adam Laats via Made By History on October 11, 2023

The History of History

How historians and educators have written and taught about different eras of the American past.

Freedpeople sit at Foller’s House in Cumberland Landing, Va., 1862.

If “Woke” Dies, Our Nation’s Truths Die with It

Ron DeSantis wants to retrofit history to conform to conservative ideology.

by Tera W. Hunter via Hammer & Hope on August 30, 2023

A U.S. flag superimposed over a crowd of faces.

Howard Zinn and the Politics of Popular History

The controversial historian drew criticism from both left and right. We need more like him today.

by Nick Witham via The Chronicle of Higher Education on July 17, 2023

Entrance to the Texas State Cemetery.

It's Time to Defend the History of All Texans

The way we learn about our collective past is under attack thanks to new leadership at the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA).

by John R. Lundberg via The Texas Observer on June 21, 2023

Joshua Houston leads a Juneteenth Parade in Huntsville, Texas, circa 1900.

Juneteenth, Jim Crow

How the fight of one Black Texas family to make freedom real offers lessons for Texas lawmakers trying to erase history from the classroom.

by Jeffrey L. Littlejohn, Zachary Montz via The Conversation on June 16, 2023

Photo of Lynne Cheney superimposed over a photo of Ron DeSantis.

Ron DeSantis and the Specter of Lynne Cheney

Conservatives have long refused to accept that America’s past is complicated.

by Steven Conn via The Chronicle of Higher Education on February 8, 2023

A crowd gathers in the Florida Capitol with “Stop the Black Attack” signs.

Conservatives Want To Control What Kids Learn, But It May Backfire

Conservatives want to make students patriotic. Instead, they exacerbate historical illiteracy.

by Adam Laats via Made By History on February 7, 2023

Man in suit with tape over his mouth.

In Florida, Teaching African American History Is Against the Law

The latest battlefield in the GOP’s “anti-woke” crusade.

by John Fea via Current (religion and democracy) on January 20, 2023

Norma and Mel Gabler, holding a textbook

50 Years Ago, Anti-Woke Crusaders Came for My Grandfather

Christopher Rufo's polemical attacks against Critical Race Theory are not a new phenomenon. Public schools have long been a battlefield for ideological warfare.

by Max Jacobs via HNN on January 15, 2023

Painting of a city surrendering to Napoleon.

Uses & Abuses of Military History

On the value of the discipline and its applications.

by Victor Davis Hanson via The New Criterion on December 23, 2022

East Asian print of musicians entertaining elites.

A Means to an End

The intertwined history of education, history, and patriotism in the United States.

by Michael D. Hattem via Lapham’s Quarterly on December 23, 2022

Black-and-white photograph of black students sitting in a classroom at the Tuskegee Institute.

The Complicity of the Textbooks

A new book traces how the writing of American history, from Reconstruction on, has falsified and illuminated our racial past.

by Eric Foner via New York Review of Books on September 5, 2022

Drawing of fighting at the Alamo with large portions of the image blacked out and hidden.

What The 1836 Project Leaves Out in Its Version of Texas History

The legislature established a committee last year to “promote patriotic education.” Drafts of one of its pamphlets reveal an effort to sanitize history.

by Michael Phillips, Leah LaGrone via Texas Monthly on August 25, 2022

Illustration of a classroom by Joan Yang.

Why Teachers Are Afraid to Teach History

The attacks on CRT have terrified our educators. But the public school system has always made it hard to teach controversial subjects.

by Rachel Cohen via The New Republic on March 28, 2022

Class photo, Geyer, Ohio, 1915

Lessons from the History Textbook Wars of the 1920s

A century ago, pundits, special interests, and politicians weighed in on what should and shouldn't be taught in history and social studies courses.

by Bruce W. Dearstyne via HNN on February 20, 2022

Picture of a map in an old history textbook.

Why Wasn't This in My Textbook?

In both versions of this question, the assumption is that there’s a pure history out there somewhere, perhaps with answers in the appendix.

by Adam R. Shapiro via Contingent on February 13, 2022

Eighth graders create a group map of the United State.

What Happens to Middle School Kids When You Teach Them About Slavery? Here’s a Vivid Example.

The topic is emotional. That’s not a bad thing.

by Mary Niall Mitchell, Kate Shuster via Slate on February 10, 2022

Cracked wall.

The Danger of a Single Origin Story

The 1619 Project and contested foundings.

by Emily Sclafani via Perspectives on History on February 9, 2022

Image of a social studies book coming to visual life with edits to the content.

Revising America's Racist Past

How the 'critical race theory' debate is crashing headlong into efforts to update social studies standards.

by Stephen Sawchuk via Education Week on January 18, 2022

Screen shot from Oregon Trail gameplay showing Conestoga wagons and people on a western-style main street. Text reads: "Now loading the wagon..."

Let Us Now Enjoy the Incredibly Pure Tale of the Teacher Who Invented The Oregon Trail

He didn’t make a penny.

by Robert Whitaker via Slate on November 17, 2021

Women holding poster at a rally against critical race theory education

Closer Together

Across party lines, Americans actually agree on teaching “divisive concepts.”

by Pete Burkholder via Slate on October 15, 2021

A board game with different continents of the world and markers.

Playing with the Past: Teaching Slavery with Board Games

Board games invite discussions of counterfactuality and contingency, resisting the teleology and determinism that are so common to looking backward in time.

by Patrick Rael via Perspectives on History on October 13, 2021

Anti-evolution books for sale in Dayton, Tenn.

Why the Culture Wars in Schools Are Worse Than Ever Before

The history of education battles — from fights over evolution to critical race theory — shows why the country’s divisions are growing sharper.

by Jonathan Zimmerman via Politico Magazine on September 19, 2021

Picture of soldiers from WWI.

There Is More War in the Classroom Than You Think

Hitchcock and Herwig discuss their findings on the teaching of war in higher education.

by William I. Hitchcock, Meghan Herwig via War on the Rocks on September 7, 2021

Sign reading "Whatever you're not changing you are choosing"

"The Culture Wars— They’re Back!"

Divisive concepts, critical race theory, and more in 2021.

by Laura Ansley via Perspectives on History on August 11, 2021

Women protesting desegregation

Students Need To Learn About The Haters and The Helpers of Our History

We do our children no favors if we only feed them a steady diet of fairy tales that sidestep life’s complexities.

by Michele Norris via Washington Post on July 23, 2021

Sons of the Republic of Texas at Alamo monument

Every American Needs to Take a History of Mexico Class

Learning the history of Mexico can help Americans better understand themselves.

by Gabriela Soto Laveaga via Made By History on July 22, 2021

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