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Allister Bailey

Professor Cynthia Mann

Composition I

2 December 2024

The Story Public Schools Always Get Wrong

History classes have always been a debate in American public schools for ages. A

major question was whether history is being taught right. US History is a required class by all

high schools, yet it fails to teach the correct history of the United States. Over the past twelve

years of participating in public schools, I can safely say that the history taught to American

students in public schools is not accurate, whitewashed, and consistently avoids important topics

and schools should teach using unbiased and accurate textbooks. The history classes that I took

disregarded a large portion of Native and African American history, despite Natives and African

Americans having a large impact on the foundation of the United States. To learn the portion, I

was missing out on in history class, I had to take a separate college course to grasp the full

history of the United States. Concerns have been raised over the past few years by educators

around the United States due to the lack of knowledge from students on the history. Along with

this, the restrictions and new laws taking effect are further restricting access into what some

people may call, “the real American history”. Not only are educators frustrated, but journalists

have been taking note of the decline in learning for decades.

In my college African American studies class, I was taught the “Master Narrative”, in

which this narrative takes the lighthearted route in history, which is almost the direct opposite of

the truth. The notion that the master narrative brings is that the US was built widely on

democracy, liberty, and hard work, despite the consistent struggles of slavery and inequality. The
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master narrative is the one narrative people will see the most, as most of the educator’s criteria

follow this narrative in public schools. Along with this, the history textbooks given in class will

most likely follow this narrative. The narrative is highly biased and whitewashed, yet the

narrative remains to be the most popular take. The narrative should be discontinued, as it

blatantly misinforms students.

Native Americans had a large impact on history of the United States, yet almost no

history class talks about them for an extended period. Most of the United States talk about forced

relocation, the removal of Native Americans of their homeland after the Indian Removal Act of

1830, yet nearly none of them talk about the societal, military, or modern contributions of Native

Americans (Journell 23-24). Native American history in class is usually talked about negatively,

yet they did so much good in the history of the United States. These consistent negative

discussions on Native Americans may cause students of Native descent to question their self-

worth (Journell 25). As most people know, roughly 54 million Natives were in America before

Columbus (Denevan), yet Columbus was labeled as the person who discovered America. These

biased and racially discriminatory readings have not yet disappeared and continue to persist

throughout school. A book titled The Racial Contract perfectly summarizes the absurdity of

modern history textbooks, “Standard textbooks and courses have for the most part been written

and designed by whites, who take their racial privilege so much for granted that they do not even

see it as political, as a form of domination” (Mills 1-2).

In decades worth of textbooks, African Americans and Native Americans have been seen

in textbooks as nothing but inferior. Especially in the 1950’s and 1960’s during the civil rights

era, “The settlers’ brutal treatment of Native Americans was minimized. African Americans

seemed to appear in history textbooks only as slaves, and the horrors of the transatlantic slave
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trade were papered over” (Brunner 9). Granted, since the 1960s, the coverage of slavery and

racism has increased. Yet even today, slavery is still being downplayed as more of a regional

issue than a national issue (American University School of Education). History is inherently

racist and biased towards other races. Since the 1960s, modern history books have left out large

issues that are crucial to United States history due to these biases. For years, modern textbooks

have been advancing and bringing in more information, yet we now seem to be falling backward.

Overall, history textbooks take the master narratives and implement their bias to turn these

textbooks into a false narrative instead of what truly happened. Authors that write history

textbooks will often leave out important or sometimes controversial details of an important

figures life to conform with the master narrative (Aldridge). The school boards, administrators

and politicians constitute this notion by trying to ban altering narratives to keep the master

narrative.

With the initial introduction of the 1619 Project, a book written by Nikole Hannah-Jones,

the project planned to completely rewrite the history people were taught since they were in

elementary school. The book prioritized incorporating slavery and the influence African

Americans have had in the United States. However, with this new initiative, some politicians

were quick to try and ban the project, along with several other books. Florida was the first state

to ban the book under their “Individual Freedom Act” otherwise known as the “Stop WOKE

Act”. The act’s incentive restricts learning critical race theory, along with limiting other concepts

relating to race. Critical race theory is the study of relationships in race and ethnicity in society,

along with diving into the laws and racial biases within society (Burton). Since 2021, multiple

states have been trying to ban the project for its supposed false and misleading narrative.

Unfortunately, the 1619 Project was not the only book to be prohibited in schools.
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It has become a trend for school administrators to ban books in schools that even have a

slight reference to racism or discrimination. Since 2022, 30% of the banned books discuss race

or racism, and more than 30 states have banned books by black authors (Meehan). Banning these

books causes important perspectives on the history of the United States to be completely ignored.

Along with this, history classes will have less to teach and will include more restrictions on what

they can and can’t use in class. The idea that students shouldn’t be able to learn about slavery or

critical race theory is disappointing. Educators around the United States are starting to take

notice of this disappointment, and teachers are becoming consistently more frustrated with the

restrictions they are being given by the government (Stevens)

Many educators have become frustrated with not being able to teach more than they are

given, as it restricts their abilities as teachers. Along with this, public schools have labeled

history classes as “low priority” (Friedlander) no changes are being made. 97% of teachers

polled thought it’s important to learn about slavery, yet only 58% are dissatisfied with what the

history textbooks are teaching (Shuster). Many educators express that multiple subjects have

been under scrutiny. However, history has been under an unusual amount for the past few years

(Friedlander). Educators today think that teaching history now is much different than what it was

years ago. They believe that it’s under more pressure, with more restrictions and lacking

information (Gross).

Some teachers believe that history textbooks should be teaching just the “real truth,” but

the question of “Whose truth,” comes into play. For years, multiple authors have had differing

perspectives on history. In textbooks, these biases are shown quite often. Some authors don’t

include certain details, so other writers may incorporate those details. Over the years, educators

are starting to take notice of this, causing the frustration they are filled with. Teachers have
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become stressed when talking about history due to the amount of pressure they feel they are

getting (Pasette). It doesn’t help that after President Donald Trump, it has been increasingly hard

to teach accurate history. When he learned of the 1619 project, he in turn created the 1776

Commission to try and design a more patriotic truth, creating a better education for Americans,

and to remind Americans of the principles America was built on. This stunt by the former

President further pushes the idea the teachers have had: History in schools is nothing but a

political stunt (Gross)

With this being said, some people believe that history may be too much for students to

handle. The beginning of the United States was a dark period time, with slavery, executions, and

more unsettling events. Some teachers believe that some topics may not be age-appropriate for

students in school. While I agree that some subjects may be too unnerving for a certain age, it’s

also important to teach history at the right time. During high school, students mature a lot

compared to middle school. High School is the perfect time to start educating more about history

that was left out due to the maturity level that students now have. In Germany, students learn

about the holocaust (PBS), so there is no reason why we should be leaving out slavery. Slavery is

a hard topic, but it’s crucial to learn about. Slavery is a large part of American history and is a

large part of how the United States is how it is today. Slavery was the backbone of the economy,

with slaves producing mass amounts of products, houses, and more through excruciating labor

(Rhode). Along with this, failing to notice our flaws teaches students in public schools that the

United States was always perfect when it was not.

Overall, students should learn unbiased and accurate history in public schools. For

decades, history textbooks have been racially biased, and there are minimal changes present in

modern textbooks. Our school administrators, school board, and politicians are trying
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consistently to hide the history of the United States to protect students is more about protecting

the United States ideals than teaching accurate history. Educators around the United States are

consistently frustrated with the restrictions from their government or school board, which

contribute to the overall issue. Even though some people may find history difficult, all countries

have gone through rough spots at least once in their history. As a nation, we need to petition and

protest these outlandish laws that block the accessibility of factual history and important ideas of

race. If possible, it’s beyond important to let state representatives and school boards know one’s

thoughts on these laws. Rough spots in history contribute to what makes the country what it is

today, and it’s important to learn about them. If the United States keeps contributing to teaching

inaccurate history, we will have students uneducated in important topics. Therefore, the United

States needs to acknowledge this issue and change. Without it, as a nation, we will be doomed to

be educated in false and misinterpreted history, leading to a distorted history of the United States

impacting our society, politics and culture.

Works Cited

Aldridge, Derrick. “Civil Rights Teaching.” Civil Rights Teaching, 26 June 2023,

www.civilrightsteaching.org/resource/master-narratives-mlk.

American University School of Education. “The Problem of Bias in US History

Textbooks and Curriculum.” Soeonline.american.edu, 24 May 2021,

soeonline.american.edu/blog/bias-in-history-textbooks/. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.

Brunner, Tyler. Censorship in History Textbooks: How Knowledge of the Past Is Being

Constructed in Schools. 2013.

Burton, Linda M., et al. “Critical Race Theories, Colorism, and the Decade’s Research on

Families of Color.” Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 72, no. 3, June 2010, pp. 440–459,

www.jstor.org/stable/40732490. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

Denevan, William, and George Lovell. Native Population of the Americas in 1492.

Madison University Of Wisconsin Press [Ann Arbor, Michigan] [Proquest, 2014,

uwpress.wisc.edu/books/0289.htm.

Friedlander, Jessica. “Teaching American History Is Harder than It Used to Be.” Duke, 23

Aug. 2021, alumni.duke.edu/magazine/articles/teaching-american-history-harder-it-used-be.

Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

Gross, Terry. “From Slavery to Socialism, New Legislation Restricts What Teachers Can

Discuss.” NPR, 3 Feb. 2022, www.npr.org/2022/02/03/1077878538/legislation-restricts-what-

teachers-can-discuss. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

Journell, Wayne. “An Incomplete History: Representation of American Indians in State

Social Studies Standards.” Journal of American Indian Education, vol. 48, no. 2, 2009, pp. 18–

32, www.jstor.org/stable/24398743. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

Meehan, Kasey, and Jonathan Friedman. “Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge

Book Suppression in Schools.” PEN America, PEN America, 20 Apr. 2023,

pen.org/report/banned-in-the-usa-state-laws-supercharge-book-suppression-in-schools/.

Mills, Charles W. The Racial Contract. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 11 Sept.

1997.

Pasette, Julia. “What’s Really Being Taught in U.S. History Classes.” Whiteboard

Advisors, 30 Sept. 2024, whiteboardadvisors.com/whats-really-being-taught-in-us-history-

classes. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.

PBS. “Germans, Jews & History - Holocaust Education in Germany - an Interview | a

Jew among the Germans | FRONTLINE | PBS.” Pbs.org, 2014,

www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/germans/germans/education.html. Accessed 17 Nov.

2024

Rhode, Paul W. “What Fraction of Antebellum US National Product Did the Enslaved

Produce?” Explorations in Economic History, vol. 91, 22 Sept. 2023, p. 101552,

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014498323000463#sec0002,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2023.101552.

Shuster, Kate. “Teaching Hard History.” Southern Poverty Law Center, 31 Jan. 2018,

www.splcenter.org/20180131/teaching-hard-history. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.

Stevens, Kaylene. “POV: New Laws Threaten Educators Who Teach History.” Boston

University, 30 Oct. 2023, www.bu.edu/articles/2023/pov-new-laws-threaten-educators-who-

teach-history/. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.