4Real Forums: Interview with David McCullough

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Across Time and Place
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Topic: Interview with David McCullough

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JennGM
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Posted: June 18 2011 at 9:42am \| IP Logged

There’s a wonderful Opinion Piece in the WSJ today. It’s an interview with David McCullough by Brian Bolduc.

Don't Know Much About History

I don’t agree with his points about teachers and their salaries, but otherwise..

In particular, his points I highlighted below I heartily agree. History needs to be well-written! Many of his views echo Miss Mason’s, don’t you think?

Quote:

Another problem is method. "History is often taught in categories—women's history, African American history, environmental history—so that many of the students have no sense of chronology. They have no idea what followed what."
What's more, many textbooks have become "so politically correct as to be comic. Very minor characters that are currently fashionable are given considerable space, whereas people of major consequence farther back"—such as, say, Thomas Edison—"are given very little space or none at all."
Mr. McCullough's eyebrows leap at his final point: "And they're so badly written. They're boring! Historians are never required to write for people other than historians." Yet he also adds quickly, "Most of them are doing excellent work. I draw on their excellent work. I admire some of them more than anybody I know. But, by and large, they haven't learned to write very well."

Quote:

It's not their fault our children are ignorant, he says animatedly. "It's our fault," he says, pointing to his chest. "I mean the parents and grandparents of the oncoming generation. We have to talk about history, talk about the books we love, the biographies and histories." He continues, "We should all take our children to historic places. Go to Gettysburg. Go to the Capitol."
And teach history, he says—while tapping three fingers on the table between us—with "the lab technique." In other words, "give the student a problem to work on."
"If I were teaching a class," he says, "I would tell my students, 'I want you to do a documentary on the building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. Or I want to you to interview Farmer Jones or former sergeant Fred or whatever." He adds, "I have been feeling increasingly that history ought to be understood and taught to be considerably more than just politics and the military."

Quote:

"We're too concentrated on having our children learn the answers," he summarizes. "I would teach them how to ask questions—because that's how you learn."

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guitarnan
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Posted: June 18 2011 at 9:53am \| IP Logged

I agree, Jenn - and wouldn't any classroom be enhanced by a timeline on which students could place events, pictures, etc? (The National Museum of the Marine Corps has an amazing timeline with tiny exhibits built into it - excellent!)

David McCullough is one of my favorite authors. It heartens me to read that he is willing to use his bully pulpit (now there's an historical reference!) to advocate for teaching history properly to grade school students.

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kristinannie
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Posted: June 18 2011 at 1:18pm \| IP Logged

Thanks for sharing this! It reminds me that I have two of his books waiting for me on my bookshelf to read!

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