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Re: (FWD) NCC Washington Update, Vol 6, #45, December 21, 2000



I have taught American history for a community college (and occasionally
for universities) since 1986 and the problems you address are just the
tip of the iceberg. We have a better text than that, although the
majority of students will avoid reading it if possible. They love the
history as we cover it in my classes, and they complain that in high
school it was still taught as boring memorization of names and dates.
Whether that's true or not, something distracted them from it and most
come to me as nearly blank slates in American history. Description,
analysis, what life was really like--these are approaches that make them
excited about history so that they really do learn.

I wish we could divide American history into three or four parts, but
educational system politics make it difficult. In Colorado, for example,
where I am the state cochair for history faculty from two-year colleges,
we have struggled for years to get a third part just for the much longer
History of Western Civilization, and it hasn't happened yet, although we
are close! Our system involves earmarking classes as "CORE" for transfer.
History already has 4 CORE courses when most other disciplines have
fewer. Four-year colleges only accept so much and there is no
standardization so far in how all Colorado colleges designate the
divisions of history. Most faculty might resist such standardization
because it could lead to other dictates. Also, there is a political push
here to make sure students really do complete their degree programs in 2
or 4 years, making it unpopular to add requirements.

In my home state, California, there was a statutory requirement that
every college student have U.S. history and some California history. In
that sense, California was ahead! I wish that would become a national
requirement--U.S. history at least and perhaps also the element of
state/local history. Do any of you folks know whether your states have
such requirements?

I do hope that the federal program might improve things generally about
history education. I appreciated your confirming the sometimes sad state
of public knowledge. I hope we history teachers will be involved in the
federally sponsored efforts. We see it all.

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