persuasive essay

History is the One Subject in Which the More People Learn the Dumber they Get

Martin Luther King Jr. was a plagiarizer and a womanizer. Christopher Columbus was a rapist. Helen Keller was a communist. These statements strike a sense of uneasiness in many Americans. The perception of national historical figures having God-like status is as American as apple pie. This attitude can be observed in any primary or secondary U.S. history text or curriculum. The slanted perceptions of these iconic figures are not helping children acquire a realistic view of history.

Children receive a terribly unrealistic view regarding the formation of our nation. It is often said that we study history to avoid repeating it, but how can people learn if they are only given the sugar-coated history provided in schools today. Young children are told the miraculous story of Helen Keller. Deaf and blind she learns to speak. There is no doubt that this is a remarkable story. However, for most curriculums this is where the story ends completely ignoring 64 additional years in the life of a truly driven social activist. Her triumph in learning to speak is every bit as important as how she used this miracle later in her life. As she grew up she became a powerful voice in the camp for socialism in America. She even went so far as to write a letter of support to a leader of the communist movement in America who had been jailed. Few people hear this story. Why? Because portraying Keller as a communist would discredit her story of all-American triumph. To ignore her social activism is to condense her into a cloud figure—fluffy, passive, and someone all can look up at and say, “Wow. Look at how great that one is.” However, this woman in actuality was a maelstrom, tearing through the sky relentlessly and with reckless abandon. This is the Helen Keller American children should be made aware of.

Many, if not every, American who has attended school in this country can easily identify Martin Luther King Jr. as the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. He is portrayed as a model citizen who seemingly single-handedly combated the largest social injustice in this nation’s history. Few people are made aware of the many transgressions that have seeped out into a small portion of the general population. Martin Luther King Jr. was not only a great leader, but also a womanizer and plagiarizer. During the Civil Rights Movement it was not uncommon for the FBI to wire tap the phones of known leaders of groups pushing for social reform. King was no exception. According to Newsweek, through the wire taps the FBI discovered that Martin Luther King was engaged in several affairs while simultaneously leading the Movement. He has also recently been criticized by the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project for plagiarizing or improperly citing a substantial portion of his dissertation and other papers he wrote throughout graduate school. In many of these instances the flaws were pointed out to King who simply chose not to fix them. This fact was seemingly overlooked by the final graders of this work, but still shows a sense that he felt no need to take his superiors constructive criticisms. By any standards these are horrible transgressions. Bill Clinton was impeached for the same womanizing activity in the oval office and a student would be expelled for committing the same academic fraud. Many argue that this side of King is not taught in our schools for a number of reasons. Primarily the fact that it would tarnish his iconic image and the legacy he left our country. The reason for teaching the great leaders in school is partially an effort to inspire students to strive for greatness. When a character is made to seem free of moral transgressions they are seen as inhuman, but in light of this other information one can see that King was not without fault and children can more easily identify with him. If he is portrayed as having unattainable status one gets the impression that there will never be another Dr. King. By being able to relate to King one can begin to see that they themselves can rise up and achieve greatness just as he did.

Opponents of introducing alternative viewpoints into the curriculum have largely contested on the grounds of student’s maturity levels. They argue that students even in high school are not ready to handle the topics that would come into play. They question how you could possibly teach middle school students that Christopher Columbus was well- known among the Natives for raping their women and spreading sexual diseases throughout their tribes. The answer of how to present this information simply lies in the presentation of the material. I would agree that in middle school, when Columbus is most thoroughly covered, most students would not be ready to comprehend the concept of rape. However, if you look at the disease element and do not discuss that it was spread through rape, this controversy is now contained within the realm of their maturity. The key is not that all transgressions need to be presented. However, there needs to be some check on the patriotic rhetoric that would allow students to open their minds to the idea that with prominent historical figures like in the world, there is no clear black and white, but rather a full spectrum of gray.

When asking students to rank their favorite subjects, history is almost always towards the bottom of the ranks; a fact presented in Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen. The number one reason, it’s boring. This is largely due to the fact that the textbooks and curriculum that students are following are full of romanticized characters and feel-good stories about the birth of a great nation. Children need to see that America has not had such a perfect history and nothing can be conquered without consequences. By presenting alternate viewpoints of great American figures and events students could gain an understanding of real American history and maybe even enjoy it in the process. Columbus came to America, met some natives, and ate a turkey. Do you want to know any more? Of course not. This is boring and without conflict or controversy. However, include that he brought disease and great oppression to the native people and suddenly students want to know more because now there is scandal. Unleash the fact that Vikings may have actually discovered the land even before Columbus and students are not only hooked, but also getting a global perspective on the history of this nation.