A Textbook Case Of Revisiting History (9/11)
The rule of thumb among educators is that most editions of history textbooks last five to 10 years before a school system replaces them. By that formula, it's reasonable to assume that plenty of students are studying from books that deal with the events of 9/11 and its five-year aftermath. The significance of this is that an event's treatment in the news changes daily, but a textbook's handling of it can become the interpretation of record for a generation.
ut how to write about something that hasn't reached its conclusion? Or about something so politically and culturally charged that any interpretation is bound to meet objections?
"To be honest, I would say that writing about 9/11 isn't all that different from other emotionally and politically charged events, such as the Civil War, Pearl Harbor, the Vietnam War and so forth," Lizabeth Cohen says in an e-mail.
One of the authors of the high school-level "The Brief American Pageant," Cohen acknowledges that it is challenging to write about something everyone still remembers vividly. But even events from the distant past still stir strong opinions, she says. ...
James W. Loewen, author of "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong," says the history books' treatment of 9/11 is in step with everything else wrong with textbooks: It's boring.
"One of the reasons that American history textbooks are so boring is that they don't really have a storyline," he says.
It's all facts and no analysis. "The books don't treat the question `Why?'" he says. "For example, why did the terrorists attack the U.S. - why not Sweden? That's a reasonable question."...