Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: Patriotic/Unpatriotic Facts After teaching middle school Social Studies for many years, I decided to go back to school to get my graduate degree. In one of my classes, we studied James Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me. I was so influenced by this book and the idea that we have been presenting students inaccurate information that I have been thoroughly researching the content I teach before presenting it to my students. Recently we have been studying international affairs of the US government. Some of the information I presented revealed actions the US government engaged in other countries that resulted in killings and disturbances. My students were interested in the materials and some of the issues we discussed in class made dinner-time discussions at home. One of the parents who is a retired army officer came to the school to talk to my principal. He told the principal that I was indoctrinating students. When my principal told me about this, I explained to her that all the information I presented was factual and that I researched the information from multiple resources. Her suggestion to me was that I should focus more on teaching patriotic materials. I am so frustrated that I do not have the support of my principal. Also, I disagree that what I teach is unpatriotic. I am simply trying to teach accurate information. If I continue doing what I do, I may lose my job. However, I do not want to give up teaching my students the truth. How should I go about this issue? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) I do appreciate your stepping out to present some well researched views that are different and even contrary to what textbooks may present about US History. I have read Lies My Teacher Told me as well as A People's History of the United States - which both provide very interesting, albeit mostly negative, accounts of a lot of what our country has done. I would offer a solution to still get the same content across, but to do so in a much less forward method that would allow the students to build their own ideas, and also allow parents to be more involved in the process. I would recommend taking a particular subject, present what the textbook says, present what Loewen says, perhaps present another one of the references you found - and give the students an array of items to choose from. Then give them the task of interviewing their parents to find out what they think is the truth, or if they think something might have been presented with a unpatriotic leaning, or conservative leaning or liberal leaning etc. This can give the students to not only discover what they think the truth is, but also allow them to understand how everything becomes highly politicized and debatable ad infinitum and they will need to understand all sides before making their own decisions. Students will then be tasked to allow their parents to read what they took from the interview to see if they actually understood what their parents thought, and they can get the opportunity for some feedback. This will involve the parents in the process and you could let the parents know it is coming so they can be aware and can begin to gather their own thoughts and ideas beforehand as well.