Lily Oswald
10-2-11
Synthesis on the American Revolution
It is evident that the conventional
method of teaching the youth in America the American Revolution has proven to
be seriously misleading and potentially harmful to future comprehension. The majority of textbooks for students in
Elementary through High school seem to lack the stories that really built the
revolution to be what it was.
Most Elementary schools choose to
teach their students through textbooks, and plainly that. Not very much expansion on these subjects is
given through the teacher’s own knowledge.
The main reason for this is that a lot of the information that is
withheld from these children is far too dense for a young student to try to
absorb. Not that what they are learning
is a blatant lie, but more of being guarded and not told all of the information
they could be. During the years of
middle school, students are taught more of what went into the American
Revolution. Unfortunately this mostly
means that their knowledge consists of knowing that Paul Revere warned the
colonists of a British attack, Indians dumped tea into the Boston Harbor, and
with that the colonists earned their freedom from Britain.
Up until this year I was at this
level of knowledge towards the American Revolution as well. Having to cram years of necessary information
related to the birth and history of America into a few weeks of classwork has
proven to be one of the most inefficient things when it comes to the schoolwork
I have done over the past 11 years. Some
of the things that we are being taught I should have learned years ago. Yet, the things that most schools and
teaching methods hold back from a student’s intellect is almost unnerving. A recent study in 2009 conducted by The
American Revolution, found that a startling 83% of adults failed a simple test
of how America was founded. Starting to
create the mental image of simplicity involving the American Revolution has
made for some very confused young adults when the time comes for being exposed
to more of what went on during the revolution.
I am aware that telling a second grader about the dirty details involved
with the Sullivan campaign would damage the brains of young readers in totally
different way.
Some of the
things that most structured classes may leave out of the American Revolution
chapter would include some of the most valuable things that people need to
know. Mentioned earlier, the Sullivan campaign
would be one example. The Sullivan
campaign was essentially a long-lived Iroquois massacre lead by Major General John Sullivan and
Brigadier General James Clinton against loyalists among others. This major event coincides with the American
Revolution which was also the biggest conflict involving European Americans and
Native Americans in America’s history.
One of the main reasons of the American Revolution that many don’t know
is our nation’s drive to obtain trans-Appalacian lands which were put in place
by one of our founding fathers,
Just as not learning about the real events and reasons behind the
American Revolution is a negative thing, it may be beneficial in some
cases. One of the benefits of not
knowing some of these things as a young student, and uncovering some of our
nation’s history would be the feeling of growing up, and maturing enough to be
able to handle some of that information that was once withheld. The term “virgin ears” comes to mind when
dealing with this matter. Not only are
the things that you learn as an older student much more dense for a person to
have to deal with, but also a lot of coming to terms with what it is that
you’re dealing with. When a person
learns of the dark side of our “powerful country” it is hard to feel the same
way coming out of it. By sheltering us
from some of this information, our school systems may just be protecting us
from the matters that are put into our hands.
“With great power, comes great responsibility...”
Though not telling youth about the atrocities
America has committed right off the bat may be a way of protecting them, I
still have no doubt that the current methods of America’s school systems is not
teaching our history as well as it could be.
If children were to learn a less bias history of the United States, it
would help with their outlook on America later in life. However, with this a bigger question comes to
mind: Can someone ever write a true history?
Sources:
"83 Percent of U.S. Adults Fail Test on Nation's
Founding -- WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/." PR Newswire:
Press Release Distribution, Targeting, Monitoring and Marketing. Web. 04
Oct. 2011.
<http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/83-percent-of-us-adults-fail-test-on-nations-founding-78325412.html>.
Raphael, Ray. "Re-examining the Revolution – Zinn
Education Project." Zinn Education Project. Web. 04 Oct. 2011.
<http://zinnedproject.org/posts/180>.
