I recently went on a trip to visit some family in Maryland. Everything was going fine. We were having a great time enjoying each others company. Then I heard, Hey Ryan, I have a question for you. I knew what was coming. With the change to Essential Standards and the change to the AP U.S. History Curriculum, it has been a question I have heard a lot. What kind of history do you teach? I answer, U.S. History. That is not the answer they are looking for. Then the follow up. Do you teach history or real history? The first time I had heard this question I was taken aback by it, not sure how to answer it. I answered I teach history. I provide students with information and challenging viewpoints on many different topics. I tell the story of America and its inception and rise to power. Whether it looks good or bad. Students need to understand how we got to this point.
As a history teacher I can tell them what they want to hear, but now we can have conversations about what happened and why they happened. Students can dig deeper with the access they now have with the technology at our school. I cannot teach it all. Now that we have the Essential Standards , U.S. History was broken up into two sections. This has given my students the ability to explore deeper into the story of America. I want them to formulate their own opinion about certain events in America. We do this by looking at different primary sources, interviews, and documentaries, just to name a few. With the Essential Standards I have had more students ask why than I remember my first few years of teaching.
I teach history. The good, the bad, the ugly.
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