For some reason, I had difficulty finding this article the first few times I tried. I think perhaps I kept clicking on another worthy article, that I will discuss in my next post. So feel free to use the link below in case you have trouble reaching it, too.
Nikita Stewart’s article is entitled “‘We are committing educational malpractice’: Why slavery is mistaught –and worse–in American schools.” She discusses the failure to teach the history of slavery adequately and/or accurately in our school systems, which resonated for me both because I have already complained about the fairy tales that are perpetuated in our society and because I used to teach middle school, (I lasted four years–during which one of my goals was to improve my ability to teach history, including taking a NC History class at Appalachian State and learned, for the first time, about the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot).
Here’s the link:
She covers some important ground in this article, both what has gone wrong and ideas for change. Her closing words stand out, after recounting the stories her grandfather told:
He wanted listeners to understand the horror of the institution, even if he was too afraid to condemn it outright. For me, it’s a reminder of what our schools fail to do: bring this history alive, using stories like these to help us understand the evil our nation was founded on. (Stewart)
reader. writer. 