So what's a history teacher to do?
Romanowski urges teachers to support students in critiquing their textbooks and exploring perspectives beyond that of the texts. Teachers can ask their students, for example, to answer this question: "Whose viewpoint is presented, whose omitted, and whose interests are served?" Teachers can have them explore reactions of various Americans to a historical event, such as the attacks of 9/11, including that of the U.S. president, a member of Congress, a relative of a victim, and an Arab-American. Lastly, Romanowski recommends, teachers can use writing assignments to develop students' critical thinking.
Tom Daccord on 10 Jun 09Discussion Topic: Dialogue and Historical Fiction When writing historical fiction, how much should your dialogue reflect the actual historical period you are writing about? Is it a good idea to write - as say - a knight during the medieval period might actually speak, or write in more contemporary language for the reader?
