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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 3h

My take is that, even if it is only 1 student, the ripple effect of that student can multiply the impact.

That's all that I can hope for. And based on the regular updates I get from former students, it.might be working.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 3h

Somebody didn't learn US History, learned the incorrect version, or are purposefully being obtuse to further own agenda.

I would suggest that it is a combination of all 3.

darren32359.bsky.social @darren32359.bsky.social · 1d

www.borowitzreport.com/p/mike-johns...

Mike Johnson Accuses No Kings Protesters of Blatantly Exercising First Amendment Rights

The Speaker alleged that "far-left lunatics and Antifa members" were conspiring to take the First Amendment literally.

www.borowitzreport.com

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 3h

No, I go there because it is important & they need to be aware & think about how this relates to the past, or in my polysci class, how it relates to ideas of governance and constitutionalism.

The other teachers in my dept avoid any discussions about current events out of fear of student responses.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 6h

There is a really good book called The Long Southern Strategy that examines that very thing. Very good read.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 6h

We often edit our own memories to lose the parts we didn't like.

That's why treating memories like actual history is problematic.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 7h

Good teachers leave a lasting impact.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 7h

It's not perfect in any way, shape, or form today, but teachers do have access to training if they want it.

We all have a choice in how we choose to approach our students, and I try to choose empathy and understanding. I'm not perfect at it, but I try. I hope that carries over in other areas to.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 8h

They didn't just lobby Congress, they lobbied presidents.

Fortunately, I live in the most diverse part of the city, and I don't have to deal with as many descendants of the hillbilly highway.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 8h

Partly training, mostly experience, whether with my students, or my daughter.

I also think (hope) that teachers care enough to try and be understanding, and to deliver knowledge in a way that works best for whomever they are communicating with.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 8h

I don't really know either. I have to hope that by sharing what I've learned in 30 years of studying & writing about history and politics, it might make a difference.

That, and teaching people to stay informed and stand for what they believe in. It's frustrating because it's not instantaneous.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 8h

Those are the people I try to avoid.

Individually, we can only do what we have the ability to do.

We all have to be in a good place for ourselves before we can expect to help others.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 8h

That is something I try to make clear to my students and anyone who asks, none of us are responsible for what happened in the past, so we should not feel guilty about it.

I do, however, think that we are responsible for what we do when we have that knowledge.

People might not agree.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 8h

I do apologize for frustrating you.

As for a solution.... it is kind of a long game.

I like to believe that by educating young people, teaching them to think critically, to be informed and to pay attention, that they will eventually overwhelm backwards thinkers at the polls.

Will it work? I hope.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 8h

I'm in Indiana, and for some reason people here think we are the South.

The Daughters had a lot of influence, and they had the Dunning School of Northern historians wrote "official" academic histories that legitimized the Daughters' narrative, so the rot is not just from the South.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 8h

I have always loved history, but I hated my classes in school for those exact reasons, so I vowed I would never be that way.

My ultimate rule is relevance: if I can't tell you why/how this should matter to you/us today, I don't teach it. We learn the past to better understand the present.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 8h

For the past 8 years, I have been a dept chair, so I get to see transcripts of student teachers and job applicants. Not a lot of history.

I fight the lack of relevance in my teacher's courses regularly. If it's not in the book, they don't teach it. There has been 0 discussion about current events.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 8h

I'm 50, so I had the experience of learning the Lost Cause narrative of events from the Civil War on. To be honest, there are still elements of it in modern textbooks (TX again).

My specialty is the Reconstruction Era and the Lost Cause narrative, so it is something I address in depth with students

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 8h

I can't control what my students or anyone does with the information, but I at least want them to have it, and I want them to have the skills to find and analyze evidence on their own.

But I know from my own experience, where I was before studying history to now, it has been a 180 degree change.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 8h

Living under a false narrative makes it harder to empathize with those who struggle. If we don't know how we actually got to this point, we have less concern for those who have been overlooked at best, intentionally oppressed at worst.

Having the knowledge might not change people, but it's step 1.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 8h

I'm not saying that anyone is evil for living somewhere other than the original 13. I don't.

My point is that we should acknowledge what really happened in the past so that we can better understand the experiences and concerns of marginalized peoples, be they Natives, or working class whites.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 20h

I agree. Unfortunately, not all majors require US History, and over the last decade, dual credit courses taught in high schools for college credit has risen sharply. At my alma mater, the largest university system in the state, the number of US History survey courses offered has been cut by half.

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Reposted by Annoyed History Guy, MA

Sojourners @sojo.net · 21h

"The tradition that we come from in the Black freedom struggle has a long history of challenging America while also living in America, loving a place that has not loved us back."
sojo.net/articles/don...

Don't Believe The Lie: The Black Freedom Struggle Never Ended

The tradition that we come from in the Black freedom struggle has a long history of challenging America while also living in America, loving a place that has not loved us back.

sojo.net

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Reposted by Annoyed History Guy, MA

Melanie Jean @princessmom122.bsky.social · 1d

If white people on the left can’t accept that at the end of the day the issue is race, we won’t get through this. We’re on the cusp of the Supreme Court handing segregationists & white nationalists a huge win. And they know it. This is why we lose elections. More than anything, so imagine post-sec2.

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Annoyed History Guy, MA @chuckfinley22.bsky.social · 21h

Unfortunately, they can't remember what they weren't taught.

Add in the fact that many US History textbooks are shaped by what the TX state standards are, and they likely were not getting the actual story anyway.

Most were taught a triumphalist narrative in which Manifest Destiny was a good thing.

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Reposted by Annoyed History Guy, MA

Jess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · 1d

“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government…”

~Patrick Henry

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