BORING HISTORY MADE FASCINATING

Retirement is supposed to be about sitting back and enjoying life without responsibilities, or so I mistakenly thought. Or maybe I dreamed it. And if I wanted to retire to Arkansas (state of my birth and a beautiful place to retire) and sit in a rocker on my front porch to watch the world go by, it might be true. Instead, our lives seem to get more hectic each day. Responsibilities leave very little time for writing now. And that's why this blog hasn't been updated for a few months.

One thing I continue to do is read in my spare time. I steal a few minutes and find time between chores to keep up with what is happening in the world, and read stories about the past. I recently picked up a book titled: Lies My Teacher Told Me -- Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen. Wow, someone who believes, as I do, that students always remember what they learned in history class as b-o-r-i-n-g.

I will bring this blog up-to-date with what I find in the book as I read more. Unfortunately, what with visitors, traveling, etc., this has been a busy summer and reading is going slowly. Meanwhile, I recommend that anyone interested in learning more about American history get a copy of this book and read it. It attempts to answer such burning questions such as: Who really discovered America, and do we even know for sure? And: Does history accurately portray the struggle between Native Americans and European settlers?

By traveling and studying, I have learned that many of the lessons I studied in school about our country's history were distortions of the truth, and sometimes downright malicious untruths. History is fascinating as I travel and unravel some of the hidden stories behind our wonderful country. People didn't always act in heroic fashion, but they did what they had to do in many cases to survive, and more than a few acted as vicious, selfish conquerors of a vast territory that seemed endless and full of boundless resources.

I've been lucky enough to hear wonderful stories told by the children of a few of those original settlers in the West who heard stories first-hand from parents and relatives who traveled across the country by covered wagon.These stories usually come from elderly individuals whose parents lived to be a ripe old age with intact memories and stories about the struggles they faced as they conquered a new land. In one case I met the grandchild of an infamous bank robber who turned his life around and became a leading citizen (and an official at the bank he had helped rob). This man lived for nearly 100 years, and his grandchild heard his stories at his knee. And she is definitely not elderly, or even close. That's how recent western history is in many instances. My grandparents would have been alive while most of the West was being conquered and settled.

As I say in my book, Looking Back, students must be taught by teachers who can explain the emotions behind historic moments so those students will will find the stories more fascinating. Most students will never get to travel as much as I have, or if they do, it probably won't be a road trip where they can stop and talk to interesting citizens from the areas where they roam.

I was lucky that my first cross-country leisurely trip happened to go through Washington DC and Philadelphia in my early twenties, so I was able to visit national monuments, including climb to the top of Washington Monument (which was NOT 100 steps, as my husband had assured me before I started the long climb! Instead, it is almost 800 , heart-thumping, lung-crushing steps to the top.) It's no longer possible to climb the 555.5-foot monument. Too many people suffered heart attacks attempting to reach the top.

Today, most people make trips by plane to reach a destination, and then stay a few days for a particular event, then catch another plane to return home, missing out on any local history. They'll bypass the beauty, the drama, and the colorful stories, and as a result will never know the precious, exciting history they've missed.

That is, unless they've had teachers who loved history and learned the background behind historic moments that can bring history lessons to life. I don't mean to malign teachers, who have enough problems in today's educational system, but unfortunately, few really try to make history more interesting. And speaking from first-hand experience as a student in the public school system during the fifties, not one of my teachers appeared interested in making history more interesting. Just facts, names and dates are all I remember learning in history class--and it was indeed B-O-R-I-N-G!