Myths Textbooks Pass Along

Real people, not paper heroes, make history. That’s why people’s history is so important — but the process of myth-making, masquerading as history, has kept common people from assuming center stage.

How do you know your text is telling the truth?

I have examined a wide assortment of recent and widely used textbooks at the elementary, middle school, and secondary levels. Many were featured at the annual convention for the National Council for the Social Studies in November, 2002. The rest are currently approved for use in California, which has among the strictest selection criteria in the nation.

Click on the title of a textbook, and you will see a page-by-page breakdown of the “founding myths” it perpetuates. If your text is not featured here, and you would like to see it critiqued, please contact me. If you send me a copy, I will critique it, post the results on this webpage, and return your book.