Very few college professors want high school graduates in their history class who are simply "gung ho" and "rah-rah" with regard to everything the United States has ever done, have never thought critically in their life, don't know the meaning of the word "historiography" and have never heard of it. They think that history is something you're supposed to memorize and that's about it. That's not what high school, or what college history teachers want.
James W. LoewenTextbooks pretty much have no real drama. They have no real storyline. To the extent they have a storyline.
James W. LoewenI don't think teachers read the textbooks. And I don't think adoption committees read the textbooks before they adopt them. I think they look at them.
James W. LoewenMany Americans have never owned a book. And others have never owned a non-fiction book. Providing them with a 300-page paperback would get them started, maybe. And even if it didn't, at least they'd own that one. So that's a serious problem.
James W. Loewen