Lies My Teacher Told Me Gone With The Wind Journal

Tanya Barragan
Scott Lankford
English 48A

Lies My Teacher Told Me Chapter 5 Gone With The Wond

11/11/11

AUTHOR’S QUOTE

“Except for backsliding on slavery’s role underlying secession, most textbooks now handle the topic with depth and understanding. Why sis they improve? To ask this is to engage in “historiography”-looking at the writing of history. Who wrote this textbook? Of what background? To what audience? When?” (141)

INTERNET QUOTE

“In vintage Loewen fashion, the poster juxtaposes short quotes from a range of high school textbooks currently in use, with excerpts from primary sources that clearly show how textbooks have “lied” by knowingly substituting crowd-pleasing myths for grim and gruesome historical evidence.”

http://thenewpress.com/index.php?option=com_title&task=view_title&metaproductid=1570

SUMMARY

From Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James Loewen in chapter 5, he writes about the issues of racism and slavery and where it comes from. He gives us ideas on what we can do to change the view and how people see and look at them both. He explains that it has a lot t do with history and what is written in our textbooks and what we are taught. He says that our textbooks have a lot to do with the truth and neglect the true facts of racism and slavery. However because the times have changed from before, now textbooks books see and explain the truth and people who have no idea about the truth are shocked. Loewen explains it is a learning experience for many, who don’t know the reality of our history or choose to not acknowledge the truth of it.

YOUR IDEAS/REACTIONS/RESPONSES TO THE AUTHOR’S IDEAS

The ideas that I got from Loewen in chapter five is that he wants us to see the truth about slavery and racism. However throughout the whole book this is what he is trying to get across. I thought that he used many examples like “Gone With The Wind” to show us that history is filled with lies and most of us were taught to not see the truth about it because people don’t want us to see the truth. I honestly reacted to what he was saying as great because he used great examples and gives us many details from history that point out the facts about slavery and racism.

My response to the Loewen’s ideas is that the truth shall say it all and knowing it is something that all people should know and not deny. The quote that I used is a great example of what Loewen was saying and tells us that things have changes when it comes to the truth. Times have changed and the truth is coming out but that does have a lot to with who is writing the work. Times before there weren’t that many voices heard through writing so the truth about slavery and racism was to a point but always looked at, as it was not so bad and weren’t told the whole facts. However with the times now more people have a say and are telling the truth about our history and what was really behind slavery and racism. Some people don’t or may not believe it but because I was raised on the truth about our history I can understand and not deny what is being said. The quote about Loewen says it all also that history and our texts books have lied to us and there is more truth than some are saying and we should learn and know about the truth.