History of US and Bias?

[shinyhappypeople]

I'm trying (and mostly failing) to find something for the 12 yo to read for American history.  I'm considering History of US by Joy Hakim, in part because I can request it through our library system.  I haven't seen the books in person, but they look okay from the little bit I've seen online.  However, I've also heard that it has a definite liberal/progressive bias.  What are some ways in which this bias shows up?

 

 

 

[73349]

Hakim's style is rather chatty, and she comments more on people's choices than some authors might. (I haven't seen anything I thought was a stretch in terms of accuracy, but I lean progressive myself.)

Here's a page as an example. On a page about the Alien and Sedition acts, 1798, she includes comments such as...

• awful and sorry
• dreadfully bad
• mean-spirited
• You probably would not have liked him.
• motivated by religious prejudice.

These things are all true, but the top four could've been omitted IMO. The facts are clear enough.

(Example from A History of Us Concise Edition book B, page 22.)

 

Still I like the series well enough. We have books A and B, and when we run out of B I will likely borrow C and D from the library, and perhaps buy them. I think they're nicely readable--orderly and with an eye to making sense of things.

Edited June 27, 2017 by whitehawk

[Momto6inIN]

We are pretty conservative politically but really enjoyed Hakim's books. Her political philosophy is fairly obvious but it doesn't go so far as to distort any facts and gave us some good opportunities for discussion.

 

Eta we used the concise version

 

Sent from my Z988 using Tapatalk

Edited June 28, 2017 by Momto5inIN

[Gregkar]

The best way to screen out bias to either the Left or the Right is to get recommendations for texts which are plain vanilla OBJECTIVE without author bias, values paradigms, and editorial commentary. If the author *does* comment, make sure the author presents both sides (or rather ALL sides). Dopey would-be Know-It-All textbook authors are chock full of consensus and confirmation bias- and they do not even begin to realize it. Joseph Goebbels would have been sickeningly proud had he lived to see the modern age.

By ANY measure, American history is a mixture of Good, Bad, and Ugly. That's just an objective fact. What we do NOT want is some wing nut from either extreme inculcating young minds with questionable and objectionable dogma. We want them to know the FACTS. And then, when they are capable of critical thinking (not to be confuse with Frankfurt School Critical THEORY), *then* they can start testing value judgments, building arguments, and reaching conclusions.

The childhood indoctrination I experienced in public school is a HUGE part of the reason why we plan to home-school to the greatest extent possible. When we are finished, I won't be nearly as concerned about what my kid thinks as I will be concerned with WHY he thinks that way. Whatever he thinks, I want him to be fully possessed of the reasons WHY he thinks the way he does.

When you are finished instructing your student on American History, he/she should know HOW the Americas (in particular the USA) came to be. They should know WHY it came to be. They should know what was GOOD about it. They should know what was BAD about it. And they should know what polices were both good AND bad simultaneously.

There's an old CSPAN lecture on the religious and jurisprudential freedom movement which immediately precedes the USA and how it laid the bedrock foundation of our society. IF I can find it, I'll post the link.

[Noreen Claire]

Someone posted this link in another thread just yesterday. You might find it interesting.

 

https://welltrainedmind.com/a/bias-compromise-teaching-history-children/

[73349]

If you do decide to buy them, I've had good luck at abebooks.com. Around $5 each for the concise books, so no big loss if you don't like them.

[frogger]

I actually prefer accepting author bias and finding other books to show the opposite bias and compare the two. It is a skill they will need their whole life. Differentiating between fact and opinion and spotting bias is a great skill.

 

I didn't particularly care for Hakim even for that though. If I remember correctly and it has been awhile because I turned around and got rid of the series, she spent too much time telling you what other people thought inaccurately which seemed a waste of time. Perhaps just for getting general facts and having a general timeline in your head it could be useful. I personally would prefer a single volume if that was my goal like the Boorstin's "Landmark History of the American People" although that is cut into 2 volumes sometimes. Still the Hakim series is a lot of books to buy for a general overview.

Edited June 29, 2017 by frogger

[RootAnn]

I actually prefer accepting author bias and finding other books to show the opposite bias and compare the two. It is a skill they will need their whole life. Differentiating between fact and opinion and spotting bias is a great skill.

I agree. One the kids get into middle school (7th/8th), I start to introduce discussion of bias. By high school, they are expected to read two opposing versions of the same history time period (like Bennett vs. Zinn) and spot the facts, the spin, and the opinions shared in each.

[Guest]

I don't self-identify as politically conservative and even I found Hakim annoying after awhile. I used that energy to find other voices for my olders when we needed a break for awhile and then we came back to Hakim and could enjoy her writing style again.

 

I have the whole series (had to rebuy some for the caboose baby when selling books meant we could eat and trading elementary curricula meant we could afford age-appropriate curricula for my teens) and use it as a spine. There are recommendations for library lists and rabbit trails and Hakim-is-annoying-me breaks.

 

Zinn has a "Young People's History" now if you want to supplement with him in smaller doses than the regular book. I still think the best lesson my History buff was ever taught was seeing his mom disagree so vehemently with the author of a textbook she had longed for and saved for and finally acquired on sale that she slammed it shut, tossed it in the trash can because she couldn't even bear the thought of selling it, and then stormed out of the house and came back with a stack of library books and continued reading about the building of the transcontinental railroad from a different perspective.

 

I've only got one history buff out of the bunch, but I'm glad he was the one I was teaching when that happened.

Edited June 29, 2017 by Guest

[Gregkar]

The article below is excellent food for thought. I highly recommend it. Even if you completely disagree with it, it will give you perspective.

 

Someone posted this link in another thread just yesterday. You might find it interesting.

https://welltrainedmind.com/a/bias-compromise-teaching-history-children/

 

[Gregkar]

Here's the video link I referenced above: Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul by John M. Barry. It's a historical perspective and philosophical analysis of the history of the Separation of Church and State and why it was so prominent in the Founder's thinking. This could definitely be on topic for home schoolers teaching the history or religious liberty in the USA.

This piece is NOT opinion neutral or unbiased, so "Eyes Wide Open" everybody.

 

There's an old CSPAN lecture on the religious and jurisprudential freedom movement which immediately precedes the USA and how it laid the bedrock foundation of our society. IF I can find it, I'll post the link.