What is history if it is not the whole story?
If I told you to tell me the story of your life, would you tell me the whole story? Would you throw in some white lies and some new details? Would the rotten parts be glossed over? Would you make it seem better than it really is?
Oftentimes we are taught the highlight reel of history. We only learn of the “good” and gloss over the “bad”. We find that we only hear from the victors and not from the ones who have suffered. Racism should not be something we ignore in our history, but instead something we acknowledge. I plan on becoming a history teacher in future. I want my students to learn the entirety of our country's history. Sadly not everyone believes in the whole story.
A member from my family once said that “we are teaching our kids to hate our country”. This phrase came out on January 6th, the day of the insurrection in the U.S. Capitol. This was the point in my life when I believed I could make a difference. I decided I wanted to become a history teacher. History isn’t something we should take lightly. As I repeatedly saw the images of the riot on the T.V. screen, I realized how I wanted to tell those students in my futurist classroom to look in between the lines. Not to ‘hate our country’ but instead take that rotten part and acknowledge it. Not stem hate, but instead enact change and discuss. Let’s not plague our history with those white lies and added details to make it sound great.
It's crucial for students to learn that racism exists in our society. The more that students are aware of our history of racism, the better we can be in the future. When we learn historical events and themes, we can easily see them in our world. I want to inspire my students to stand up and be leaders within their communities. Education means awareness. If we are knowledgeable about racism we can join a mass movement in preventing racism in the future. It will not end overnight. The best way to be a change agent is to share and listen. If we are able to share our experiences and listen to others—that is a way to make a more just world. This nation’s story is not over. There is so much potential for good in this country. If we all agree on learning and teaching our nation’s whole story.