| Starting off this week’s curation is a new report from the National Association Scholars, “Skewed History: Textbook Coverage of Early America and the New Deal.” NAS Director of Research David Randall and five scholars review five popular textbooks that are used in high school classes covering U.S. history and civics. The reviewers found that despite some good qualities, the textbooks have serious flaws. Overall, these textbooks fail to lay out a coherent historical framework, offer a truncated understanding of political theory, exhibit a bias in favor of progressive politicians and tend to view history through the lens of modern liberalism, minimize the importance of religion (especially Protestantism), favor New Deal economics, and devote insufficient attention to the formation of republican virtue among students. In order to improve history and civic education, the report argues that students need better textbooks that, in Randall’s estimation, are “fair-minded, fact-based, and not subject to ideological bias.” Through the publication of this report, NAS looks to provide guidance to school boards and significantly improve the College Board’s standards. Samuel J. Abrams highlights the surprising results of a recent survey on civic education that found that Generation Z is not an outlier in civic literacy. In fact, their civic knowledge is on par with Generation X and better than Millennials; in some cases, it is even better than the Greatest Generation. These findings should give Americans some hope that a civic rebirth in our nation is possible. John Wood, Jr. argues that a civic unity that encompasses both cosmopolitans and high-minded intellectuals in cities and also farmers and factory workers in small towns is needed now more than ever. Rather than a “shallow nostalgia for civility,” the path to a healthy unity starts with people of all races and levels of income and education recognizing “the needs of Americans who suffer from the breakdown of our societal capacity to unite in pursuit of the common good.” Original Posts Samuel J. Abrams, RealClearPublicAffairs I have had the privilege of teaching politics and history to college students for well over a decade, and I noticed a significant change among my students in the past few years: thei... Essential Reading David Randall, et al., National Association of Scholars Bottom Line: Six reviewers critique portions of five popular history and civic textbooks, finding that, despite some good qualities... In the News Bruce P. Frohnen, RealClearPolicy Dennis Boman, Teaching American History Steve Bell, RealClearPolitics Brian Riedl, City Journal Andrew F. Lang, Wall Street Journal Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe David F. Forte, Law & Liberty Rick B. Larsen, Deseret News Derek T. Muller, RealClearPolicy Rick Hess, Education Week Alexander Riley, James G. Martin Center Frederick M. Hess & Grant Addison, American Mind Adam Liptak, New York Times Nikki McGee, ABC6 Aris Folley, The Hill Tony Williams, Kirk Higgins, & Josh Schmid, BRI Primary Source Close Read It’s okay to get excited about historical documents…What’s your favorite document from American history? After a full school year... David Randall, Wight Martindale, Herbert Rice, et al., National Association of Scholars In 1952, Ralph Ellison published Invisible Man, a masterwork of fiction that follows its unnamed narrator through his travails first... Bob Woodson, Christ Chapel Drummond Lecture Series Robert L. Woodson is the founding president of the Woodson Center, an organization dedicated to improving low-income neighborhoods... Jeff Sikkenga, Ashbrook Ashbrook seeks to strengthen constitutional self-government by educating our fellow Americans -- students, teachers, and citizens... Jason Van Dyke, Chris Ruli, & Stewart McLaurin, White House Historical Association Since the laying of the cornerstone in 1792, Freemasons have played an important role in the construction and the history of... Michael Warren, Patriot Lessons Learn how the Second Continental Congress called upon the Supreme Judge of the World to support its actions. Understand how... Chris Flannery, American Story One of America’s greatest and most beloved film directors, Frank Capra, was just six years old when he arrived in New York... Carl Cannon's Great American Stories Good morning, it's Friday, May 7, 2021, the day of the week when I reprise quotations intended to be uplifting ... On this date in 1931, a black Alabama steelworker named after William Howard Taft and a young woman named Anna ... Cinco de Mayo is typically assumed by Anglos (and many Hispanics) to be a Mexican version of July 4. That's not ... | 
