Before writing in your Google Doc this week, be sure to complete the reading assignments. Then you’ll be ready to write this week’s writing assignment.

For that writing assignment, I want you to develop a position of your own on some question that has arisen so far in this course. I’m giving you greater latitude in terms of topic than I’ve given you before, but you should not forget to keep the learning rubric in mind as you write.

After you’ve developed a position that you’d like to take, you can craft an essay for ONE of the following scenarios:

• Imagine you are submitting a 700-word op-ed reader essay to the Houston Chronicle.
• Imagine you are writing an email home to one of your high school American history teachers.
• Imagine you are addressing a letter to your elected representative on the Texas State Board of Education.

Put your assignment in your Google Doc as usual.

Also, here are some reading questions that I’d like you to consider. You are not required to use them to frame your writing assignment, but they and the other reading questions we have discussed this semester may help you form your position.

1. Do you agree with James Loewen that “heroification” in American history textbooks is a problem? If not, be sure to respond directly to his arguments and show why you think they are faulty. If you do agree with Loewen’s analysis of “heroification,” what are some possible solutions? Be sure to use examples and evidence from Loewen’s article when answering this prompt to demonstrate that you understand his argument, whether you agree with it or not.
2. Based on evidence presented in this week’s readings, how much of a role do you think textbooks, schools, and educators play in Americans’ sense of history and the past? If Americans have a distorted or selective view of the past, are teachers and schools the primary culprits? Or are there other causes that you can point to?
3. Both Sam Wineburg and Michael Frisch report on experiments they have done that are very similar to the exercise we conducted on our first day of class this semester. What do you think their findings tell us about the way American students view America and its history? Be specific in your discussion of their findings, and notice that the articles are separated by about twenty years.
4. Do you think there are hidden costs to society or national unity if “heroes” are “debunked”? Based on your evaluation of the costs and benefits of dispelling legends about the past, do you think the goal of teachers of history be to represent the past as faithfully as possible, warts and all, or do you agree with social conservatives on the Texas Board of Education that history teachers should represent America as positively as possible?