Teaching American History to Non-Americans (and my philosophy of education)

What’s your sales pitch on the first day of school? Do you try to package your course for your new students the year starts or do you let them figure it out as you go along? As a teacher in an American international school who is tasked with teaching American History to non-Americans, its almost necessary to address it right away if I’m going to gain their trust. By answering the most asked question in my class: “Why do I have to learn this!?!” on day one, I’ve earned the attention of:

• Students who don’t think American history is important to them
• Students who don’t think history is important to them
• Students who don’t think school is important to them
• Students who “aren’t good” (in their opinion) at history, or school, or anything

In tackling the question that is all on their minds when they walk in my class, I hopefully also give them a picture of who I am as a teacher. Even though World History has always been my first love, I think any history class you can take is valuable and worth your fullest attention. And giving your students a peak into your personal teaching philosophy is always valuable. Here’s what works in my classroom:

Starting off with a goofy attention grabbing image

After I take attendance, make sure they’re all in their desks, and greet them with a smile, I say: “I know what you’re all thinking because every year someone is brave enough to ask it. Maybe it takes a few weeks before someone feels comfortable enough to say it so I’ll do you all a favor by answering it now…” (I should also explain to you that my students might be a bit different than yours- maybe your kids don’t have this question or wouldn’t hold back even before they know you better. I teach in Thailand and even though many of my students are non-Thai, the majority are. In Thailand, teachers are very well respected and no students is going to challenge me on the first day. Eventually, when they get to know me and are more comfortable, oh boy, do I get sass in my class from all directions! and I love it.)

Building up the question without saying what it is hooks their attention, now for the reveal: “If you’re wondering “Why do I have to learn American History?” you’re probably afraid I’ll teach it like this:

*click* slide change,

a picture of GW with a bald eagle and a machine gun while explosions and American flags fill the background. In all caps, giant word art say “AMERICA IS THE BEST YEAHHHHH” and all the kids begin to giggle. One kid even yells “Woooo!”

(you can find the image on google, sorry, not putting it here bc it doesn’t really fit my blog image :P)

“You might be thinking that I’m trying to teach you about the best and most epic country in the world. That three times a week you have to learn about another country’s history because I think it’s superior and well, yeah, what a waste of time!”

Here’s where I explain that I don’t think America is perfect or the best- in fact, no country is the best. I love my country and I miss it everyday. No country is the best because it is full of humans and, well, that’s just a recipe for some success, some failure, and bunch of stuff in between.

“I promise you, learning American history is still valuable to you as a non-American because it’s human history. At the end of the day, any country’s history is still a story of humans and you will learn valuable lessons from this class.”

Sneak Peek: the hard stuff

“You might also be worried I’m just going to be teaching about a bunch of old white guys.” (Should I be so irreverent to the founding fathers? Bare with me, it’s my humor and it really works with middle schoolers. They come around to making their own opinions about them and many learn to really respect what the founding fathers set out to do.)

“News flash! EVERYONE in my class is dead! but yeah, these founding fathers on the slide, we’re going to learn a lot about them and the country they formed.”

This is part of the sales pitch that gets a bit serious- I talk about the dream of democracy and progress. But how do we learn about these dreams without looking at the groups of people that are left out? Or how eventually Americans turn on each other and fight a very bloody war, brother against brother?

There are three things I want to make very clear to my students:

• This ‘side’ of American history is very politicized right now and some of my students have already picked that up at this point. Just because politicians and people online have opinions on how it should be taught shouldn’t keep us from learning history. We will try our best to go to the sources and present differing interpretations. “Yall are big kids now” and you can form your own opinions. My job is to give you the facts so you can think on your own.
• and again “Yall are big kids now” and we might cover some tough stories in my class. I’ve seen that 8th graders are mature enough to understand complex ideas like racism, sexism, and hatred. It’s my duty as a teacher to gage how much they can handle but it is also my responsibility as a teacher that they are equipped for the real world.
• Racism, sexism, and hatred isn’t American, it’s sadly human. “Please don’t come to my class ready to criticize America and not be prepared to see how the same human faults found in one country are also found elsewhere.” And that’s precisely the answer to the question- why are we studying American history? It’s human history! It needs to be connected to today and to our own corner of the world!

Not all doom and gloom! There is still so much hope that shines through!

As you can imagine, my sales pitch just went from goofy humor to somber pretty quickly. Maybe that’s my own personal philosophy of education there… that kids need humor but they also need the truth sometimes. History is so important if only to be a reflection of human nature and these kids can handle it. But there’s more:

“You’re probably thinking to yourself, man, she’s just convinced me that her class is the most depressing class I’ll have to take this year…”

If facing racism, sexism, and hatred are important for understanding human history, then so is progress, justice, and love. I believe that those qualities are also part of the human story and you find them all throughout American History and, yeah, we also need to be looking for them in our time and our corner of the world too!

Here’s where I try to let my history nerd passion really shine through to get my kids excited. “We’re also going to talk about ground breaking thinkers! Painters and poets! Inventors and scientists! Politicians who fought against racism, sexism, and hatred! Activists and normal people like you and me who fought against them too! People who stood up for religious toleration, or equality, or justice, or all of it!” And remember those dead white guys I showed you earlier- they write up the Constitution and try to make a country that is for the people. And while we need to face the issues of racism, sexism, and hatred that persisted following that creation, its the very document that they created that allowed for the 15th and 19th amendments one day.

There are two things I want to make very clear to my students:

• Be careful not to put anyone on a pedestal! There are tons of people in history we can admire for their accomplishments and views but they are still human. Dig deep enough and you find that heroes aren’t perfect.
• Still be critical- humans are imperfect and messy. I put Lord Baltimore up here for his religious toleration in Maryland- allowing for Protestantism in his Catholic colony. But he wasn’t tolerant towards non-Christian religions. Some of you will think his step towards religious toleration in a world of intolerance was laudable while others will think its not far enough of a step at all.

Lastly- real tangible skills

“Alright Mrs. Devin, we get it: you’re convinced that your class is some brilliant window into human life and we’re going to come in here and listen to a history nerd gush over dead people everyday.” (have to get a laugh as I segue into maybe their least favorite part of my pitch- work ;))

I then have students raise their hands if they want to be a historian one day. I’m lucky if I get one. Lawyers? Doctors? Business owners? Parents? Someone who doesn’t care what their future job is but is ready to be done with school and exists in this world?

“Do you need to know who George Washington is to become a Doctor? No. Do you need to know the date of the California Gold Rush to own a business? Nope. Will it help to remember the tenets of Romanticism to be a Lawyer? Probably not.”

But in a history class, you learn so many transferable skills: critical thinking, communication, debate and disagreement, research and writing…

“If you leave my class knowing how think for yourself, to apply yourself, to communicate your views to others… well maybe that will be helpful in getting you to some of your goals better than memorizing dates and names.”

And then I make them a promise that I will try my best to keep their best in mind as a create lessons and that my classroom is a place for them to grow as humans. That’s what school is for.

And then I bow after that long spiel and catch a breath. Depending on how carried a way I get- I sometimes get an applause for the sheer animation of my movements and grandiose claims. Middle schoolers are always looking for a way to hijack class time with an applause anyways!

We then move on to the syllabus or a fun activity but there you have it- my sales pitch for American History class. If I do it right, I never get the question “why do I have to learn this?” again. Maybe because they’re afraid I’ll unload all of that again or because they get it. It also allows me to start the year with my philosophy of education: I hope to be an approachable teacher who teaches the truth about human history, the messy and the amazing, while also equipping my students for every future opportunity in and outside of my classroom.