Rounding up Unusual Suspects: Facing the Authority Hidden in the History Classroom

Abstract

Educational reform literature is filled with criticism of the omniscient tone that teachers and textbooks assume in history classrooms. Such widely acknowledged criticism often accompanies calls for more ambitious pedagogy. The focus on teachers and texts essentially ignores the ritualized and traditional deference that students afford to the authority of texts and teachers. Disturbing these rituals is essential for reform pedagogy to take root. However, we lack examples of successful classroom alternatives, namely descriptions of challenging history instruction that treats textbooks and teachers from within the discipline. This article provides such an example by considering activities that encourage students to question the omniscient tones of history text and teacher. Using my high school history classroom as a case study, I consider two questions: What might encourage students to raise disciplined suspicions of the typical sources of scholastic authority? Further, what might we learn about history instruction by trying to situate textbooks and teachers within the realm of historical inquiry—that is, making them the objects of students’ historical study? The article suggests ways to narrow the gap between reform rhetoric and pedagogical predicament when confronting the classroom authority of text and teacher.