Discusses attitudes toward history instruction from a survey of historians. Contends that historians who prize history seem less interested in dispensing knowledge than in imparting a historical perspective. Concludes that many historians are comfortable with the relatively low status of teaching because it provides autonomy. (CFR)

Differences in the comprehension and interpretation of historical texts are discussed for eight high school students and eight historians. The sources of differences in the two groups and their epistemological stances are analyzed. Implications for reading comprehension and the place of history in the school curriculum are discussed. (SLD)

History definition and interpretation often excludes many groups. History education should teach learning habits and thinking skills that produce legitimate historical generalizations supported by reliable sources. Student historians must change from passive accepters of others' interpretations to historians grappling to define, interpret, and…

Provides a definition of what is meant by Eastern Europe and includes statements on important persons or events in East Europe that had impact outside the region. Addresses the reasons why it is difficult to teach about Eastern Europe and offers some tips on teaching about Eastern Europe. (CMK)

Reminisces about the beginning of the journal "Teaching History" as its 25th anniversary arrives explaining that it started during a caucus of historians at the Missouri Valley History Conference (Omaha, Nebraska) in 1974. Maintains that the journal has remained true to its original commitment to tap the minds of history educators and share…

Discusses how students can use hypertext to create thick descriptions of primary documents in order to display their research for an electrical project. Explains that students learn that history is not just a collection of facts, improve their technical skills in terms of website creation and searching, and engage in historical interpretation.…

Believes that there has been a return to the definition of citizenship forwarded by educational reformers of the 1890's that characterizes the reform efforts of the 1990's. Reviews the ongoing debate in reform efforts of whether citizenship education should be integrated into the social studies as opposed to the history curriculum. (CMK)

This article investigates some of the antecedent conditions underlying the imputation of autonomy within conceptions of "teaching" and "learning". It links the history of those concepts with the separate roles and functions assigned to males and females in specific instances of educational practice. "Teaching" and "learning" are psychoanalysed as…

Teachers have always dreamed of taking their students to visit faraway places, or traveling with them to bygone days. Now, through the power of technology, students can experience "virtually" other times and places through "distance learning." The Internet, satellite communications, television, and telephones can provide access to some exceptional…

The Civil War novel for children has come of age. Although Civil War novels with little substance remain in print, more recent novels are serious in tone and readily available for classroom use. This article briefly summarizes a few Civil War novels that would be good in the classroom.

Historian Joan Wallach Scott has served on the AAUP's Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure since 1993. She was committee chair from 1999 until this past June, when she became a consultant to the committee. To mark her transition from chair to consultant, "Academe" asked her to participate in an interview about her experience with the…

This pilot study examined middle school and high school student performance on an online historical thinking assessment task. After their teachers received training in the use of digital historical archives, students from all groups engaged in historical thinking behaviors (e.g., observation, sourcing, inferencing, evidence, question-posing, and…

For historians and nonhistorians, reflecting on the past century is an enticing activity. To many present-day historians, who are just barely into the twenty-first century, the past century already seems remote. It will definitely be perceived that way by students in elementary classrooms. Nonetheless, today's teachers have endless opportunities…

Students' views on history inspired the author to reflect on her own teaching and to explore historical thinking. She decided to research the impact of a three-step approach to reading primary documents on ninth grade world history students, she was curious as to whether developing and using a consistent series of strategies with various primary…

The last twenty years have witnessed the explosion of a worldwide epidemic. AIDS is a syndrome that crosses national borders and renders obsolete the distinctions between the public and private spheres. Researchers and historians who try to understand the social nuances of AIDS often classify it as a cultural illness that underlines national…