Teaching What Really Happened

This book calls K-12 teachers to teach history, civics, and social studies in a new way. It offers specific ideas for how to get students excited about history, how to get them to DO history, and how to help them read critically. It also helps teachers tackle difficult but important topics like the American Indian experience, slavery, and race relations. It also has some general K-12 teaching ideas, such as how and why to expect good performance from every student.

It sold well for Teachers College Press, so Loewen revised it, adding a new chapter, “Truth,” helping teachers deal with the assaults on truth and rationality mounted by the Trump administration and by media tailored to slim sectors of subscribers who already agree with their content. The cover of the second edition is marked by the addition of Lassie to the incongruous assortment of Americans pictured crossing the Delaware.