Mirielle Baluyot

Dr. Gibson

History 101-60

15 Feb, 2021

Response #1: Lie Spotters Social Studies Manual

In the article, “Lie Spotters Social Studies Manual”, the two pages briefly explained how

students believe what the teachers are teaching them although textbooks change their wording on

history overtime. “Most US textbooks treat US rule and capitalism as permanent, the highest

stage of possible human development...”. Since textbooks are written and manufactured by

people, this is one of the reasons why there are changes in history because they are writing about

what they believed happened instead of basing it off a worldwide perspective. For example,

textbooks would not normally include how Native Americans were stripped of their history and

culture and most were forced into converting to Christianity. “In history textbooks, in many

cases, causes are hidden, sometimes by omission, other times by deception. To say, ‘The US

entered World War I to make the world safe for democracy,’ is assuredly not true. When

missionaries were forcing Indians to be Christians, slave labor was certainly as much at issue as

was the cross.” Many textbooks would often sugarcoat the effects outside the country to preserve

a good image for the United States.

I think people should stand on their own beliefs rather than listening and siding with

another person's statement because people don’t know if that person was really at the event or

where their source is coming from. “Nothing comes from nothing. There are no absolute

beginnings. That means things have proximate causes that can be found, with work. Always

place things in context, in the appropriate history. Cause and effect understanding is vital for
understanding what is true, but without context, it can be misleading.” Without cause and effect

it is easy to misinterpret what is being said. If you put in the time and effort in researching about

a certain topic it’ll help you get closer to closure.

I learned that history can be changed overtime and students will believe what teachers are

teaching because of how history is written in textbooks which are published by manufacturers.

People would believe anything that is posted on the media that looks credible. They don’t

question their beliefs, “Truth is always located within a given context. It is possible to be

accurate, yet wrong.” I also learned that in history it's not only important to engage in finding the

truth, but also with the world. Once a person finds out the truth to something, there’s a feeling of

accomplishment because of all the time and work a person has invested in. The truth isn’t just

given, it’s uncovered when communication is involved because communication is an important

factor in socializing which is a need in order to learn what’s happening around us.