One of the critiques of modern education is the revisionist history being taught in schools. Conservative parents want teachers to stop putting their “agendas” into the history class, and instead, “just teach the facts.”
But what must be understood is that history has never been about “just teaching the facts.” In the old days, history (which comes from the Greek word for “inquiry”) was a subset of a branch of learning called moral philosophy. As the name implies, moral philosophy was concerned with teaching right and wrong, and in the case of history, learning this discernment of vice and virtue from a study of the past.
Trying to expunge all bias from a retelling of history is as futile as trying to create sterile laboratory conditions in your home kitchen. There is always selectivity in which facts are presented (based on the teacher’s value system of what is important). There is always a manner in which facts are presented that involves moral judgment (based on the teacher’s value system of what is good and what is evil).
Instead of naively demanding that history classes be stripped down to “just the facts, ma’am,” we should instead teach students that a history book is a piece of literature that must be evaluated. Who is the historian casting as the hero? Who is the historian casting as the villain? What events is the historian including in order to shape the story into the arc he wants? What events is he leaving out?
The presuppositions of the teacher or historian will affect what shape the historical narrative takes, what details are included, and who is lauded or condemned:
Is history the story of the rich oppressing the poor? (a Marxist view of history)
Is history the story of men oppressing women? (a feminist view of history)
Is history the story of the white race oppressing other races? (a CRT view of history)
Is history the story of sin and death oppressing mankind and Christ redeeming His people from it?
The question is not whether history will be biased, but which bias the history will have. The study of history is never neutral because there actually is an overarching story which ought to be told, the story of a perfect God who intervenes in the lives of His imperfect Creation, a God who tells us which morals ought to inform our moral philosophy, and a God who governs what direction history is moving toward.
