Advancing History Education in American Schools. A Symposium at the Library of Congress. Panel 1. Occasional Paper.

This occasional paper discusses and advances the teaching of history in U.S. schools by noted historians. James Billington, the Librarian of Congress, explains the resources available through the Library of Congress' National Digital Library Program designed to bring five million items into digitized format and make them available throughout the country. Theodore. K. Rabb, professor of history at Princeton University, described the downward trend in the teaching of history and called for a renewal of commitment to reverse this trend. David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize winner, discussed the power of the photograph and how that can draw students into history. Carol Gluck of Columbia University cautioned that memory may drive history out and put more recent events into clear-cut right or wrong decisions when numerous perspectives are actually involved. Richard Moe, President of The National Trust for Historic Preservation, emphasized the importance of cultural sites and how technology has increased the power of place. W. Chris Stewart, director of English and History Curriculum Framework Project for the District of Columbia Public Schools, discussed the role of classroom practices in student attitudes toward history. Geno Flores, teacher-consultant for the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), stressed the role of assessment of student knowledge in a way that demonstrates what they know rather than what facts they can recite. (EH)