Learning about the Vietnam War from a Textbook and Videos in an Eleventh Grade American History Class by Courtney B Sklut A MASTER S PROJECT For ED 7999 Submitted to the Office for Graduate Studies Graduate Division of Wayne State University Detroit MI In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION Fall 2005 MAJOR Social Studies Education Approved by Bob Pettapiece Date i ii Table of Contents Page Chapter One Introduction Introduction The Situation The Need Purpose of the Study Significance of the Study 1 1 1 2 2 Chapter Two Review of Related Literature Introduction Theory Research Solutions Summary 3 3 5 6 6 Chapter Three Methodology of the Study Introduction Hypotheses Population Population Sample Methodology Description of Unit Data Collection Summary 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 10 Chapter Four Research Findings Introduction Hypothesis 1 Hypothesis 2 Summary 11 12 13 14 Chapter Five Conclusions Recommendations and Personal Reflections Introduction Conclusions Recommendations Personal Reflections References Appendix A G 15 15 15 16 18 20 35 i Chapter One Introduction of Project Introduction High school students often dislike American history They drudgingly lug their large history textbook to class and moan when they have to read it Student complaints range from this is so boring to this never makes sense They are completely detached and bored with the history that is presented to them This project examines a controversial era of our nation s history the Vietnam War Students learned about the war as presented by their textbook then as presented in movies Situation American history textbooks tend to romanticize our nation s past They have a tendency to idealize our country s past by celebrating our courageous victories while simplifying or ignoring our mistakes American history textbooks have become bodies of knowledge that promote proud American citizenship but the students are not buying it Students are leery they want more intriguing details and less matter of fact endings Students want more than one perspective they are ready to confront our history Need There is a need to acknowledge both our nation s achievements and mistakes Acknowledging more than one side of a story will promote higher thinking when students are confronted with weighing the costs and benefits of certain decisions Students will become actively engaged and interested if given an opportunity to evaluate our government s choices Learning our nation s history should evolve to meaningful discussions of weighing choices and consequences so shameful events are not repeated in the future Students want to point out the mistakes to learn from them They need a new American history experience that engages their senses and sensibilities Purpose of the Study This project s goal is to analyze a period of history so American history students attitudes will improve Students learn about the Vietnam War from the viewpoint of their textbook and movies Movies have the ability to emotionally connect with the viewer while providing both an oral and visual experience When presented with varying perspectives on a significant event in history students may become enthusiastic about learning about their nation s history Students may become more apt to question decisions made when analyzing cause and effect so history is no longer boring and confusing they may feel more connected with history Significance of the Study This project may provide teachers with valuable insights on how to engage students in an American history class The significance of this project is for teachers and students to question the idealized version of our nation s history as presented in textbooks and to seek creative alternative methods that connect with learners when presenting alternative perspectives Chapter Two Literature Review Introduction This project assesses students attitudes of learning about the Vietnam War from the perspective of movies and their high school textbook It was revealed that 78 of teachers utilize their classroom textbooks in the classroom National Education Association NEA 2002 Ninety one percent of the teachers use the textbook as a means to planning their lessons with 95 using the textbook as a reference tool for classroom student use NEA 2002 Yet students are not reading after school they are recreationally consuming eight hours and thirtythree minutes of media a day Kaiser Family Foundation 2005 Films may have an advantage over textbook teaching Theory With teachers dependant on their textbook to teach American history one would assume textbooks are superior in their delivery of history but education experts indicate otherwise often citing content censorship as the main criticism Loewen 1995 Gilbert Sewall blames the revenue driven multinational corporations for catering to pressure groups who are more interested in self promotion rather than present historical fact Sewall also testified that history textbooks distort and present biased interpretations of political judgments made by our government Sewall 2003 Sewall is not alone in this thought James Loewen 1995 found that textbook authors portray the United States government as a team player that responds generously to other nations social and economic woes Historian Howard Zinn 2005 asserts that history curriculum never tells the side of the story from the viewpoint of the oppressed Zinn supports this by stating how students never learn of the violent acts committed by our GIs in Vietnam against innocent women and children because teachers politicians and journalists ignore crimes that are committed in the name of freedom and democracy Zinn and Macedo 2005 David Kennedy claims that the ramifications of the Vietnam war are still being sorted out so it s too difficult for textbook writers to come to grips with Vietnam thus why there is inadequate textbook coverage Sanoff 1987 Frances Haley believes Vietnam is ignored in textbooks because it lacks advocates unlike the Holocaust and the importance of the war is ignored on advanced placement United States history exams Sanoff 1987 Diane Ratvich 2004 asserts that history textbook writers and editors have mastered the art of compression reducing complex controversies to a few lines or a page smoothing out the rough edges of reality eliminating the confusion and rancor that invariably accompanied major crises Historical debates disappear or shrink to a few leaden sentences Historical conflicts lose their drama