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Every second Monday of October is federally observed as “Columbus Day” in the United States. In addition to the many government offices that will be closed today, many public schools will have the day off. However, when students are in class are they likely to learn the critical history behind of the 15th century figure named Christopher Columbus who supposedly “discovered America?” According to the latest book by James W. Loewen, the chances are highly unlikely. “Teaching What Really Happened: How to Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks & Get Students Excited About Doing History,” is the follow-up to the critic’s bestselling “Lies My Teacher Told Me.” In Loewen’s latest work, he calls for a new way to approach the subject of history in schools that critically engages students of all backgrounds and avoids perpetuating the misconceptions about Columbus and numerous other topics covered in massive textbooks. With suggestions on how to instruct classes with tools such as local history assignments, “Teaching What Really Happened,” lays out a method on how to get students interested in the subject once again and realize its vital importance to society. People’s Historian Howard Zinn has said of Loewen’s latest work that “it is not only a devastating critique of how our nation’s history has been taught in our schools, but also a wonderful guide to how the teaching of history can open minds, excite the imagination, and educate a new generation dedicated to making this a better world.”

GUEST: James Loewen, author of Teaching What Really Happened: How to Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks & Get Students Excited About Doing History,” as well as the best-selling “Lies My Teacher Told Me.”