Why should they focus on heroes — and how will that help them understand history?
Learning about real heroes can help focus on the story of our past. Too often history is presented as a mere compilation of facts; emphasizing people and their achievements can draw students of any age into history’s narrative. All of us love to read about other people, but we frequently fail to guide kids into reading about the good people who have made — and are still making — our world a better place. Q: You make several interesting choices: Tecumseh, I.M. Pei, John Muir and George Marshall, among others. What were your criteria and how many “heroes” did you start with? A: My co-author, Lorraine Roscoe, had an initial list of 125, and mine was 175. Narrowing to 50 was incredibly difficult, especially when we reached 55 — who would be the last five to go? We wanted to help kids see that heroes are both male and female, from any race, religion, ethnic group, and from any field of human endeavor. Heroes are not perfect, but their positive achievements make them noteworthy. By the way,
