A Socially Constructed History

Commons perceptions about race, especially in America, have rooted from social constructs based on popular culture ideas and racial historical discourses (Childs, 2015). When a child learns history in their third grade classroom, how do they know what they are learning is accurate? They think they know these historical facts because someone is telling them that they occurred. It is important to realize that history is socially constructed. The content published in history books is generally the perception of an event from one or even multiple people, but that is not enough. Everyone involved in an event should contribute to the way history is retold, or at least the individual that was directly effected by it. As I attempt to write this narrative, I hope that I am recalling the event as accurately and with as little biases as possible, but I know an unbiased perception does not exist; the reason history is perceived so differently by different individuals. The power and importance of personal connection, the challenge to think about one’s own values and ethics, and developing tolerance before hatred­­­–these are the things that are not taught in the third grade classroom.