[Mb-civic] Harry Potter and Our Forgotten History - David Broder - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Harry Potter and Our Forgotten History

By David S. Broder
Thursday, July 28, 2005; Page A25

Along with millions of others, my granddaughters Lauren, Nicole and 
Julia eagerly tore open the boxes containing "Harry Potter and the 
Half-Blood Prince" as soon as the books arrived at the airport near the 
cabin where they were on vacation. They then disappeared into their 
rooms -- barely to reappear for the next 24 hours, while they were 
devouring the sixth in the best-selling series.

And thereby they proved David McCullough's point. Late last month, the 
prolific historian had said in a Senate hearing that his examination of 
school history textbooks had shown a disquieting trend. Over the years, 
he said, he has noticed that the typeface in those books is growing 
larger, the illustrations are more lavish and the content is shrinking. 
The authors and the teachers using these textbooks "seem to assume that 
students don't like to read," he said, "and then Harry Potter comes 
along and blows it all away."

<>McCullough, whose latest volume, "1776," is a nonfiction bestseller, 
was the star witness at a hearing convened by Sens. Lamar Alexander and 
Ted Kennedy to air their concerns about what they called "U.S. History: 
Our Worst Subject?"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/28/AR2005072800213.html?nav=hcmodule 

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