✨Unbias Your History Text
It Starts With 2 Simple Questions
For millennia, humans have told stories.
These stories weren’t just for entertainment they passed down the history and values of our culture.
When I read my children history, I’m not just teaching them facts about kings, knights, and revolutions. I’m teaching them about freedom, bravery, and sacrifice.
We treat history as an impartial retelling of agreed-upon facts.
It isn’t.
History is a story; and stories always have a point of view.
Black Beauty argues for humane treatment of animals.
Henry V wrestles with leadership and the moral weight of power.
Charlotte’s Web reminds us that appearances mislead—and that loyalty matters.
Great authors are never neutral & neither are history curricula.
Every history curriculum makes choices.
What to include.
What to leave out.
What to linger over or pass by quickly.
Like the stories we love, history passes down a culture’s values. So, it shouldn’t surprise you that…
There is no such thing as an unbiased history text.
Every curriculum seeks to impart a particular worldview. And that view may not align with your values.
That’s not a problem.
It’s an opportunity.
Because in our homes, we get to teach something more valuable than facts. We get to teach our children how to read carefully, think critically, and seek truth.
This seems daunting, but it begins with two simple questions.
Is this true?
How would you know?
Shadow Rebbe introduced these to me. He’s worth a follow.
Is this true?
One of the most powerful things I learned in graduate school was to question everything.
We were given peer-reviewed research papers—written, critiqued, and published by people with FAR more training than us. Then, we were asked a version of “Is this true?” I spent my formative years as a scientist tearing apart the work of experts.
I was learning to read critically, but I was also learning something far more powerful → never blindly accept what is written no matter the source.
How would you know?
But it’s not enough to read critically. You must be able to determine what is real—and what is false.
How would you know — instructs our children to gather evidence.
A common tactic in history curricula is what I call mind-reading.
Recently, we read about a tribe that relocated because they “didn’t like” a neighboring group. The text confidently explained the inner thoughts of a group of people from 150 years ago in a remote region of Africa.
I paused and asked my kids, “Is this true? How would we know?”
Together, we brainstormed what evidence might support that claim—letters they might have written, oral histories passed down, accounts from multiple observers, records of conflict or trade.
In the end, we concluded that all we knew was the tribe moved.
We didn’t know why—and we wouldn’t until we had more evidence.
Moments like these are where real learning happens.
I don’t think of history as a subject where I impart to my children everything that happened in the world. I think of it as an opportunity to learn about humanity—what drives people to explore distant lands, move across continents, and fight for independence.
Through our conversations, we learn to challenge what’s come before and imagine a better future, while still grappling honestly with how hard that work can be.
It sounds ambitious. But you don’t need a PhD or a perfect curriculum to begin.
✨It starts with two questions—and the decision to raise children who can think for themselves.
If this way of teaching resonates with you, I’d love to go deeper with you.
Those two questions—Is this true? and How would you know?—are just the beginning. Over a decade of studying neuroscience, psychology, and persuasion, I’ve identified seven narrative tactics that quietly manipulate our thinking.
I break these 7 tactics down with simple, easy questions so kids can learn to think clearly and spot hidden assumptions.
I even made a PDF to print so you can have these questions by your side while learning or reading history.
✨Every story can be a chance to practice wisdom.
Let’s go!
This part is a gift to the beloved who generously support my work♥️
✨Seven Tactics Manipulating Our Children’s Thinking
(And the Questions That Take Back Control)