EDUCATION : ‘Passionless’ History Texts Decried

Commonly used high school textbooks too often give students a picture of American history that is without color, passion, point or interest, a study released by the American Federation of Teachers said today.

The 158-page critique by historian Paul Gagnon analyzed five books and said they neglect the role of religion in American history, give short shrift to Old World roots and fail to explore deeply the thinking of such major figures as Abraham Lincoln.

The writers, he said, “labor too hard to balance affirmation and negation, and the result is a detached neutrality, passionless about both the ugly and the beautiful moments in our history.”