“A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government,” said George Washington.
And how well do you think we’re doing with that right now?
Not so well. In fact, if we look around at the political turmoil around us, we might assume we’ve failed completely. But don’t blame the history teachers. Ask Mike Burgess. He’s one of the best history teachers in South Carolina, and he’s doing his best trying to teach our kids while he is constantly pummeled by the left and the right.
You’ll have an opportunity to ask him on March 14, when he will deliver a free lecture at the Richland Library main location on Assembly Street in Columbia. His program, “The Soul of America: The Challenges of Teaching the American Revolution in the 21st Century,” will be presented in the library’s Theater.
The lecture, part of the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum’s regular Noon Debrief program, was presented at the museum itself last year. But since – as you may have noticed – the state of America’s understanding of its own history and governing principles has gotten no better in the past 12 months, he has updated the talk with new material.
It’s a talk he gives a lot, because he is much in demand as a speaker. That’s partly because of being named the 2023 Gilder Lehrman South Carolina History Teacher of the Year and South Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution Outstanding Teacher of American History. But it’s also because he is a fearless, outspoken advocate for improved history education in our schools.
Things have been bad for a while, and he says they are getting worse for history teachers (and English teachers), “thanks in part to new directions from the state Department of Education.” Teachers refer to new guidelines received from above as “1,000 ways to get fired.” Anxiety is high. And things often get even worse by the time new directives reach the classroom, depending on how districts handle them. Each district’s attorney “controls more than the superintendent.”
“History must be taught fully, fairly, and honestly. Without it, we lose our understanding of the past, fail to explain the present, and squander the hope of building a brighter future,” he says. And we’re failing to do that at a particularly bad time.”
Burgess, a great-great-great-great grandson of a soldier who gave his life at the Battle of King’s Mountain, particularly stresses the importance of understanding the invaluable legacy of our country’s Revolution.
“For nearly two and a half centuries, these ideals have illuminated the world. But today, that light flickers. The work of the Revolution is unfinished. Its legacy stands at a crossroads.”
But he’s not all gloom and doom. He has a set of clear proposals for changing course. Come hear about them at the library on March 14.
History teacher Mike Burgess speaks at the Relic Room in 2024.
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