The Canadian market
for school history textbooks is fragmented because we have no standard
national curriculum or examinations. The grade level to study history
varies widely as does course length. Arguably, Quebec's French language
Canadian history texts are the best in Canada because such texts
are based upon standardized factors that create a market. In addition,
schools divert money from books to computers, and school textbook
writers are difficult to find. Provincial subsidy rules often favour
poor textbooks printed inside a province, thus restricting the market
even for the very best of books printed elsewhere.
Close-Up Canada
displays some of the virtues and many of the vices found in French
language school textbooks. There are thoughtful, stimulating illustrations
and activities throughout the book. Care has been taken with reading
levels, about grades 8 and 9, while there are sufficient vocabulary
and computer activities to satisfy both traditional and progressive
teaching methods. Materials on Black Canadians and Jewish Emancipation
fill gaps all too present in Canadian schoolbooks. Every Canadian
history teacher would benefit from reading the vast range of teaching
and learning activities in this work.
This book has many eye-catching,
colourful side-bars, appealing to the video generation, however,
sections non-continuous to the main narrative are difficult to edit
using modern, electronic printing. Sadly, editorial difficulties
mar the book. An ambitious book such as this requires editorial
and writing teams larger than the market can support. Be that as
it may, basic pedagogy also requires accurate dates, numbers, and
place names in a textbook. Close-Up Canada has some obvious
typos and inaccuracies such as 1740s Louisbourg flourishing in the
1840s (p. 105) and the claim that "James Wolfe arrived with
39 000 soldiers and 25 warships" (p.114). One can imagine "Freddy"
raising his hand to ask how big the ships were. In reality, Wolfe
had approximately 9 000 soldiers and 225 ships. Another example
has Ezekiel Hart contesting "Trois Rivieres" (p. 277)
rather than Three Rivers, the official name of the riding and the
town at that time. This illustrates a major difficulty in writing
Canadian history textbooks. Various federally funded agencies and
projects such as Heritage Canada, Canada Post, and the Dictionary
of Canadian Biography have taken to replacing official, historical
English names such as Three Rivers in order to use more politically
correct French ones. Does one write for historical accuracy or for
political correctness in a Canadian textbook?
Close-Up Canada
encompasses a three hundred year period from 1539-1849 and is consequently
not a good buy for provinces teaching all of Canadian history in
one year. New France blends into Upper Canada in this version of
history so it is probably designed for the Ontario market. There
is a skewed distribution of space. Approximately 20% of the 322
page book is devoted to the 12 years from 1837-1849. Topics are
also skewed. Western and Lower Canada are conspicuous by their absence
and the fur trade stops at 1763. For example, William Lyon MacKenzie,
the 1837 Rebel, has 7 pages whereas Alexander MacKenzie, "the
First across the Continent," and arguably one of the greatest
explorers in North American history, is absent from this book. We
Canadians complain that Americans glorify Lewis and Clarke yet ignore
MacKenzie. So do we.
Skewed intellectual
balance is the largest problem with the overall content of this
book. As in French language books, by measurement of space distributed
to him (7 pages), Papineau is now the most important figure in Canadian
history. Canadians are no longer sturdy fur traders, we are sturdy
rebels in this version of history. Our rebellions of 1837 are to
be compared and contrasted to the American Revolution (p. 293).
The "Conflict and Change" section (p. 247-300) has too
much conflict and not enough change. While negative factors about
Canada must be aired, positive factors such as the radical franchise
rules for Lower Canada would throw a more balanced light upon Canadian
democracy than is presented in this book.
This brings us to the
necessity for balanced treatment. Children understand that issues
have several sides. They actually like debating both sides of an
issue and understand that history is not simple. Unfortunately,
the often shallow, unbalanced, and anti-British tone so common in
French language textbooks, is all too prevalent in Close-Up Canada.
On page 283 we read, "Papineau was not always a Reformer. In
his early life he was an admirer of Britain". Tighter editing
would have replaced "Reformer" with "Rebel",
a more intellectually accurate and defensible description. Rather
than present a balanced account of the 1837 Rebellion (for instance,
there are no biographies of Chateau Clique members such as Richardson:
founder of Canadian banking; supporter of Jewish Emancipation; opponent
of slavery); the book presents what can only be called a Quebec
nationalist perspective. For instance, the book asserts that the
British "cut out Chenier's heart and displayed it in a tavern
for several days"(p.293). There is little contemporary evidence
that this took place. Rather than explain that this incident was
probably Patriote propaganda, or, alternatively, balance the incident
with the fact that the Patriotes murdered British prisoners such
as Jack Weir, a one-sided viewpoint is stated as truth.
It is difficult to review
a book such as this. Textbooks are important because they promote
knowledge and literacy. While textbooks should be free to discuss
any point of view they should not promote one, debatable point of
view. We are losing, perhaps even have lost, the pool of talent
needed to produce school history texts. The United States has a
vast market, and teachers often choose from a range of books and
adapt their curriculum to the book. The British have their National
Curriculum and a range of history examinations for 16 and 18 year
olds. British teachers can choose the exam and a textbook for that
exam. Canada has neither the market size nor the standardization
to create a history textbook industry. We produce the textbooks
we deserve.