Skip to Main Content

History Department: Home

ENDING RADICAL INDOCTRINATION IN K-12 SCHOOLING

On January 29,2025 President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order:

"... parents have witnessed schools indoctrinate their children in radical, anti-American ideologies while deliberately blocking parental oversight.  Such an environment operates as an echo chamber, in which students are forced to accept these ideologies without question or critical examination.  In many cases, innocent children are compelled to adopt identities as either victims or oppressors solely based on their skin color and other immutable characteristics.  In other instances, young men and women are made to question whether they were born in the wrong body and whether to view their parents and their reality as enemies to be blamed.  These practices not only erode critical thinking but also sow division, confusion, and distrust, which undermine the very foundations of personal identity and family unity. 

In response the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians released a joint statement, along with many other organizations:

"We reject the premise that it is ‘anti-American’ or ‘subversive’ to learn the full history of the United States with its rich and dramatic contradictions, challenges, and conflicts alongside its achievements, innovations, and opportunities.”

 

DATABASES

DATABASES VS. WEBSITES

Do you know the difference between a website and a database? Content found on the web is not all the same! 

  • WEBSITES can be created by almost anyone with access to the internet. While many websites provide factual and attributable information it can be hard to verify authorship. They may contain outdated information and they may have a bias.It is important to become familiar with web site evaluation. 
  • DATABASES are available through subscriptions. They may have a broad range of topics or be focused on a more specific one. They have been created for research purposes and the content is curated.

FACING HISTORY AND OURSEVES

NOODLETOOLS

NoodleTools is an online tool to help you create and save bibliographies. All Rivers students have access. The short videos below will help familiarize you with NoodleTools.

BPL eCARD REGISTRATION

As a resident of Massachusetts, you can apply for an eCard from the BPL. This provides access to multiple databases and other resources. Once you have an eCard, you will be able to check out eBooks under the Books and more tab.

ADDITIONAL RIVERS SCHOOL DATABASES

The Rivers School subscribes to numerous databases that support the curriculum and personal interests. Some are broad in scope and some have a more focused collection. Database content includes newspapers, magazines and journals, reference sources, images, and other primary sources. For a full A-Z list, click here. Many of our databases are available through the Massachusetts Library System. To browse these by subject area click here.

ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

U.S. HISTORY COLLECTION FROM PBS