Playing Games With History

By Karen Diegmueller & Debra Viadero

In a chilly, windowless ballroom in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Crystal City, Va., the National Council on History Standards officially met for the last time in May 1994. The group had nearly completed two years of work on a set of national standards that recommended for the first time what every schoolchild should learn about this country's history. And it was well on the way to finishing a companion set of standards for world history. The group's undertaking had been an unprecedented one, involving the direct participation of roughly 200 historians and educators from every part of the country, every historical discipline, every political stripe, and all levels of schooling. There was a sense of relief and celebration around the room.

One by one, the men and women gathered around the conference tables offered final words and praise for the American history documents that were nearly completed.

"Bravo," said a representative from a private schools' group. "Extremely admirable," enthused the American Federation of Teachers' liaison to the project....