Dr. Nasaw doesn't know this, but he has been inspiring me since he appeared at the Miami Book Fair International via BookTV on C-SPAN. While being interviewed with Mr. Les Standiford (Director of Florida International University's Creative Writing Program) and Mr. David McCullough, on the statement as to why we have become "historically illiterate".
"It's the fault of my wonderful profession, I think, in large part. I don't think we teach history as history should be taught. History is wonderful stories about our past that help to answer questions about our present and I think the better we teach history, and the further away we get from dull, fact-driven textbooks, and the more wonderful stories we tell, the more our children, and we, ourselves, will understand how extraordinarily exciting our history is, and how important it is to know it."
(Nov. 17, 2012) *NOTE: Transcribed from interview as accurately as I could. Any errors or misunderstandings is the fault on my part and not that of Dr. Nasaw.*
