Often taking a prominent position over a whiteboard or across a wall,

Often taking a prominent position over a whiteboard or across a wall, timelines are one of the most commonplace classroom tools used to teach history. They present a concise chronology with dates and events listed in a linear narrative, forming a skeletal story of history. Despite their usefulness in allowing students to gain a cursory knowledge of many key moments in the past, their bare-bones, fact-centered structure is symptomatic of the myopic character of curricula that emphasize the What, When, and Who and eclipse the significance of Why and How. In the United States, by far the most common brand and format of timeline is the World Almanac for Kids US History Timeline—a banner set of 8 horizontal panels each with 8 events, beginning with Columbus’s voyage in 1492 and ending with Clinton’s election in 1993. This timeline has photos accompanying it—about 5–6 per panel—next to most of the dates, and below each date is a 1–2 line description of an event that took place in that year. What immediately commands one’s attention when looking at this timeline are the dates themselves. Bolder and more prominently placed than anything else, they seem implied to be the most important feature of the timeline—even more so than the events’ descriptions. The way the dates line up in perfect order presents the viewer with a rigid historical narrative, complete with a beginning and end.

To analyze any particular timeline, it is important to recognize what the timeline expresses implicitly. The first implicit message transmitted by the World Almanac for Kids US History Timeline is that each event listed on the timeline’s face must hold some kind of particular historical significance to qualify as one of only 64 pieces of American history presented, though no event’s entry gives even a vague explanation as to why it merits this. The second message the timeline conveys, simply by hanging in the classroom, is that this version of history is an “official” one. Third, that each of these events happened totally independent of one another.

Fourth, that, at most, only one significant event occurred in any given year. And finally, that American history is entirely made up of wars and minor battles, punctuated by the occasional presidential election and technological innovation. Now, certainly, one can easily surmise that the timeline is not conscious of these implications, and instead assumes that the viewer will automatically acknowledge that it is not a comprehensive history but rather a simple summary of events through time. The danger of using the timeline as a teaching tool, of course, lies squarely in that assumption.

1. The author implies which of the following?

(A) Dates are not important in history.
(B) Historical events are not interconnected.
(C) Implicit messages can be as important as explicit ones.
(D) A study of American history that does not include women and minorities is incomplete.
(E) American history is best thought of as a linear continuum of events.


2. The author’s attitude toward timelines can best be described as

(A) condescending and impertinent
(B) tolerant and bemused
(C) suspicious and resigned
(D) wary and portentous
(E) negative and complacent


3. The author would most likely agree with all of the following EXCEPT:

(A) There are more than 64 important events in American history.
(B) Some students ascribe importance to prominent graphic position.
(C) Timelines have some positive uses.
(D) Timelines have no subliminal effects.
(E) Unofficial histories have merit.


4. According to the passage, a problem with timelines is

(A) their prominent placement in classrooms
(B) their lack of context
(C) their infinite nature
(D) their factual inaccuracy
(E) their inclusion of photos


5. Which of the following could be substituted for the word myopic without changing the meaning of the passage?

(A) ignorant
(B) bigoted
(C) purblind
(D) astigmatic
(E) mordant