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TIL most people misuse 'primary source' in history lessons
Honestly, I keep seeing teachers call textbook summaries 'primary sources' in their lesson plans, and it drives me nuts. I volunteer at a local high school in Portland and had to correct a worksheet that listed an encyclopedia entry from 1998 as a primary document for studying the 1960s. How do you all handle teaching the difference without sounding like a jerk about it?
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leo_lopez19d ago
Yeah but who actually checks where the info came from these days anyway.
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singh.blair19d ago
Honestly I think you're overthinking this whole thing. Like who really cares where a random TikTok fact came from if it's just for a quick laugh or to sound smart at a party? Most people aren't writing academic papers here, they're just scrolling and sharing stuff that seems interesting. And let's be real, half the time the "source" is just someone else's tweet or a YouTube comment anyway. If you're gonna fact check every single thing you see online you'll never get anything done. So yeah, it's not that serious unless you're literally basing your life decisions on a meme. Just take it for what it is and move on.
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