- Johnathan K Williams is an Iowa native and an assistant professor of instruction at the University of Northern Iowa.
Love does not mean ignoring flaws. No, in fact, it means unconditionally accepting one no matter their downsides while offering a willing hand to overcome a difficult past.
I grew up in Iowa and have the fortune of returning to a place I love to teach American history to Iowa students at the University of Northern Iowa. After studying seven years in New England to receive my doctoral degree, however, things have drastically changed since I departed. This includes a continuing effort to dictate “good” and “exceptional” American history from the “bad.”
I love the United States — it has always been my home — and that passion developed from my public education in Iowa to become a first-generation college graduate. I am fortunate for the opportunities this state gave me, and I certainly appreciate the opportunity to return the favor as a term-based professor at one of its great state institutions of higher education. Yet, I am troubled by the recent advancement of House File 2330, a bill that will dictate how history is taught in K-12 education in the state — one that erroneously simplifies history and dissuades critical thinking and civic engagement among Iowa students.