American History Was Dishonest and Boring Before It Became “Scary”

The current uproar over Critical Race Theory has me thinking about an experience with American History.

As a high school senior, I enrolled in Advanced Placement American History. I sat at the desk upfront, facing the black chalkboard, with Michaela sitting at the desk behind me.

Michaela was interesting, attractive and confounding young woman with sharp eyebrows, a human puzzle who was the main reason why I never skipped a class. However, I was careful around her though, as she was prone to switching moods without much prompting. Michaela enjoyed massaging my head during history class.

One afternoon before we entered the class space, I asked her why she liked touching my head. She smiled and said, “I just like touching it. I feel like I’m creating art. Plus it’s smooth and it helps with my stress too. You don’t mind, do you?”

I considered her question for a few moments. American history was a slog to get through and Michaela’s head rubs were the closest I came to a woman touching me intimately at that age. “I don’t mind,” I said. “You can touch my head all you want.”

“Yay! That makes me so happy!”

Michaela applied these massages as our teacher, Mrs. Carter, proffered lectures on the usual historical…