Is innocence greater than knowledge?

     On Monday, we discussed the poem "The History Teacher" by Billy Collins. I really liked this poem because it was fun and unique, but it also taught a very valuable lesson. It was about a teacher who taught his students less harsh versions of historical events to "protect his students' innocence." The teacher is happy with how he's teaching and he thinks he's doing the right thing for his students, but all he is doing is making them think they live in a perfect world. This poem teaches about the idea that if people aren't taught about past mistakes, then history will repeat itself.

     The worst part of this situation, in my opinion, is the fact that the history teacher finds nothing wrong with his teaching. In the last stanza, it says he "walked home past flower beds and white picket fences." This is saying that he is in his own little perfect mindset. He is completely oblivious to the damage he is creating for the future generation; he is even proud of what he is doing. The teacher finds the kids' innocence more important than their correct knowledge of history's experiences. Although, to some extent, children should live their youth without worries, they need to understand what our world has done wrong in the past so that their generation will know what not to do. It is really just important to keep stories and historical knowledge alive, which is what Harriet Jacobs did by writing about her experiences as a slave. In the long run, knowledge of the past will be much more valuable and important than innocence as a child.