David McCullough's heroes of history

David McCullough: - my bridges. But truly, isn't it wonderful?

This bridge figures in the story of another American in Paris: Augustus Saint-Gaudens, a street kid from New York. He was determined to be a sculptor, and scraped together the money to study here.

David McCullough: He got by, barely, almost starving. But he got by and he studied, and he progressed rapidly.

His greatest works are part of the American landscape. Abraham Lincoln, in Chicago. In Boston, a memorial to the black soldiers who fought in the Union Army. And in New York's Central Park, the famous statue of Civil War General William Sherman. Saint-Gaudens suffered from periods of depression. And while working on the Sherman sculpture in Paris, had a recurrence that one day became unbearable.

David McCullough: It was very early in the morning, still not quite light. And what he was going to do was kill himself by jumping off this bridge.

Morley Safer: The Pont des Arts.

David McCullough: The Pont des Arts, the bridge of the arts. And as he got out here, probably about where we're standing, the sun began to rise, and the whole facade of the Louvre was lit up, all the bridges. And he said to himself, "I don't want to die. I want to live." And he started whistling, and walked back up to the studio happy as can be. It was Paris. Paris saved his life, literally saved his life.

We moved on to the Sorbonne, Paris's ancient university. It changed the lives of many other Americans.

David McCullough: Charles Sumner was here in 1838. And he had come to broaden himself, to become a more civilized human being.

Sumner was a young Boston lawyer who found himself studying alongside students from colonial Africa.

David McCullough: He saw that they were dressed exactly like the other students. They were treated like everybody else. And he wrote in his journal that night "I wonder if the way we treat black people at home has more to do with what we've been taught than the natural order of things." And it was, it was an epiphany for him.

Sumner went home convinced of the evils of slavery, and became a major voice in the campaign to abolish it.

David McCullough: So you talk about dropping a stone in the pond that sends out ripples. This one young man, one American, studying here at the Sorbonne, has that moment, goes home, and that was the effect.

Just about the only 19th century pilgrim with anything negative to say about Paris was Mark Twain, who may or may not have meant it when he said he was shocked, shocked by the can-can dancers. Twain would be truly shocked to see Paris after dark today.

Otherwise, 21st century Americans find the city - with its art, its history, its cafes and byways - as beguiling as the first wave of Americans did.

David McCullough: Are you a citizen of Paris?

Woman: I am.

David McCullough: Lucky you.

McCullough encounters fans everywhere. Many of them turned out for a reception in his honor at the residence of the American ambassador to France, Charles Rivkin, where the author had an unexpected encounter with a very famous admirer.

David McCullough: I just kissed Olivia de Havilland.

And for good measure, he did it again.

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[soniesue]

redwells: I had a relative who was run out of town because his great-great-grandfather was a thief. Of course he said it wasn't his fault because he wasn't even born then....but I think he got what he deserved!

[redwells]

I to enjoy American history. What I didn't like, was this piece was called Heroes of History. White people had their heroes of history and achieved Independs from Great Britain. The Blacks had their heroes and slavery was ended. In that entire pace nothing was mention about American Indians Hero's, oh that's right we have none. Well here is some History you can teach your kids. In 1830 President Andrew Jackson past the Indian removal Act, there is a lot more to it but basically made it legal to kill an Indian. Also tell your kids how you wiped out entire Indian tribes that have been here for 1000's of years and are now gone, you tell them that is called genocide.

I am an American Indian and a Veteran my farther and his farther both fought in wars so we can keep this land we call home.

White people have no honor and should be ashamed of your selves.

[pleasebbetter]

Thank you for this informative and interesting two-parter. Always a pleasure to learn - or re-learn - from Mr. McCullough.

As noted above, a brief postscript mentioning that Brooklyn's River Cafe (seen in the story) incurred ruinous damage in 'Sandy' would have tied to the show's opening segment.

[FranBacon]

Perhaps, if 60 Minutes wants to advocate a wider education of history, they should strive to be more accurate in their presentations.

The McCullough piece stated that "France was the cradle of the modern idea of democracy." That is 100% false. It was British thinkers such as Bacon, Hobbes, and Locke building on the Magna Carta that introduced the world to Modern Democracy.

Even Voltaire, the father of the French Enlightenment, pointed to Britain's society as the most Enlightened of the early 18th century. Montesquieu stated similar sentiments in his Spirit of the Laws.

[sweetie6116]

WOW...I was so shocked and hurt by the comments made by Mr. McCullough.
Has he been in a school environment in the past 10 years?

You HAVE to be certified in your subject area to teach. We don't get education degrees. What is this about?

Primary school teachers focus on HOW children learn while they are in college. THat is vitally important. After that, you teach in your subject area. You CANNOT teach outside of your subject area unless you are getting your degree in that area. It is called a provisional.

I do think he is right about the parental responsibility. Most research shows that children with good parental support make better grades. Those parents who see school as a baby sitter are the ones who are not helping their child in their education.

He did not tell how it is in China for example. By the time children are in 6th grade, if they do not have stellar grades, they are taken OUT of the school system and are sent to learn a trade and work in factories. SO....China's schools look fabulous when indeed they are not serving ALL of the children as we do in America.

Wow is all I can say. I enjoyed his segment until he began talking poorly about American teachers.

[NancyyGrace]

It is a shame that politics is in education but it is. It affects every class every day. Your show gave support to those who mistakenly blame teachers. In a better world teachers should be responsible but today it makes sense like blaming bank tellers for the bank crisis.

[credibility2]

McCullogh is correct. Today's young are illiterate when it comes to knowing about our nation's history. The parents and teachers of kids are equally illiterate. We're more concerned about being PC, lest we "offend" someone with the historical foundation of our nation. Today's young, parents and teachers are woefully ignorant about many things and not just U.S. history.

[cherryapple5]

credibility2,
Most teachers are not illiterate when it comes to knowing about our nation's history as you may believe. Our nation as a whole puts the teaching of history and the arts at the bottom of the educational totem pole. I can be a "David McCullough" as far as knowledge of history goes, but if my district doesn't give me the time to teach then my advanced skills are pointless. You are absolutely right about the worries about being "PC". It just takes one parent to complain to a school about being offended by a topic, ie. Salem Witch Trials, any holiday, for it to be banned from the school altogether. Also add the over-testing of our youth because people want yearly "proof" that we are doing our jobs. Blame your politicians and colleges that prepare teachers for the state of today's education system, not the teachers themselves.

[macnagle]

David McCullough is right. Today's youth are pitifully unaware of history. Even the New York Times backs up his claim with an article titled, "Ignorance of U.S. History Shown by College Freshmen". Oh wait, that Times article ran on April 4, 1943! How ironic! Even more ironic is the fact this was the same time when David McCullough was ten years old and a student during the "golden era" of education when teachers really taught and students really learned.

Balderdash!

I will forgive this famed historian for using a few personal experiences (from college campuses) to make broad negative conclusions about America's schools and teachers. I am sure he knows such "evidence" is very undependable.

I always liked McCullough and still do. I think he is an outstanding scholar who made a mistake here. I am not about to claim that overall McCullough is a bogus intellectual/historian based on one personal experience I had while watching 60 Minutes.

NOTE: Not only is McCullough's claim grounded in shaky evidence, but so is the entire belief held by many that America's schools are in a system wide crisis. Luckily, to make my claim, I assembled better evidence. Here it is - http://publicschooldefender3.blogspot.com/

[subeydo]

I am also a teacher but of primary children. I am not a subject matter expert on any of the things I teach, but I am passionate about teaching and the children I teach. We do have to teach for the focus on standardized testing to a point, but I like to think I don't sacrifice other subjects for reading and math instruction. I use Social Studies and Science informational books to teach reading so I can cover those subjects well enough for my primary age students. I hate general statements about grade point averages and being an expert in a subject in order to be a good teacher, even a great teacher. I think it is the passion one has for learning and knowing. The passion one has for helping influence others to be curious and want to find things out. I have to give my students a strong basic knowledge of reading and math so they can find their own knowledge later. That is very important, but I also try to install a curiosity for what is out there and where they can go to find it. Children want to know we have to help them know what they need to know so they can look for it on their own at some point. I guess my main point is that it really, for me anyway, boils down to the passion one has for learning that makes a good teacher.

On a side note, I love Mr. McCullough's books and I enjoyed this segment very much!

S

[sepa2639]

Mr. McCullough,I am a high school teacher in the state of Washington with a bachelor degree in fine arts and a master's degree in Art Education. I teach the subject I recieved my degree in; visual art including art history. I love history and had a good public education in history though I am 59. Today many subjects are being taught marginally in elementary and middle school due to the focus on high stakes testing implemented through polictical pressure. Their is not the time in the school day for what teachers would really like to teach their students, since the children are required to pass the test. The public has this perception that our children are not being educated and want proof that they can read, write and do arithmetic. Our education system is being compared to countries that our smaller then some of our states. When the reality is we educate our children better each year our public education system has been in existence. Policticians, Parents require educators with their own money to get continuing education. We are highly educated yet when an issue arises in our nation, teachers and the state of education is blamed. But they do not ask the highly educated teachers what we think should be done to improve education. Ask a public teacher what could be done to improve education, we are highly educated, love teaching, love children and have solutions. We are not the problem, but the solution!

[Li88y]

I'm thankful you don't teach English. Let's proofread in the future before you bring more shame to the profession. I have your back, I'm a teacher as well, but I make sure people know I earned my degrees.