Basic History You Are SHOCKED People Don't Know (testing, professors, how to)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And this is what many, many don't understand. History classes in middle/high school are survey courses. With required testing in various subjects this become even more true. You know what's on the test (the "suggested" curriculum) and you hit that hard.
College History courses that non-History majors take are often the same, wide and shallow. If the interest is there the student can usually take classes which drill down on a specific time period or region. But, again usually, the only people taking those classes are History majors or those who have an interest.
(For the record, I took 2 History of Latin America classes when I was in college. I graduated in 1977)
I'll bet the majority of history and political science majors never had a class on Latin America. Here is part of Pitt's requirements for a history major, which is 12 courses.
One course in four of the following six categories:
Africa
Asia
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
World/Comparative
You can graduate with a history degree without ever studying large chunks of history. In fact, this are Pitt's requirements for U.S. History classes.
U.S. History
One survey course from the following list:
Americans are lousy at Geography and History. It's just not taught in our schools much. Personally I love history and geography so I studied it on my own. Given the load kids have in decent schools, I don't think the dearth of these two subjects in our schools is at all important. If you'r kids want a well paying job they will be much better off concentrating on whats more relevant to a successful life, and that's not what's happening, or happened in some foreign country.
Why are the crimes against humanity, in the name of the British Empire, not taught in British schools or indeed acknowledged to the world in general. It's not all Hitler and Stalin that needs to be highlighted.
I'll bet the majority of history and political science majors never had a class on Latin America. Here is part of Pitt's requirements for a history major, which is 12 courses.
One course in four of the following six categories:
Africa
Asia
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
World/Comparative
You can graduate with a history degree without ever studying large chunks of history. In fact, this are Pitt's requirements for U.S. History classes.
U.S. History
One survey course from the following list:
HIST 0600 United States to 1877
HIST 0601 United States 1865 – Present
HIST 0670 Afro-American History 1
HIST 0671 Afro-American History 2
Ok, but what are the other 7 class offerings for a History major. Those above are intro courses.
Ok, but what are the other 7 class offerings for a History major. Those above are intro courses.
Here is the rest:
Core courses
One course in pre-1800 history
Concentration
Three additional courses are to be selected by the student with the help of a faculty member or the major advisor to form a chronological, geographic, or thematic concentration, which should normally be decided upon by the junior year.
Skills
Each student must take the following sequence of two courses:
HIST 1001 Introductory Seminar
HIST 1000 Capstone Seminar
Note: Students must take HIST 1001 prior to taking HIST 1000. An upper-level writing-intensive (W) course may be substituted for HIST 1001. The alternate course should be taken as soon as practicable.
Elective History course
Any course offered by the Department of History
I had an elementary school teacher who didn't know that Macon wasn't the capitol of Georgia. This school was 45 minutes north of the *actual* capitol, Atlanta.
I would hope more than 5% could properly spell "capital"; a "Capitol" is a building.
Quote:
Originally Posted by villageidiot1
I wouldn't consider not knowing many of the items on your list as shocking. In fact, I would be surprised if 5% of college graduates could identify and explain all of these items. I think some of these go beyond what we should expect as far as knowledge of basic history.
Are these colleges to whom you are referring for the clinically stupid?
I wouldn't consider not knowing many of the items on your list as shocking. In fact, I would be surprised if 5% of college graduates could identify and explain all of these items. I think some of these go beyond what we should expect as far as knowledge of basic history.
There is only so much that can be covered in K-12, and possibly one or a maximum of two history classes that most people take in college. People who are familiar with the Stalin's genocide in the Ukraine, or the political terror in South America in the 1970s and 80s, know about these topics because they are a student of history.
I do agree that our education system does a poor job on post WWII history. I would like to see less time spend on ancient civilizations, the Pilgrims, and Columbus; and more time spent on WWII to the present. Since I graduated from high school, there is an additional 42 years of history to be fit into history classes, but in order to cover the past 42 years, less time should be spent on other topics. That isn't happening.
I consider it shocking because many of today's pressing issues are rooted in contemporary history. We have ongoing debates about Iran, Israel, Palestine, immigration, etc. but it seems that those with the strongest opinions have the least knowledge of how we got here.
All of the topics I listed were things I learned in high school. Sure, I went more in-depth in college (double majored in international relations and politics, one of my minors was Latin American studies with a focus on contemporary political history), but they certainly weren't entirely new concepts!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbgusa
I would hope more than 5% could properly spell "capital"; a "Capitol" is a building.
I hope more than 5% don't suffer from chemobrain. It's a good day when I'm able to write in a way that doesn't make me appear like I've had a stroke. But thanks for pointing it out.
I used to have arguments with people (including adults) as a child who swore that there were 52 states that comprised the USA I could not then, and do not now, understand how people came to believe such ridiculousness.
I used to have arguments with people (including adults) as a child who swore that there were 52 states that comprised the USA I could not then, and do not now, understand how people came to believe such ridiculousness.
Next time someone claims there are 52 states, instead of arguing, have them name the 52 states.
They probably think their are 50 contiguous states and then see Hawaii and Alaska over by themselves on the map, so think they must be extra states. Although I don't know how anyone living in the US doesn't know that there are only 50 states, seems like basic knowledge that even a preschooler knows.
But I can see how a complete idiot looking at a map can come to that conclusion.
Its like people who think that Alaska and Hawaii are neighboring island states off the coast of California, because that is how they are shown on maps of the US.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I could not then, and do not now, understand how people came to believe such ridiculousness.
