Adolf Hitler was a German football coach, say one in 20 children.

[Eresh]

Originally Posted by Ivorytickler

The one I'm thinking of was done in the US. They took a camera and attended college graduations and selected random graduates (standing in cap and gown) to answer a set of questions. I remember that one of the schools was a famous one out east but I can't remember which one it was. This was shown in my science methods class in grad school. It was an eye opener.

The film is "A Private Universe", and it was done at a Harvard graduation ceremony.

Originally Posted by Ivorytickler

Well said. History is one thing we need to know. I have students and parents alike who get upset that I test kids on science history. I get "What does that have to do with doing chemistry?" and "Why do we need to know THIS stuff?".

I wish more teachers would teach the history of science! It's a great way to show students the nature of science, something everyone should have a basic understanding of.

[Snort]

Adolf Hitler was a German football coach, say one in 20 children.

I bet they didn't know that he coached Manchester United.

[sailordave]

It's scary the level of knowlege, or lack of, regarding some of the most important moments in history. I give students a pass when it comes to WW1. That thing was a political mess. WW2 was more clear cut and yet many students can't even get right the three nations we were at war with or even the decade in which the war happened. I've heard some students think in WW2 we were at war with Vietnam.

[TuborgP]

Folks VE day was 65 years ago. It is not part of todays kids lives it is history and just that, history. Most don't have relatives still alive who fought in the war and can tell stories not that they do. The generational experiences in the world today are considerable and they probably consider adults fairly uneducated about the world of today and not just the history of today be the technology of today etc.

[flyers29]

Originally Posted by TuborgP

Folks VE day was 65 years ago. It is not part of todays kids lives it is history and just that, history. Most don't have relatives still alive who fought in the war and can tell stories not that they do. The generational experiences in the world today are considerable and they probably consider adults fairly uneducated about the world of today and not just the history of today be the technology of today etc.

The problem is that many adults who certainly have those family contexts are probably just as ignorant when it comes to basic history. This is only one example of a much larger problem.

[anadyr21]

Originally Posted by Dr. Foosball

As someone who works with school-age children, I am happy to hear it is only one in twenty.

Look around. There are tons of ignorant people and those people are making babies.

I think what each person considers "ignorant" is going to vary. I think the fact that there are women having babies and don't know there are different "holes" for urination and menstral cycles is appalling. Yet I can't identify a single country in Asia, and I've just recently learned European geography.

While it's sad that children, and adults alike, don't seem to know much about WWII, can you blame them or the schools? I must say, in my US History and World History classes, we didn't come anywhere close to talking about WWI, much less WWII. In college, I was a bio major. It wasn't part of my curriculum to learn this. (I'm a WWII buff now, but studied it on my own time)

So while a person may be ignorant on a particular subject, that doesn't make them an idiot, either.

flyers29

This is only one example of a much larger problem.

Yes, this is. Apparently, if it's not on a standardized test, or lead to a career/job opportunity, it's not particularly important.

[sailordave]

Is it true that in some history classes, there are lessons on celebrities (actors and singers)? I can understand lessons on such celebrities if it were a drama or music class but not in American history.