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.
Nice ad hom. Allow me to make a rebutal?
The issue with U.S. history is magnified with world history. U.S. is really from the 1490's in the history books even though Indigenous tribes existed in what would become America for a millennia before the first Vikings settled in Greenland and Canada, let alone Columbus and Vespucci.
1490's or 1600's to now is a lot, try adding a millennia or two or three on top of it with ancient civilizations like Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, Greece, Rome, etc. Yeah makes cramming U.S. history into three years seem easy right? Guess what, it still isn't and things will get white-washed and glossed over.
Basically in New York and Arizona is mostly similar it is two years of World History to one year of U.S. History. That said, middle school it is flipped. Not as sure in AZ but N.Y. it was. Here's the breakdowns from about 12 years ago:
6th Grade World Historty: Mespotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, The Crusades, Middle Ages/Mideval Times
7th Grade U.S. History: Colonial origins, French and Indian War, the taxes, Revoultionary War, The Constitution, XYZ Affair,, Louisiana pyrchase, War of 1812, Monroe Doctrine, lead up to Civil War, Civil War
8th Grade U.S. History: Reconstruction, the Indian Wars, the Progressive Era, Spanish-American War, Theodore Roosevelt, World War 1, the Roaring 20's (glossed over), The Great Depression, World War 2, The Cold War, the Red Scare, Korean War
9th Grade World History: Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Rome, Ancient India, Ancient China, the Muslim Empire, The Crusades
10th Grade World History: Enlightenment, the French Revolution, the Napoleanoic Wars, the change of monarchs to democracy, World War 1, Russian Revolution, World War 2, the Cold War
11th Grade U.S. History: The Great Society, Lobbying and, Vietnam were the three main topics I remember... It was mostly regent test prep.
12th grade: Government and Economics or Contemporary Business
In N.Y. there was no proper civics class, nor is there in AZ, just a silly test for AZ hough school students I could answer right in my sleep.
From my breakdown, it is clear to see an overlap in high school World History. 9th and 10th grade World History had a lot of overlap with 6th grade World History for 9th and 10th with 8th Grade and some 11th Grade U.S. History.
W-O-W!
That's some education y'all get in NY! I recall being impressed with teacher training requirements & exams in NY that I read about, too. When I went to school, 6th grade "Social Studies" was dedicated to Latin America. We never had world history: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Crusades, etc. Not to mention: Enlightenment, French Revolution, Napoleon, etc.
I'm impressed! That's one heck of an education y'all get! How long has the curriculum been like that? Was it the same when you were in school? I ask, because I noticed the schools I went to offer more, now, but that's because the state university requires a lot more than it used to, to qualify for entrance.
Teachers, how is it possible that so many college kids give quizzical looks when asked who we fought in WWII, the Civil War, etc? Serious question.
That's a good question.
When I was teaching 9th grade earth science, I was frustrated that the kids didn't know the metric system. So frustrated that I visited the middle school one day, and the teacher who taught science there invited me to come back on a day they were doing something he thought I might like to see (8th grade). There the kids were, clearly (and correctly) measuring a lab experiment with the metric system. Same teacher most of my students had had just one year earlier. If you can explain that to me, let me know.
When I was teaching 9th grade earth science, I was frustrated that the kids didn't know the metric system. So frustrated that I visited the middle school one day, and the teacher who taught science there invited me to come back on a day they were doing something he thought I might like to see (8th grade). There the kids were, clearly (and correctly) measuring a lab experiment with the metric system. Same teacher most of my students had had just one year earlier. If you can explain that to me, let me know.
Did you ever ask your 9th grade kids why they had no recollection of learning the metric system?
Teachers, how is it possible that so many college kids give quizzical looks when asked who we fought in WWII, the Civil War, etc? Serious question.
I think it is because it is a Brain dump on a test rather then held for retention. I retained a lot of history on my own but most couldn't. Instead out is a Brain dump and then a reset for the next year.
They literally said, "We never learned that," which was obviously not true.
Yes, and...? Did you tell them that they'd been taught it and worked with it the year prior? Did this happen with all your 9th grade Earth Science classes?
This makes me think there should be some sort of reinforcement of the prior year's skills during summer vacation, somehow. 3 months is too long for vacation; the kids put school out of their minds completely, and the slate gets wiped almost completely clean.
You haven't addressed the real subject here, which is -- is the way we teach history and civics effective.
I think you're hijacking the OP's thread. The title says nothing about the way history and civics are taught. It's if there's too much to teach. My opinion is there isn't, considering schools have 12 years to teach it.
I think you're hijacking the OP's thread. The title says nothing about the way history and civics are taught. It's if there's too much to teach. My opinion is there isn't, considering schools have 12 years to teach it.
When I was in school, we had one semester of civics, we learned about government from the local level to the federal level and after the semester we walked away with a very good understanding on how governments worked. I don't understand the problem with teaching both history and civics or the need to sacrifice one for the other. Civics is a simple class, our governments are not so complicated that it takes years to teach it, I mean after all, we are not trying to produce Constitutional Lawyers in middle school.
I never believed that all of history could be taught in twelve years of schooling, which presents just a survey of the highlights. The study of history is a lifetime pursuit that waxes and wanes with age and interest. I did not discover my passion for early American history until middle age. As for civics, that's something I think does deserve adequate school time and resources, because our young people are preparing to vote, which requires a thorough understanding of how government works. Fortunately, I believe every state requires at least one semester of Government/Civics for graduation.
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.
