Why are schools not teaching Kids about Jamestown? (school, military, course)

[Spazkat9696]

We teach Jamestown! It's part of our VA Studies course.

[5-all]

I remember learning about all these early settlers in school. Viking exploration, Jamestown, the Mayflower pilgrims, Peter Minuit, William Penn. They were all taught but with a special emphasis on the local settlement. As a New Yorker I was taught more about the early Dutch settlers. My friend from Philly earned more about William Penn and the early Philadelphians but we all learned about all these settlements. There isn't enough time in the school year vto teach all of US history in great detail. Should schools move to a 4 year curriculum with 100 years of US history per year. The US is a young country. How do other countries teach their much longer histories to children?

[tnff]

Well I always wondered why most history texts seemed to consider 90% of US history happened within a 100 miles of Boston. We got a lot of depth on the Pilgrims and Puritans, through the 1600s, then jumped to Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, a lot on Adams, Hancock, and Franklin, and maybe a couple sentences on Washington, Jefferson, crossing the Delaware, and then skip the whole rest of the Revolution to Yorktown. Roll the whole effort to form the Constitution into a couple of sentences, jump ahead to the Civil War, told 100% from Northern point of view. Mention Pony Express (though it only lasted a few months), and roll the rest of history into a couple chapters.

Almost no mention of Jamestown, Charles Towne, revolution in the south, Spanish exploration and settlements, Cherokee culture, etc.

[Jon3154]

I was taught a little about Jamestown in 5th grade. I don't recall being taught much about it (or anything) about it in any other grade, however. My 5th grade teacher did not spend allot of time on it though, and looking back I never had a strong understanding of it. The new England colonies and the pilgrims were certainly emphasized way more; then again this is NH where I went to school. I don't know why they don't talk about Jamestown more.

[michgc]

Originally Posted by tgbwc

Much of what you wrote (plus more) is in our fourth grade curriculum.

Yes, my daughter learned all of this in her fourth grade curiculum in her Virginia school district (same as yours tgbwc, I believe). We moved to North Carolina and it's as if Virginia didn't exist. This year in eighth grade history they were talking about Jamestown and my daughter apparently impressed the teacher with her knowledge of Jamestown. He asked her how she knew so much about it. To which she replied, "we learned about it in my school district in Virginia not HERE."

My younger daughter's 5th grade teacher told us this year on Back-To-School Night that they don't cover very much social studies because, "we're teaching what the kids are being tested on in state tests, and sadly, that doesn't include social studies." I think we're due for another visit up to Jamestown!

[Buckeye77]

"History is bunk" - Henry Ford

[Sandpointian]

Originally Posted by NorthwestResident

I am puzzled at why Jamestown is mostly ignored in schools. Why is that? Why is it not being taught? And the truth as well about the Landing , the Aftermath and Pocahontas. The Film gives Kids the wrong idea.

When I was in School they taught us about Christopher Columbus and the discovery of America (which is one of history biggest Lies). Then they went all the way 1620 and taught us about the Pilgrims and Plymouth rock.

It wasn't until I was in Middle School (7th grade) that I learned about Jamestown the Real American Founding and where our Roots actually begin and 13 years before Plymouth. And that Columbus actually never even landed on the American Continent a couple years later The truth about Jamestown: The Atrocities, starvation, etc,.

The 'Christoper Columbus discovered America' thing is totally false and one of history biggest misconception.

Christopher Columbus never discovered America (especially United state part) . He did not land on the continent or even come close. He landed in the Caribbean.

Also Columbus could not have discovered america anyway because there were Native Americans living here for hundreds of years.

It about time we started teaching Kids the correct history about Columbus and also The History & The Truth about The Jamestown Landing and Settlement. And most of all Pocahontas.


Jamestown is the real founding of the U.S and the original colony not Plymouth which is what I was taught in elementary school. the beginning or early years of Jamestown was sad and tragic but it still was the founding of the U.S or future or of the future U.s and can not be erased

I agree with the argument that proto US history began with Jamestown and the emphasis on Columbus is unfounded. However, I would cover Jamestown in about three minutes. The seeds of US History were primarily sown after 1725, when the importation of slaves began to ramp up and the divide between North and South started to take place. We then begin to see the transition between British History in the Colonies and US history proper.

S.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by brownbagg

That all we was taught fot twelve year, every year start at jamestown. We never got past war of 1812. I was never taught in school about civil was, depression ww1 ww2 vietnam korean.

If it wasnt for history channel, i be in the dark

OMG, if you get your history from the history channel, your head has been filled with an amazing mountain of total BS. Read books instead.

[Sandpointian]

I agree with ^^^.

Think of US History as a two year course in quarters.

Year One
Q1: 1720s-1789 pre-US History through Founding of the US
Q2: 1789-1848 Growth of the US through Manifest Destiny
Q3: 1840-1890 Slavery & Civil War; Reconstruction; End of Indian Wars
Q4: 1865-1914 Industrialization; Imperialism; Financial Development

Year Two
1914-1941: WW1; The Awakening; The Great Migration; The 20s; The Great Depression; The New Deal and Statism
1941-1975: WW2; Post-War Hegemony; Bretton Woods; Korean War; Cold War; The Great Migration II; Civil Rights & Unrest; Vietnam
1975-2001: Malaise; Iran; Reaganism; Rise of Japan; New World Order; Technology; Clintonism & Post-Cold War; Outsourcing (within US and Outside); Dot-Com Boom; Rise of Asia and Pacific Trade; Israel & Middle East; Fall of Iron Curtain; Gulf War; Transformation of Social Welfare; Early Social Justice I
2001-present: 9/11; Iraq War; War with Afghanistan; Perpetual War on Terror; Rise of China; Dot-Com Bust; Financial Crisis and Great Recession; Changing Relationship with Europe; Arab Spring; Obama Foreign Policy; Rise of Social Justice demands II


That is a lot to cover in two years. But do so with good reading material that is close to unfiltered as possible and you will have a good understanding of the US.

S.

[North Beach Person]

The typical breakpoint for what you listed is the end of the Civil War (The Recent Unpleasantness, The War of Northern Aggression, The Second American Revolution, etc.) with Year Two beginning with Reconstruction.

The rub is that Year One is usually in middle school so much of that year is lost when Year Two is offered in high school (which can be any year between 9th and 12th, it depends on the school system).

My system used to offer Year Two in 11th and then switched to 9th several years ago, It didn't make much difference in retention. I usually spent a couple weeks at the beginning of the year reviewing.

What many of you complain about is a lack of depth. High school (and even college US History, or World History) courses aren't supposed to be in depth but survey courses. Many teachers get bogged down in US at the Civil War and never catch up because, quite frankly, History teachers tend to be nerds about it.

As far as the original premise is concerned, it most certainly is taught (or at least is in the text) but individuals may not cover it in depth. The focus has changed in many reference texts and supplemental materials from the "founding" aspect to the "beginning of slavery" aspect.