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Teaching U.S. History, I imagine, is quite difficult to do correctly. This nation is a mash-up of so many cultures, with each having their own stories for how they arrived in the Americas. Add to that, the Native population and their history pre-Columbus, and you have a pretty extensive narrative to delve into.
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.
No, actually it is exactly the topic.
When you teach any subject, you have to begin by developing the curriculum. And whatever the content area, there's always more content than you can teach in any given period of time. So the first thing you have to do is determine what about the content you will include, and what about the content you will exclude. And that gets down immediately to the question of is there too much history and civics to teach in school. When I taught the earth science curriculum I didn't even teach 5% of the content that I knew about geology, meteorology, climate, oceanography, etc.
This is particularly true when you're talking about various ages of children who have varying abilities to comprehend and master certain aspects of content. So to say you have 12 years to teach "it", isn't realistic. Nothing sophisticated and comprehensive about world history (for example) can be taught to 5 years olds or even 11 year olds. They can get a taste. A little more with junior high/middle school kids. More with highs school kids. Way more with college students.
History needs to be taught early as in the 3rd or 4th grade. I took history up until I wanna say senior year. then I took government. After that, i took history in college. I took World Civ, African American history and then World history. I don't understand your point about cramming history in high school because that has never been the case for myself.
History needs to be taught early as in the 3rd or 4th grade. I took history up until I wanna say senior year. then I took government. After that, i took history in college. I took World Civ, African American history and then World history. I don't understand your point about cramming history in high school because that has never been the case for myself.
In New York, I recall history in 4th grade was more localized to Long Island like whaling or its role in the Revolution and where the lunar rover was built. I think there was history in 3rd grade but forget in all honesty.
The problem with "cramming" was that you push several hundred years or even millennia into a 9 month course. It's really a Cliff's Notes with certain subjects like the Marshall Court, Adams-Jackson, McCarthyism, the Civil Rights movement etc. covered in the way they should be.
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.
I always had an affinity for the World Wars and beyond. I had a great-great uncle die from complications of mustard gas in World War 1 and both grandfathers were in World War 2 with my father's father being physicaled for the planned Invasion of Japan (the one canceled for the atomic bomb.) He would also go to go into Korea.
So if you think about it, you learn about your presidents, World war 1 and 2, The Great Depression and other key events. Of course if you're currently in school, there's even more history to learn such as 9-11. There's no way a teacher can teach all of history in a quarter/semester. Does anyone have a school history book so we can see what's actually being taught?
So if you think about it, you learn about your presidents, World war 1 and 2, The Great Depression and other key events. Of course if you're currently in school, there's even more history to learn such as 9-11. There's no way a teacher can teach all of history in a quarter/semester. Does anyone have a school history book so we can see what's actually being taught?
That's a difficult request. Textbooks for history classes can vary dramatically based on the topic being taught. My own kids' high school teaches general U.S. History in 9th grade and World History in 10th grade, but there are additional courses for specific topics, like the Great Wars I & II, the Vietnam era, and modern history. And there is also a full suite of AP courses. To add to the confusion, students also have the opportunity to take Humanities, which combines English with History. When my kids took it, the course covered Reconstruction through Civil Rights. Even in just one high school, kids may graduate with vastly different experiences studying history. Who's to say what's actually being taught? There are some basic state standards, but in reality, it's all over the map.
I didn't know that the assassination of Lincoln was an attempted Coup, that is a pretty important detail in our history that should be included.
There is a lot happening leading up to 9/11 and after but the youth today don't know a world without terrorism. All they know is foggy information from the internet.
I think an Associate's Degree would help our youth get out of there bubble where they grew up and expand their knowledge of the world from differing perspectives.
In the 1960s I recall having a separate civics class that was mandatory for graduation as well as a state constitution class in middle school that was also mandatory. We also had real history teachers -- not the track coach reading the text book a week ahead of the class as my daughter had. She had next to nothing in civics. There are ways to get these classes taught but schools don't place importance on them anymore.
In the 1960s I recall having a separate civics class that was mandatory for graduation as well as a state constitution class in middle school that was also mandatory. We also had real history teachers -- not the track coach reading the text book a week ahead of the class as my daughter had. She had next to nothing in civics. There are ways to get these classes taught but schools don't place importance on them anymore.
I think that can happen in any subject though. That said New York while VERY mandatory in what is needed to graduate including 4 years of history, 4 years of English, 4 years of physical education, 3 years of math, 3 years of science, anywhere from 1 to 3 years of foreign language, 1 year of arts, and half of year of health. I think I am missing one or two more namely electives, but "civics" and current events were not course topics. Due to topics needed in New York, this would cause fewer electives to learn yourself.
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