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By that logic there's too much of any subject to teach in school. No-one's going to leave school as a master of a field of study. The purpose of school is to provide students with a functional knowledge of various subjects which gives them a platform to pursue further study in these topics if that is what they wish to do.
School history classes allow children to have a basic understanding of who they are and where they come from. Which is important for any well-rounded citizen.
If you look at school textbooks for US history and world history, you will find that each history textbook is similar to the competition textbooks. Three big publishing companies (Pearson, McGraw-Hill, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) control about 90 percent of the market and content differences between books are minor. See American Textbook Council - Widely Adopted History Textbooks. OTOH, it really doesn't matter since many schools are now purchasing one set of textbooks per classroom and students don't take them home and read them like in the old days.
That's if they actually use the textbook. Our high school assigns St. Martin's for World History, a book his teacher, an actual historian with the degrees to back it up, hates with a passion. He minimizes readings from the textbook and instead uses cobbled together instructional materials from original sources and other readings. He's a great teacher -- my other two kids had him, too -- who makes the subject come alive for his students. And after reading the first three chapters of the high school's chosen textbook, I agree with him that it's beyond terrible.
On another note, the school has two copies of the history textbook for each student, one for classroom use and one for home use, and thank goodness for that because the book weighs 5.6#! I can't imagine hauling that beast to and from school each day along with a similarly-sized bio text, an Algebra II text, a foreign language text, lab books, the English Lit book of the moment, binders, a musical instrument, a sack lunch, water bottle, and all of the other stuff students need to get through the day. The kids would collapse under the weight of it all.
By that logic there's too much of any subject to teach in school. No-one's going to leave school as a master of a field of study. The purpose of school is to provide students with a functional knowledge of various subjects which gives them a platform to pursue further study in these topics if that is what they wish to do.
School history classes allow children to have a basic understanding of who they are and where they come from. Which is important for any well-rounded citizen.
You're missing the point, which another recent poster put nicely and simply a few posts ago. Since I was in high school, another half century of world history and American history have occurred. Too many curriculums and teachers have not edited down the previous history so that they could add in newer history. There is too much of a tendency on the part of teachers (and I was one) to want to teach what they were taught and how they were taught, rather than revise content and modify teaching styles. I knew teachers who wouldn't teach history that happened during their life time...such as the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, etc.
thing ii hated about history in school, you started at the pilgrim and made it to war of 1812 by summer time, every year for 12 years, never anything before pilgrim and never anything pass 1812. I learned about the civil war from TV. and never about anything after that
thing ii hated about history in school, you started at the pilgrim and made it to war of 1812 by summer time, every year for 12 years, never anything before pilgrim and never anything pass 1812. I learned about the civil war from TV. and never about anything after that
You must have slept a lot in class.
As an educator who taught in New York State, Maryland, and Virginia, what you said couldn't be further from the truth.
It is true that very little pre-Pilgrims is taught in our public schools, and in fact, the Native American history from its beginning to current days is hardly touched on. But any school system I have been in, any history texts I have helped evaluate for purchase, go on up through fairly current history. Admittedly, few teachers spend much time on the 1980s and beyond, but maybe that's partly because that's not "established" history yet. But ending at the War Of 1812? No. Just no.
I have seen several times that high school students need to learn civics in high school and that they sometimes don't know about U.S. History or the Constitution. I would argue that there is a very good and logical reason for this, lack of time.
I have stated for years, long before I came on City -Data the first time that there is too much U.S. history to be taught in school. We do a disservice to our students to teach three years of U.S. History and three years of World History. There is too much history for 40 to 60 minutes of class in a 180 day a year school schedule or a semester of college classes at 50 minutes three times a week or 75 minutes two days a week.
To teach civics in an already crammed history course is irresponsible. It should be a separate mandatory class for high school students. I don't know why it isn't. It shouldn't intersect with how we do history like it does for 12th grade
What do you think about both parts?
I also used to wonder the same.
Arent there any real heroes in American History for kids to emulate during Halloween other than the Disney created characters??
IMHO, American "education" is well crafted propaganda and indoctrination, with little in the way of actual facts about American government and history.
. . .
Not 1 in 100,000 Americans can accurately define the republican form of government, nor its source or origin. Nor do they know the difference between private property and estate (which are mutually exclusive). They were not made aware of their endowment of natural rights, natural liberty and personal liberty, but misled to consent to be governed, and surrender their endowment. Now, all they know of are government granted privileges (misnamed “civil rights” and “political rights”), and mandatory civic duties.
IMHO, American "education" is well crafted propaganda and indoctrination, with little in the way of actual facts about American government and history.
. . .
Not 1 in 100,000 Americans can accurately define the republican form of government, nor its source or origin. Nor do they know the difference between private property and estate (which are mutually exclusive). They were not made aware of their endowment of natural rights, natural liberty and personal liberty, but misled to consent to be governed, and surrender their endowment. Now, all they know of are government granted privileges (misnamed “civil rights” and “political rights”), and mandatory civic duties.
IMHO, American "education" is well crafted propaganda and indoctrination, with little in the way of actual facts about American government and history.
. . .
Not 1 in 100,000 Americans can accurately define the republican form of government, nor its source or origin. Nor do they know the difference between private property and estate (which are mutually exclusive). They were not made aware of their endowment of natural rights, natural liberty and personal liberty, but misled to consent to be governed, and surrender their endowment. Now, all they know of are government granted privileges (misnamed “civil rights” and “political rights”), and mandatory civic duties.
How about starting with the basics from day one? Fr'instance people are not property. Then critical & creative thinking skils, also from day one. Little kids are very practical, naturally endowed with creativity & logic. They're quite adept at coming to conclusions based on reality.
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