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I think a lot of younger Americans don't think much about history because they feel it is not relevant to their day to day lives, and only think of the past when it bumps into their present. I also think that most people who are into and interested by history became that way more because they are also avid readers and "rediscovered" history through books and novels, rather than because the Panzers once rolled thru town.
Me, I find history can be fascinating if you give it a chance, and have found that both the heroes and the villains all have important things to say, if you take the time to listen...
I think much of the ignorance of history in this country can be explained in the following ways:
1. Its being squeezed out of the school curriculum because poor test scores have lead to a huge focus on math, English, and science.
2. Truthfully, while I believe it has importance, it is hard to argue that it as important as math or English.
3. There is a certain slant to it which is unavoidable. An American Indian will react differently to the "Manifest Destiny" and the settlement of the West than a white European immigrant to this country will.
4. It is often poorly taught. I refer not to teachers, but to textbooks and all the demand these days for "political correctness" that comes from some sections of society.
5. There is a certain laziness to many people in this country. Many don't want to know any more about some subjects than they absolutely have too. Its difficult to explain that knowing about the Watergate Scandal may affect the way we vote and the way we perceive official misconduct. Decades of decent economic times have lead many to not care about a crisis like the Great Depression.
One of the hardest things for me is being an amateur historian and having two children that I absolutely could not interest in history. My daughter is still a teenager and maybe there is time to change her. However, I think that ship has already sailed.
By the same token, many young people aren't interested in many things that were the nucleus of the lives of many of us baby boomers. Many young people these days are not interested in automobiles and learning to drive. Sadly, many are not interested in the great outdoors and I detect a decline in activities like visiting the national parks, fishing, hunting, and hiking.
I will testify that history has great value as a subject that can teach students to read, write, and logically construct arguments to prove or disprove a point. As a lawyer, it has simply been invaluable to me. Its decline in importance should be a cause for concern.
4. It is often poorly taught. I refer not to teachers, but to textbooks and all the demand these days for "political correctness" that comes from some sections of society.
I was just commenting to a friend the other day how I hated history until I got out of school. The textbooks we had were terrible, like eating cardboard for lunch. Years later I gave it another try and read several of the US history 'survey' type books, including Howard Zinn, Paul Johnson, HS Commager, and Larry Schweikert. I wish I could go back and retake 10th grade US history using any of those 4 books.
The textbooks we had were very dumbed-down, and did not do a good job giving human-interest context.
I think much of the ignorance of history in this country can be explained in the following ways:
1. Its being squeezed out of the school curriculum because poor test scores have lead to a huge focus on math, English, and science.
2. Truthfully, while I believe it has importance, it is hard to argue that it as important as math or English.
3. There is a certain slant to it which is unavoidable. An American Indian will react differently to the "Manifest Destiny" and the settlement of the West than a white European immigrant to this country will.
4. It is often poorly taught. I refer not to teachers, but to textbooks and all the demand these days for "political correctness" that comes from some sections of society.
5. There is a certain laziness to many people in this country. Many don't want to know any more about some subjects than they absolutely have too. Its difficult to explain that knowing about the Watergate Scandal may affect the way we vote and the way we perceive official misconduct. Decades of decent economic times have lead many to not care about a crisis like the Great Depression.
One of the hardest things for me is being an amateur historian and having two children that I absolutely could not interest in history. My daughter is still a teenager and maybe there is time to change her. However, I think that ship has already sailed.
By the same token, many young people aren't interested in many things that were the nucleus of the lives of many of us baby boomers. Many young people these days are not interested in automobiles and learning to drive. Sadly, many are not interested in the great outdoors and I detect a decline in activities like visiting the national parks, fishing, hunting, and hiking.
I will testify that history has great value as a subject that can teach students to read, write, and logically construct arguments to prove or disprove a point. As a lawyer, it has simply been invaluable to me. Its decline in importance should be a cause for concern.
Yep, pretty good post, though I wouldn't call point 5 lazy as much as I would call it recognizing efficiency.
I think much of the ignorance of history in this country can be explained in the following ways:
1. Its being squeezed out of the school curriculum because poor test scores have lead to a huge focus on math, English, and science.
2. Truthfully, while I believe it has importance, it is hard to argue that it as important as math or English.
3. There is a certain slant to it which is unavoidable. An American Indian will react differently to the "Manifest Destiny" and the settlement of the West than a white European immigrant to this country will.
4. It is often poorly taught. I refer not to teachers, but to textbooks and all the demand these days for "political correctness" that comes from some sections of society.
5. There is a certain laziness to many people in this country. Many don't want to know any more about some subjects than they absolutely have too. Its difficult to explain that knowing about the Watergate Scandal may affect the way we vote and the way we perceive official misconduct. Decades of decent economic times have lead many to not care about a crisis like the Great Depression.
One of the hardest things for me is being an amateur historian and having two children that I absolutely could not interest in history. My daughter is still a teenager and maybe there is time to change her. However, I think that ship has already sailed.
By the same token, many young people aren't interested in many things that were the nucleus of the lives of many of us baby boomers. Many young people these days are not interested in automobiles and learning to drive. Sadly, many are not interested in the great outdoors and I detect a decline in activities like visiting the national parks, fishing, hunting, and hiking.
I will testify that history has great value as a subject that can teach students to read, write, and logically construct arguments to prove or disprove a point. As a lawyer, it has simply been invaluable to me. Its decline in importance should be a cause for concern.
Agree 100% as far as the bolded part you can not teach history and be politically correct, why the need to sugar coat and change verbiage is beyond me ..it was what it was....
In a nutshell, because we haven't had Panzers rolling across our frontiers. Aside from the Civil War or our fathers and grandfathers fighting in World War II or Vietnam, history is something that pretty much happens somewhere else.
I agree that this contributes a lot to a general attitude in the US towards history, but should it really affect the basics when it comes to learning history in schools?
Because that's where it all begins - extremely limited amount of knowledge that schools ( public schools at least) give on a subject.
It's understood that later on in life not too many people are going to be interested in advancing knowledge in this area for various reasons, but at least it's the early years when a lot of basics of world history can be taught, yet American system of public education clearly doesn't intend to do it.
So you go kind of back to the square one then - the reason it's not done in the US is precisely because "history is something that pretty much happens somewhere else," and America is sort of invisible and has nothing to learn from it, because, somehow... well - it's protected from all those calamities that history brings to others.
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