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This is not unique to Texas. I'm afraid it is all over the country but you would think folks from a Southern State would at least know who won the Civil War. Isn't this taught in high school any more?
but you would think folks from a Southern State would at least know who won the Civil War.
Actually, people from southern states would be least likely to know who won the Civil War. It's not like Texas celebrates our military losses and the Civil War and Reconstruction Period still stings plenty of people 150 years later.
However, the question 'who did we gain our independence from' is pretty weak and could have several answers.
I don't know why it would matter more that someone from a southern state rather than a northern state didn't know the answer. It's just all around sad, in that you are right in saying, it is not unique to Texas. I mean, really sad.
This put me in mind of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno where he had a segment doing the same thing. We laughed at it, but it really isn't funny when you realize how many people DO know the names of movie stars, their mates and their ex's, but don't know the name of their own country's VP and this is only the tip of the iceberg in their ignorance regarding both history and current events regarding the country.
Who knows what they're teaching in schools these days? Maybe they still teach (or rather, throw it out at the students) basic history, etc. It doesn't matter, they pass them on through regardless, and this is what you get.
Might as well laugh about it, it's certainly not going to change (except to get worse).
Actually, people from southern states would be least likely to know who won the Civil War. It's not like Texas celebrates our military losses and the Civil War and Reconstruction Period still stings plenty of people 150 years later.
You've got to be kidding me.
All they needed to do was to ask these kids "Who won the War of Northern Aggression."
History and geography have been weak subjects in our educational system for a long, long time. I went to school in the 60s and 70s and it was as true then as it is now.
In 2nd grade, I could just about any country on a globe in less than a minute. Some of my friends have trouble figuring out where the various states are in the US today!
Knowledge of history is worse, especially if you want to go back prior to WWII or unless there has been a popular movie or tv show about the topic.
I think part of the problem is the difficulty in presenting such material so that students are interested. I took some friends to Belgium, Germany (Aachen) and Amsterdam last year. Aachen was the capitol for Charlemagne and where the Holy Roman Emperors were crowned. There is still a display of some of the Holy Roman treasures and relics there. Seeing those kinds of thinks drove home some of the history I was telling my friends about.
For examples of the dumbing down of America, take a look at these clips from Watters World. The show's producers insist that they do not edit the interviews to only present the stupidest responses. If that is so, then heaven help our nation if young people like this are our future leaders. Many of the interviews take place on college campuses, where supposedly the persons are more informed and are brighter than average. More clips from Watters World online for those searching for more, just a few here. Watters' World | Fox News Insider
This is not unique to Texas. I'm afraid it is all over the country but you would think folks from a Southern State would at least know who won the Civil War. Isn't this taught in high school any more?
Its a sign of the times. I always felt history would get thrown under the bus as a subject.
Schools are under enormous pressure to do a better job teaching English, Math, and Science. Something has to give and that something is history and the social sciences. Sadly, I've seen it among the young people today. I think it would be very hard to be a history teacher today in public schools. I can imagine they see hordes of disinterested students who sit there simply waiting for the bell to ring.
The tragedy of it is that history is a critical subject. It can teach us much about our present. It has been absolutely invaluable to me in my career in terms of understanding problems and the solutions that legislatures tried to find for them.
I wish I could see this changing. However, as long as the kids are deficient in the three subjects above, I expect history to remain a low priority.
Since history isn't a part of most standardized testing it is only natural that it gets cut out. It's a very unfortunate part of the current educational system.
I could get all the basic history questions correctly, but if stopped in the street and asked about chemistry or opera, I'd come across as one of these shockingly ignorant sorts.
I suppose then the reason that whenever you see these "How dumb are today's kids" surveys, that it is always history or current politics, is because those are subjects considered to be basic to being a good citizen. I question that concept and think that you can be a very worthwhile citizen without having much mastery of history or politics. The person who invented the microwave oven may for all I know be someone who could not identify who was vice president, but that person has been a lot more useful to me than anyone who can answer the vp question correctly.
I have argued in the past that intelligence is task specific. If your problem is a clogged toilet, the plumber becomes a genius while the Nobel winner for poetry may be a dunce.
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