At CommUnity today, presenter made a comment about a study in Maryland which showed that 8-year-olds in their sample knew more beer companies than presidents. Being a history major, this saddened me instantly. What happened next was even worse. A guy sitting behind me said "I can relate" and started listing off "presidents:" Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Hamilton. Seriously? 50% of the ones he was sure of... Ridiculous. I'm glad he knows the individuals on his currency, but this is an atrocity. How can anyone leave high school without even listing ten presidents correctly (though I think everyone should know at least most presidents including a rough knowledge of their timeline)? This is what makes me want to be a high school teacher. Students should take an interest in their country. We have a representative government. It's important to know what happened in the past and what's happening in the present, so that we can make educated decisions regarding our future. That includes... the presidents...
Quote of the day: "And that's Pope Jeffrey the Pimp to you..." - Jeff Gilbert
Oh, and thanks to Cami Waring for actually reminding me I have a blog! I forgot how much I enjoyed writing these...
I should probably post anonymously so you don't hate me, but...I wouldn't be able to name ten successive presidents. I could name ten total, but they may not be in order.
ReplyDeleteBut trust me - my husband gives me enough grief about this to count for him AND you, so no need to chastise me. I already feel bad enough.
For some reason history did not stick with me. Perhaps it was that the teacher didn't do a good enough job making it interesting, or perhaps I'm just your typical American who doesn't give a damn about anything but myself...until a major crisis occurs somewhere and I jump on the "let's all help them" bandwagon. I don't know. But either way, the fact remains that I didn't retain as much as I should have from grade school OR high school...and the more brilliant people (like you) I meet, the dumber I realize I am. So perhaps that's motivation enough to get me off my lazy butt and learning more about the country I call my own.
no hatred here...! i of course hope you'll be interested in history, but i think you're the norm... history teachers are too boring and don't make it come alive. there's too many dates and not enough story. after all it's hi"story." i think the only way to combat this is through more passionate history educators and better real-life applications...
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