Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Trendy teaching is 'producing a generation of history numbskulls'
Daily Mail ^ | July 2, 2009 | Laura Clark

Posted on 07/01/2009 5:41:54 PM PDT by C19fan

A generation of teenagers know almost nothing about the history of Britain because schools are sidelining knowledge in favour of trendy topics and generic skills, a university academic has warned. Professor Derek Matthews, an economics lecturer at Cardiff University, was so concerned at his students' lack of historical knowledge that he decided to investigate by setting them five simple questions.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: history; historyeducation; ignorance; uk
Looks like the Nu Labour destruction is complete. When a people forget their history and traditions the socialists fill in the gap and lie and cheat their way to power. I never thought I would see the day British youth are just as ignorant of their history as American's are of our history.
1 posted on 07/01/2009 5:41:54 PM PDT by C19fan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: C19fan

This is all on purpose. Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it. So what better than to simply omit all history that liberals don’t want their young minds full of mush to know? The failures of Socialism and Communism. The Electoral College. The 2nd Amendment. The failure of the New Deal. In the UK, the success of Thatcherism and the utter failures of Labor governments. The lessons of Chamberlain. Why teach anything else except class struggle, conservative oppression, gay liberation, and the religion of peace?


2 posted on 07/01/2009 5:47:14 PM PDT by FreepShop1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: FreepShop1

Agreed, but History, at least the real teaching of it will one day make its return. Apparently, in this current world cycle, historical revisionism, guided by liberalism, appears to be en vogue, but like anything else, it will fade. hence why I believe the real teaching of History will return.


3 posted on 07/01/2009 5:54:44 PM PDT by cranked
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: C19fan

People who think studying the past isn’t important are in for a rude shock! The key to understanding a nation’s present and future is by understanding its past. Ignorance of American history is helping the socialists in large measure to destroy this country.


4 posted on 07/01/2009 5:55:48 PM PDT by liberalism is suicide (Communism,fascism-no matter how you slice socialism, its still baloney)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: C19fan

I guess the UK is embracing our non teaching of history.


5 posted on 07/01/2009 5:58:45 PM PDT by YankeeReb
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: C19fan

I scored 100%


6 posted on 07/01/2009 6:03:20 PM PDT by DieHard the Hunter (Is mise an ceann-cinnidh. Cha ghéill mi do dhuine. Fàg am bealach.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: C19fan

bookmark


7 posted on 07/01/2009 6:09:56 PM PDT by GOP Poet
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: YankeeReb

> I guess the UK is embracing our non teaching of history.

I think this has been deliberate. When I was a kid (1960’s — 1970’s) the “Educators” lumped History, Geography, Geology and Political Science (and maybe a few more subjects) into an uneven, lumpian lump called “Social Studies”.

“Social Studies” was more than the teaching of fact, it was the assignation of “values” to the facts. Insufficient to know that Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington was in charge of the British forces at Waterloo. We had to also know that his army comprised largely poor downtrodden Irish and Scots and Englishmen displaced by the Industrial Revolution who probably had more in common with the Frenchmen they were fighting than they had with their own officers: particularly Wellesley.

Even Geography had “values”: like Africa was chopped up like a pizza and divided by the various Imperial forces, taking no account of native tribes and even families, all in the pursuit of natural resource. And this was wrong.

What they didn’t teach is “whose values matter, and why?” That was something the Educators decided to choose themselves.

We see the outcome of this today.


8 posted on 07/01/2009 6:12:15 PM PDT by DieHard the Hunter (Is mise an ceann-cinnidh. Cha ghéill mi do dhuine. Fàg am bealach.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: DieHard the Hunter
I scored 100%

Well there's your first problem. You're insensitive to those that didn't. It's off to Cultural Diversity training for you and if that doesn't work it's a full lobotomy for you. In our Brave New World " Ignorance is Education"

9 posted on 07/01/2009 6:14:58 PM PDT by Timocrat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Timocrat

(grin!)


10 posted on 07/01/2009 6:27:11 PM PDT by DieHard the Hunter (Is mise an ceann-cinnidh. Cha ghéill mi do dhuine. Fàg am bealach.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: C19fan
The person that wrote the article has a big problem too.

---"undergraduates" spelled wrong.

---Agreement of pronouns in "....percentage of undergraduates that answered THEM correctly"

---"Numskulls" spelled wrong.

And he was complaining about the students. Sheesh.

11 posted on 07/01/2009 6:51:34 PM PDT by CanaGuy (Go Harper!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Timocrat

Ignorance is Strength
Freedom is Slavery
War is Peace


12 posted on 07/01/2009 7:58:51 PM PDT by Neidermeyer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: C19fan
The only subject that is universally taught is Ignorance itself; how to do it, how to be it, and how to show it off.

Great quote from the comments

13 posted on 07/02/2009 3:29:45 AM PDT by Vanders9
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cranked

One would hope so, but Im not so sure about your optimism. The trend now is not to teach “facts”, but to teach “how to learn”. The idea is that knowing “how to learn” is a more important skill because it enables you to discover “facts” as and when required.

The only problem is: it doesnt work.


14 posted on 07/02/2009 3:33:25 AM PDT by Vanders9
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: DieHard the Hunter

I scored 100%, and I think I would have when I was 16 as well. They are not hard questions.


15 posted on 07/02/2009 3:34:44 AM PDT by Vanders9
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson