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

Skip to comments.

U.S. History Is Becoming History
The Carolina Journal ^ | June 22, 2005 | Lindalyn Kakadelis

Posted on 06/23/2005 11:47:23 AM PDT by quidnunc

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.” True enough. Depicting history is, and always has been, a collective enterprise. But our modern, relativistic culture has made separating fact from fancy increasingly difficult, as political correctness often trumps truth. As a result, we are rewriting history.

Nowhere is this more evident than in American classrooms, where our children’s history lessons change with the political winds. Anti-bias guidelines and fears of offending special-interest groups permeate history textbooks, smudging out historical accuracy.

Our Founding Fathers are now referred to as androgynous “framers.” According to a 2004 Washington Times report, word such as “man,” “mankind,” “aged,” and “suffragette” are now banned from textbooks. In 2003, reviewers found 533 factual or interpretive errors in social studies texts submitted for adoption to the Texas State Board of Education. While publishers agreed to 351 revisions, they stated the remaining errors were simply a “misunderstanding” of the textbook.

However, nothing changed to ensure students would not fall victim to the misunderstandings. The result is that millions of American schoolchildren are misinformed about important historical events and documents. In 2002-03, only 55 percent of North Carolina high school students were considered proficient in U.S. history. This is no surprise, given the widespread deficiencies in our history curriculum: The Fordham Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based education organization, gave North Carolina’s Social Studies Curriculum an “F” in a 2002-03 evaluation of state history standards.

Our teachers are unschooled in the fundamentals of American history. Chester Finn, president of the Fordham Foundation, said that only 31 percent of middle school history teachers and 41 percent of high school history teachers actually majored in history as undergraduates. Just like the character in Sam Cooke’s song, “Wonderful World,” our teachers “don’t know much about history.”

-snip-


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: education; schools; skullsfullofmush; textbooks
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-51 last
To: skeeter
Time is fast approaching where true America history lives on only as an oral tradition passed parent to child.

My children, educated and brainwashed in the 60s and 70s, rejected anything I tried to tell them about America. They were only open to what they were told in school, in rock music, and from pop culture icons like Che Guevara, Jane Fonda and their like. Even today as adults they refuse to even listen to anything that smacks of non-60s dogma.

I often feel the "revolution" was fought and lost when the liberals -- no, the correct name is Marxists -- took control of education and thus our history. The truly sad part is my kids are instinctively conservative but feel they have to remain in lockstep solidarity their peer group even as adults.

41 posted on 06/23/2005 12:59:11 PM PDT by Bernard Marx (Don't make the mistake of interpreting my Civility as Servility)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: quidnunc

"Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it."

Would repeating ninty five percent of America's history, be a bad thing??


42 posted on 06/23/2005 1:06:22 PM PDT by F.J. Mitchell (Actually, the Koran is the perfect book for swearing in congenital liars- it "is" their bible.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Bernard Marx
Folks tend to find comfort in dogma - it orders their minds, but often at the cost of common sense, unfortunately.

On the bright side I imagine holidays around your place are more lively for it...

43 posted on 06/23/2005 1:19:41 PM PDT by skeeter ("What's to talk about? It's illegal." S Bono)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: F.J. Mitchell
Would repeating ninty five percent of America's history, be a bad thing??

Like the Great Depression, the Civil War, slavery, Prohibition, small pox epidemics, and the Company Store system for example? I wouldn't care to repeat those.

44 posted on 06/23/2005 1:20:28 PM PDT by LexBaird (tyrannosaurus Lex, unapologetic carnivore)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: LexBaird

That's the five percent of our history I omitted.


45 posted on 06/23/2005 1:24:15 PM PDT by F.J. Mitchell (Actually, the Koran is the perfect book for swearing in congenital liars- it "is" their bible.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: kharaku

After putting four through the Great Neck South (LI) system, one the most highly rated public systems in America (number 4 in US News & World Report). I am going to put the last into a conservative private school. I will have to continue paying the taxes to support the public system but I won't subject the little guy to their version of things.


46 posted on 06/23/2005 1:28:34 PM PDT by wtc911 ("I would like at least to know his name.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: F.J. Mitchell

Closer to forty percent.


47 posted on 06/23/2005 1:36:25 PM PDT by LexBaird (tyrannosaurus Lex, unapologetic carnivore)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: BoneHead

Speaking of history!


Check out the airchecks, complete with music and commercials at...


http://www.therealdonsteele.com/


48 posted on 06/23/2005 1:38:58 PM PDT by socal_parrot (Tina Delgado is alive! ALIVE!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: F.J. Mitchell

Besides, it is the terrible trials that strengthened us a Nation. That doesn't mean we need to repeat the same trials, on top of the ones the future has in store. The good bits are only good in contrast to the bad stuff.


49 posted on 06/23/2005 1:40:02 PM PDT by LexBaird (tyrannosaurus Lex, unapologetic carnivore)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: wtc911

I plan to go with private school for our children when the time comes but I wasn't sure whether private schools must follow such guidelines as well.


50 posted on 06/23/2005 3:03:09 PM PDT by kharaku (G3)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: quidnunc
The agenda is clear:
Who controls the past, controls the future. Who controls the present, controls the past. ---- 1984 by George Orwell

Public Schools were created to mold students into good students. They were to be Americanized, learn our common history, and learn the prevailing generic Protestant Biblical worldview.
Today, we have multi-culturalism, multilingualism, and discrimination against religion. The goal of the left is to destroy America.

51 posted on 06/23/2005 6:35:11 PM PDT by rmlew (Copperheads and Peaceniks beware! Sedition is a crime.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-51 last

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