Posted on 02/28/2010 7:59:59 PM PST by SFC Chromey
“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it” is one of the most oft-quoted aphorisms of Edmund Burke, an 18th-century Irish-born member of the British Parliament and fearless friend of liberty. Judging from the results of a recent survey conducted by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), most of the 14,000 college students who participated sadly will be repeating history.
Considering that most of the 14,000 students who completed the exam (7,000 seniors and 7,000 freshmen) scored an F on the portion of the test covering basic American history and institutions...
(Excerpt) Read more at thenewamerican.com ...
There are some schools where history, geography and science are not even taught. The school budgets go largely to support the sports teams, leaving very little to useful education.
Read something a while back about a survey conducted in all 50 states - just one simple question...what is the capital of your state? I forget the actual statistics now, but a huge number of people didn’t even know the capital of their own state.
You can attend a prestigeous American university and never take a course in American history. I should know because I was one and I did it on purpose to avoid the American bashing professors.
The blame starts in grade school and the teachers unions.
That said, I have run across some remarkably bright and capable graduates lately.....problem is they are the tip of the iceburg. 90% of our problem is unseen and unemployable ..... and in the shadows building seathing rage stoked by Obama and the radicals.
All part of the Progressive plan......scratch history while revising it to their specs.
What about accords?
I hate to say it, but I learned next to nothing about the Constitution in either high school or college.
The more we pay for public schools, the less they learn. When public schools were entirely locally run and funded, and before there were teachers’ unions, they actually taught the kids something.
Thw quote that leads off this piece is attributed inaccurately. It is not from Edmund Burke. It is from George Santayana, “The Life of Reason”, vol. I.
“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
>>Funny, I had a lengthy discussion about this with my college-grad brother and his lack of basic knowledge on the US Constitution just last week!<<
Ask if the phrase “from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs” is a part of the USC and, last time I heard, more than 1/2 of collesge students say yes.
OTOH, when asked “What is the USC?” to FReepers, I have found a paucity of those who can accurately answer “The contract between the Government and its Citizens.”
The same is true for people who speak at length about economics without understanding the difference between “supply and demand” and “quantity supplied and quantity demanded.”
The screwl system has accomplished its objective: making the populace ignorant slaves.
32 for 33 and I was embarrassed to miss the one I missed.
Oh yah? Well, I bet the vast majority of today’s
college students could tell you exactly how many
trees are cut down by the evil American logging
industry each year.
Title IX really hurts schools. Most schools would survive just fine financially if they just did the core sports of football, basketball and baseball.
Ezzactly! I use more paper than needed just to keep loggers employed :)
87% — I clicked on “The Great Society” instead of “The New deal”
The rest were pablum and opinion based:
I captured a couple:
29) A flood-control levee (or National Defense) is considered a public good because:
A. citizens value it as much as bread and medicine
B. a resident can benefit from it without directly paying for it
C. government construction contracts increase employment
D. insurance companies cannot afford to replace all houses after a flood
E. government pays for its construction, not citizens
30) Which of the following fiscal policy combinations would a government most likely follow to stimulate economic activity when the economy is in a severe recession?
A. increasing both taxes and spending
B. increasing taxes and decreasing spending
C. decreasing taxes and increasing spending
D. decreasing both taxes and spending
I mean, come on. Unless you knew the professor, how would you know “a public good” or “most likely follow.”
If you do over 80%, you did 100% (unless you blew a fact-based question like I did).
87.88 here... missed 4 questions. (Mostly economic questions)
Roger that! I learned most of civics knowledge myself, because THIS interests me, not some “social studies” class!
1. basic history and government knowledge
2. simple mathematics - how many cashiers cannot give you the correct change?
3. elementary use of the English language - for several years during the 80’s I supervised the employment process in which young people applied for entry level jobs for an industrial plant. There were many applicants who couldn’t complete the application form.(the key was when they asked to take the form home)
4. Reading skills - of those hired (#3) many could not read the basic safety and operations manuals.
5 - you may add to the list
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