Posted on 10/22/2011 6:14:17 AM PDT by Kaslin
A few weeks ago, several friends and I braved the impending rainstorm and went to the National Book Festival on the Washington Mall. The purpose of attending -- besides the obvious reason of wanting to stand in the company of Hollywood actors, renowned historians and poet laureates -- was to hear David McCullough speak. As one of the nation’s most prolific writers, and author of numerous biographies including John Adams and Truman -- David McCullough is also one of only a handful of Americans to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
While there was always an interest, it wasn’t until I read his seminal work 1776 that I developed a genuine appreciation for American history. This short book, which exemplifies his unrivaled ability to present dense subject matter into riveting and lucid prose -- should be required reading in public schools as an authoritative text on George Washington and his generals during the most significant year of the American Revolution.
Yet, after arriving at the crowded venue, and expecting to hear a scholarly lecture on his latest book – The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris -- I was surprised to hear him speak about the condition of U.S. public schools, and in particular how students lack a basic understanding of American history. Incidentally, the reason people were often thrilled to read his books, he said, was because they had never learned about these important subjects in school.
Nonetheless, after investigating what I imagined to be an exaggerated contention, I was appalled by what I discovered:
Apparently U.S. students are unfamiliar with the famous paraphrased aphorism, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” That’s because a new report shows that students anywhere from high school to fourth grade are solely lacking in their knowledge of American history.Results from the 2010 gold standard of testing, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 13 percent of the nation’s high school seniors showed proficiency in their knowledge of American history, and only 18 percent of eighth grades and 22 percent of fourth graders scoring as well.
These statistics, of course, should concern parents, teachers and local communities across the country. But, at the end of the day, shouldn’t every American care?
We study our own history, at least in part, to commemorate and remember all of those who gave their lives to preserve the liberties and freedoms we cherish as Americans. To forget the suffering of Washington and his army at Valley Forge, the determination of the soldiers at Normandy, or the courage of the passengers aboard Flight 93 would be an affront to their legacy and reflect the narcissism and ingratitude of our own people.
Furthermore, by reducing the importance of U.S. history in public schools, we deprive American children of an opportunity to learn about their heritage. And in so doing, we fail these students by neglecting to adequately educate them. The study of history -- and particularly American history – cultivates an understanding and appreciation for the ideals the nation was founded upon. Thomas Jefferson, for example, believed deeply than an educated citizenry was essential to the preservation of the American experiment. After all, how can one expect posterity to preserve American democratic principles if they cannot define what they are?
The notion that American history -- a once a valued subject -- is no longer a priority in public schools is profoundly disconcerting. The denigration of history, in my view, will have dire ramifications as children grow up ignorant and unaware of the essential beliefs which have guided our nation for nearly three centuries.
An undereducated and disengaged public, however, is only the beginning. As David McCullough suggests, a firm understanding of history is paramount to the success and effectiveness of our political leaders:
“All of our best presidents -- without exception -- have been presidents who’ve had a sense of history. Who’ve read history, in some cases who wrote history -- who cared about history and biography. The only obvious two who never went to college would be Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman, and both of them read history, in particular, all the time.”
In other words, if the youngest generations of Americans lack a basic understanding of the past, what kind of nation will we be in ten, twenty or even a hundred years from now? What kind of leaders will we produce?
The purpose of the U.S. education system -- and the reason it was established -- is primarily to provide students with the requisite knowledge and skills to live more successful lives. Yet, when we perpetually fail to teach American history in schools, we inevitably weaken the nation because our children grow up without any real sense of a national identity.
And that, in the end, is ultimately what the Founding Fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to establish.
“The Decline of _____________________ in Public Schools” Fill in the blank with anything you like (except recycling).
My college senior daughter has been bitching the whole semester about how she despises US History (the class). Breaks my heart!
Colonel, USAFR
The victors write the history books. In this case, the socialist-communists running the schools and their government-union enablers have the upper hand. I can hear the ghost of Joe McCarthy whispering “I told you so”.
I love it.
Send her to my class at the University of Dayton, and have her read our book, “A Patriot’s History of the United States.”
The sad state of history education in the public schools has been a factor for decades. Nothing against coaches....but in MANY cases, coaches are required to teach history as their *academic* component. They may be good at coaching. In most cases, however, they are pitifully poor at teaching history.
And how did she grow up with that attitude?
I was told recently that Baltimore public schools history classes begin at the Civil Rights Movement
Also, try going to any sort of mass marketing book store and finding books for kids on American history. Did this for my homeschooler a few weeks ago — the selection was pitiful.
All there is now in stores is absolute PAP for kids.
I work at a high school in CA and I can tell you that many of our students don’t know who Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin are. They can’t tell you why we honor Abraham Lincoln. They have no idea about the American identity and have no sense of loyalty to the American ideal. They don’t even root for America in international sports events. They are loyal to other countries, even though they were born or raised here and we give them free breakfast and lunch, free health care, free daycare, free education, and, now, free college tuition. They know nothing of current events but the one or two sentence sound bytes they hear on TV news promos.
They will be voting in two years.
See our book, "A Patriot's History of the United States" and the chapter on the 60s. Again, it's only a hypothesis.
And what kind of President would such a narcissistic bunch of ingrates elect?
One can only imagine...
None of the wonderful, uplifting stories we were taught. Just an endless litany of "guilt by heritage" stories starring minorities you've never heard of.
In one class I subbed, the "Triangle Waistcoat Factory Fire" received more attention than WWI and the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment (The day America died).
I love History but the class was misery.
At times I have suspected that Jay Leno’s Jaywalking participants were actors reading the answers from professional comedy writers’ cue-cards. I mean no Americans, especially any self-claimed “college graduate,” could possibly exist down at the hull-crushing depths of historical and geographical ignorance indicated by these people.
It now appears that there are actually many Americans who hold degrees from the Marianas Trench School of Knowledge.
“The only obvious two who never went to college would be Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman”
Andrew Jackson:
Religion: Presbyterian
Education: No formal education
Occupation: Lawyer, soldier
Political Party: Democrat
http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/ajackson.html
There may be some truth to that, especially after "anti-anti-Communists" those who saw anti-Communism as a threat--began to gain ascendency around the time JFK was elected president. However, there were plenty of Communists and fellow travelers roaming the groves of academia even at the height of the "McCarthy era," as E. Merrill Root points out in his books Collectivism on the Campus: The Battle for the Mind in American Colleges (New York: Devin-Adair, 1955) and Brainwashing in the High Schools: An Examination of Eleven American History Textbooks (New York: Devin-Adair, 1958).
Checked it out of the library a week ago, you guys packed a lot of interesting info into that book.
College students have no preparation for taking basic required courses in American History. Instructors are faced with remediation; students are bored. Faculty at my college of employment are concerned that they have to teach freshman American History courses at the expense of upper-division courses. Seems like everyone wants to ignore the fundamentals.
No, it died earlier with the 14th amendment.
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.