[rbg81]

Of course, a good education requires kids who actually want to learn. And parents who actually care. But no politician will ever go there.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Don't Know Much About History 'We're raising young people who are, by and large, historically illiterate," David McCullough tells me on a recent afternoon in a quiet meeting room at the Boston Public Library. Having lectured at more than 100 colleges and universities over the past 25 years, he says, "I know how much these young people—even at the most esteemed institutions of higher learning—don't know." Slowly, he shakes his head in dismay. "It's shocking."

He's right. This week, the Department of Education released the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress, which found that only 12% of high-school seniors have a firm grasp of our nation's history. And consider: Just 2% of those students understand the significance of Brown v. Board of Education.

Mr. McCullough began worrying about the history gap some 20 years ago, when a college sophomore approached him after an appearance at "a very good university in the Midwest." She thanked him for coming and admitted, "Until I heard your talk this morning, I never realized the original 13 colonies were all on the East Coast." Remembering the incident, Mr. McCullough's snow-white eyebrows curl in pain. "I thought, 'What have we been doing so wrong that this obviously bright young woman could get this far and not know that?'

......."History is a source of strength," he says. "It sets higher standards for all of us." But helping to ensure that the next generation measures up, he says, will be a daunting task.

One problem is personnel. "People who come out of college with a degree in education and not a degree in a subject are severely handicapped in their capacity to teach effectively," Mr. McCullough argues. "Because they're often assigned to teach subjects about which they know little or nothing." The great teachers love what they're teaching, he says, and "you can't love something you don't know anymore than you can love someone you don't know."

Another problem is method. "History is often taught in categories—women's history, African American history, environmental history—so that many of the students have no sense of chronology. They have no idea what followed what."........

[bgill]

Of course, a good education requires kids who actually want to learn. And parents who actually care

Exactly. Case in point would be Trayvon. If he'd wanted to learn, he wouldn't have been skipping school, been on suspension, at his pretty much absent parent's girlfriend's, out scoring some iced tea and skittles in the rain when he was supposed to have been grounded, bashing a guy's head into the sidewalk and ending up six feet under.

[ruesrose]

Of course, a good education requires kids who actually want to learn. And parents who actually care. But no politician will ever go there.
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You are so right about that. And it helps if the teacher knows how to stimulate them to learn, keeps their interest and encourages them. It is a team effort.

[rawcatslyentist]

>"inner-city school that smaller class sizes are not a guarantee of a good education"

They're getting the best edjukashun that J Wright, and the race pimps can give them.

[freeangel]

We had between 38 and 48 kids inour classes at the Catholic school I attended grades 1 thru 8. I remember 1 or 2 that failed a grade. But then, we had married parents that actually gave a damn.