Gov't 101: Why Our Children are Failing History

I was watching NBC's Nightly News last night and they ran this story about how elementry and high school kids were increasingly becoming dumber (my words, not theirs) when it comes to the subject of History, particularly US History.

As a History-minor, I'm not all that surprised.  Saddened, but not surprised. While I was going thru school, earning that end of my minor I was increasingly finding other students who's concept of US History was "loose" at best.  Here's why are current crop of America's Next Leaders are sucking at History:

First, there's too much emphasis on Tested Subjects:

It's no secret, ask anyone who teaches grades 1-12 in a public school setting: all the focus is on getting kids to pass the state-mandated tests to ensure teachers are doing their jobs.  Whole curriculum is overhauled at grades 4, 8 and 12 to meet the so-called "standards" for public school students.  This curriculum is usually heavy in reading and mathematics, because that's what's expected to appear on the tests.  So is there any surprise that subjects like art, history, and science all take a back seat to a teacher's personal career self-preservation?  This leads us to number 2....

Kids are getting less than 2 hours a week of history lessons.

To make room for all the writing, reading and math lessons (I've heard reports that some schools actually double-up on these subjects... 75 minute periods oppose to 40 minute classes for these subjects ONLY) other classes get cut back.  Why?  There's the emphasis on the "important" test subjects but kids in public schools are usually woefully behind for their grade level in reading, writing and math, so teachers, say in 8th grade, need to go back and re-teach fundamentals to their kids so they can teach them the current state-mandated curriculum.  Why is this so?  Why aren't kids in public schools learning the fundamentals of these subjects when their taught, at the earlier grades?  Because.....

Public schools suck.

Yes, I went to a public school and it was ok, but it also wasn't in a major city.  I lived in NYC for about three years and I can tell you first hand, none of the parents I knew dared put their kid in public schools.  Public schools are toilets of learning.  Yes, few children will rise to the top of the bowl, but most of the kids there are sinkers waiting to be flushed.  So is it any wonder that our children cannot rightfully identify a photo of Abraham Lincoln by grade 8 (a fact brought up in the Nightly News story)?

Why History is important:

Teaching History to kids is important because it gives us a frame work for our national identity.  How "we" became the United States is an important aspect to every day living.  History also helps shape who we will be as we get older, how we'll vote, shop, travel, etc.  Understanding where we've been as a nation is important because without it, we will not know how to go forward as one.

History, our history, is a blueprint to building our future ruins.  And we're losing our grasp on our identity.

By the end of the story, I was left with this empty feeling.  I knew that the story skewed towards scandalous sensationalism; the public school avenue- and wasn't a true representation of our children's ability to comprehend our history, and like all people, children fall into one of two categories: math/science kids and language/history kids.  Maybe the producers interviewed every kid in the classroom and only used the results on-air from the kids who are math/science proficient?  It's possible.

But still heartbreaking none-the-less.