Recently I posted a thing from Gallup about how little Americans know about current events. Just to let you know that our understanding of the past isn't much better, either, and isn't going to get better in the near future.
There will be an upcoming post on teaching history shortly enough, but for now I think it is safe to say democracy may not be the best of ideas when you put control of the most powerful government in the world into the hands of idiots.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
As someone who leans pessimistic about the value of teaching history (at least compared to that of teaching, say, current events, political theory, or economics), I look forward to the upcoming post, which I anticipate will contain an argument strongly in support of history education. It'll be an interesting read of a position that doesn't come to me naturally.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say I'm optimistic about it, either. I think history, political theory, and economics could all be better understood if couched in with current events, but the state tests we have here are written a full year before they are taken, literally wiping out any real focus we teachers can give to what is happening in the world right now.
ReplyDeleteOn the bright side, they have all heard of Mansa Musa, who shows up on every Global Regents test. As is, economics really tends to fly over the heads of students; political theory, slightly less so.