Not remembering history...or never knowing it?

[SoCalDem]

For a very long time now, America has been all about the here & now and to some degree, our illustrious future.

Be truthful now..

Think back to your schooling.

disclaimer: SOME here will have had post high-school history classes/degrees, or will have , by their own initiative, educated themselves about history.

The education I speak of, is not just your state history or even what passes for US History.

Although I have not picked up a textbook in decades, I cannot believe that history books have not changed all that much.

1st grade.....George & the Cherry Tree & Columbus
2nd grade...More George & probably the 1776 stuff
3rd grade...Abe Lincoln & the "walked a mile to return a penny" stuff
4th grade...recapping the 1,2,3 stuff, with extras
5th grade..brief foray into the Civil War & Indian wars
6th grade...maybe WWI & some congress stuff..more memorizing of dates
7th grade...More WWI, a little Korea & perhaps some congress stuff
8th grade...recapping & testing..perhaps a little WWII
9th grade & up:
This is where it gets fuzzy, because once kids are allowed to choose their courses, many choose "easy" classes, and often schools offer many options that qualify for a "history" credit. The knowledge gained can vary a LOT, from class to class.

My youngest graduated in '97, and even with the AP classes he had, they BARELY touched on the Viet Nam era, and much of what was taught about history revolved around wars and treaties & dates & places. Very LITTLE was ever discussed about the politics of events, or the after-effects.

For non-AP students, or for the many many who drop out at 16-17, is it likely that many (any?) of them suddenly start going to the library searching for books about history?

Millions of people leave school, and never again crack a book about anything of substance. What they pick up along the way (about history), comes to them via movies & The History Channel

Should we be surprised that so many people not only do not remember history..they never KNEW it to start with.

[EFerrari]

1. I remember my history books being more boring than the dictionary.

Badly written and with very little narrative interest (and I was the kind of kid that read the dictionary, so that's not an exaggeration, lol.)

Howard's "People's History" is available in several versions for kids now, iirc.

[Gaedel]

2. I went to school in the 40s and 50s

"My youngest graduated in '97, and even with the AP classes he had, they BARELY touched on the Viet Nam era, and much of what was taught about history revolved around wars and treaties & dates & places. Very LITTLE was ever discussed about the politics of events, or the after-effects."

I went to school in the forties and fifties. I did US history in Jr high, High School, and College. We never got to WWII. We always ran out of time to get past World War I.

In college, my prof was a published author. I can tell you a lot about the expansionists of 1812, the Civil War, reconstruction, the expansionists of 1898, the muckrakers, and the progressive era from that class. We never got to WWI.

Everything I know about WWI, WWII, and the cold war era, I learned from my own reading (and living).

[arcane1]

3. An excellent book to counter the "civic religion" that is school history

is "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James Loewen.

That doesn't really answer your question, but I had to throw that in :)

[hlthe2b]

4. If they can't pick out the US on a map, what hope have we of

anything other than topical knowledge?

That said, I have faith in the percentage--whatever it may be-- of those who learn what is taught to them and take the initiative to pursue more on their own.

[dchill]

5. Never knew it is right...

I'm reminded of a Firesign Theater album from the 70's: "Everything You Know is Wrong". Everything I know about history, I've learned on my own since I was 30 or so. I forgot most of the conservative wistery I was taught in school.