Why are the young in the USA so ignorant about world history & geography?

Answer 1

Your first answer is interesting since it assumes one learns about history and geography in school.Of course you do, but you learn much more just from research based on your own interests and curiosities. No.The answer is more complex and relates to the chauvinism that seems to characterise the U.S. When we look at the U.S from the outside, as citizens of other places, it is like experiencing a time warp --- the place looks stuck in the 19th century in terms of political and social attitudes.

Answer 2

History and georgraphy are taught in almost all schools in all countries (as are math, language, and the sciences of biology, chemistry, and physics). Some teach the subjects better, others don't. Some place more emphasis on certain subjects (for example, the "Teach To The Test" approach used predominantly in situations requiring standardized testing).

What typically defines a student's knowledge about "world" events is the emphasis on "world" situations arising from either an individual teacher's interest in the subject, or in a school's mandate to broaden the horizons of its scholars in preparation for a "world stage".

For the most part, the United States neglects events and areas outside of its immediate interest - which, sadly enough, means its own borders. Most of the rest of the world, being either less affluent / influential than the US (or even its immediate neighbors) tends to keep an eye on what's going on OUTSIDE its borders.

Canadian schoolchildren know far more about their southern "big brother" than US children know about their smaller northern neighbor. (Not so surprisingly, New Zealanders know far more about Australia than the other way around ... for much the same reason).

Unless (or perhaps the right term is "until") the US school system and those who are actively training young minds grasp that the world is a lot bigger place than simply the 50 states, there won't be a change in relative "ignorance" of extra-border events and affairs. Unfortunately, this attitude has prevailed long enough that other countries are now leading the charge in terms of innovation, culture, finance, and social awareness. Not too long ago (on a global scale), the US was at the forefront ... but no more. To get back to the front, the education system needs some drastic overhauling.

I'm not claiming exeprtise in this, by the way ... it's just an observation by someone who was raised outside the country.

Answer 3

The same problem exists throughout the world. A report a few weeks ago said kids in England couldnt point out on a globe where the country was.

It is just more openly seen in countries where press is open and free.

Over here I tell people all the time I am from Nashville, and they have no clue where that is. When I tell them its where country music is made they say, "Oh yeah, Shania Twain".

At the same time, those people know where Myanmar is but most Americans dont.

In the end it doesnt matter if you refuse to travel further than your own back yard. Also, it doesnt help unless you want to educate yourself on the cultures, customs, and courtesies of the countries around the world. Then you might understand why certain ideas sway the politics and history in the world. Without that, history books are just words and pictures without meaning.

Answer 4

Because the school systems in the USA only teach world history and geography according to what they want them to know and believe. They twist the truth to make it look as though America has always been right in what they have done. Why else do you think a large majority of them are so ignorant about current events? Most Americans are disgusted with what the Nazis did to the Jews, but look at what Americans did to Native Americans and African Americans. Is it any more justified? I'm not condoning the Holocaust. I'm just making a point.

Answer 5

The ones who go to private schools do quite well in these subjects. For some reason, it now costs twice as much to educate a kid in public schools than it did in 1950s, adjusted for inflation, and the quality is far lower.

The American Public Schools system appears to be modeled on fine socialist standards, where rewards are not tied to performance for either students or teachers.

History and geography do not compete with reading and math for teaching time: we don't teach our kids reading and math, either.

Answer 6

Kids would rather be more concerned with there myspace page and video games.
When I was in high school the teacher asked a girl to go to the map and point out where Canada was. She had no idea. Its really sad because it was in Northern NY and she went to Canada drinking every weekend.
It seems like the schools would rather teach you math that you'll never use than anything else.

Answer 7

They aren't all that ignorant. Many young people are very intelligent. But, enough of them are so ignorant that it makes it kind of scary that a bunch of idiots will inherit this country. Still, we have always had our fair share of imbeciles. Many of them have risen to positions of power in politics and religion. Why are they ignorant? Why did the chicken cross the road? To hang out at the mall or watch TV & play with their X-boxes.

Answer 8

Teacher's salary bonuses are tied to results of standardized tests. They naturally direct most of their attention to having their students do well on these tests. Most of these tests are on math and reading comprehension. Subjects like history and geography get pushed to the side.

Answer 9

One of the reasons is that in general, the youth in the U.S. don't think globally. Perhaps the youth don't see that everything is interconnected, for example, we are where we are today because of history, or what's happening in Iraq (war=economy) or Japan (tornadoes=environment) affects us, too.

I guess the connection isn't as obvious as we'd like them to be. Our schools are not the only medium to convey this connection, but also our parents or community (churches, organizations, etc.) It is somehow tied to the "golden rule:
Treat others the way you would like to be treated."

If every person had this as their personal goal, I think we will start looking outside of ourselves, which will in turn teach us how to think "globally." And by being exposed to that way of thinking, we will start to see our connection with history, and to other people (youths, children, etc.) outside of our country.

I guess this applies to everyone, and not just our youths! Good question...this is something I'd like to think about more.

Answer 10

I know what you mean. My Junior year of high school (I'm 23) just for fun our US History teacher gave us a citizenship test.... the only one in the class who passed was the exchange student from New Zealand