Why arn't children being told the truth about things?

Question

I have recently been asking questions about the sorts of garbage that was fed to me by school and stuff as a child, and quite clearly everything that was said has been completely incorrect. So why are we taught these incorrect things as children, then we have to work stuff out for ourselves as we get older (I and the community around me had to anyway)... It's a bit worrying...

Answer 1

Why? Because politicians got in the way long ago. Teachers are afraid of teaching the truth for fear of being politically incorrect or getting flack for talking too much about religion. And, since this has been happening for the last generation or two, new teachers don't know any better and teach their new, warped version. It is only by going to the account of an actual witness and asking questions, like you have, and reading for yourself from different sources that we can sort through all the crap and find out what really happened in history.

Answer 2

I can't properly answer this without an example! To give a general answer, so-called 'truths' and opinions on things are constantly being revised over time, and if we decided not to teach our kids anything until we were totally convinced that it was 100% true and supported by extensive empirical evidence and studies, we wouldn't actually be able to teach them anything. It's not that the teachers are deliberately teaching the kids the wrong things, it's just that our understanding (both as individuals and as society as a whole) evolves over time. For example, the views of the ancient greek scientists may have been wrong, but through them our ideas of the human body have evolved to what they were today, so we can't say they shouldn't have even bothered trying to make conclusions about how the body works, just because looking back they were incorrect.

Answer 3

What a child is taught in school has to fit in with the present paradigm. Children should never ask a question which cannot be answered by an adult, be it teacher or parent. Throughout my teacher training, the most important thing I learnt was that a teacher cannot know everything, so it's O.K. to say, 'I don't know, but I'll find out for you.' Harder, but also not inconceivable, is to admit that one has made a mistake.
Scientific knowledge changes rapidly these days, but probably the worst area of deception is history. In school, children are taught the most convenient version and unpleasant facts like GB's concentration camps during the Boer War or the USA's participation in the Opium Wars are hushed up.

Answer 4

I know what you mean, a lot of the things I was told as a kid have turned out not to be true.

For example, if you do something like GCSE Chemistry, the model of the atom you're given is wrong, "corrected" at A-level, but is still wrong, and then you only find out at degree level what an atom is really like. One of the lies I was told as a child was that people had to marry to have babies. How that confused me!

I think it's hard to generalise as to why these things came about, but in some cases "lies" is probably too strong a word. Some of them were probably attempts to shield us from horrible or difficult concepts, others to shield adults from difficult questions, some because the people who were telling us simply didn't know and made up a plausible answer, others were thought right at the time, but have since been proved wrong.

Answer 5

The for the most part, best education available in the world is only about 60% correct from start to finish.

From when you start life to when you die, the human understanding of things will have changed at least 30-40% during the time you are start learning, are actively trying to learn it, to the time you are "finished".

Some stuff is constant, basic math for instance, 4 + 4 = 8 doesn't change - under most circumstances.

The number of planets in the solar system has changed several times. The moon is not for instance made of cheeze - unless you check with Google. (http://moon.google.com/ - zoom all the way in).

Medicine changes daily. Fried bacon, eggs and deep fried anything in animal-lard were once considered healthy eating, how their considered a heart-attack on a plate.

The opinions of history regarding individuals change with the news of the day.

That's why people should ALWAYS keep learning, I certainly find out things that I never knew, I've certainly learned and become more interested in certain subjects now than when I was younger.

For example, when I was 6 I couldn't have cared less about "history" for the most part, Now its a cherished and fascinating story of the rich tapestry of the human travel through time.

Answer 6

Because average adults want to get rid of answers that the don't know and if they knew, the probably would believe that the explanation was not going to be understood by children.
As far as history, and ours heroes actual intention and their appetite for power, nothing is going to change, school at any level is not allowed to teach the truth massively. It is simply too embarrassing.

Do you know that the Roman Catholic Church killed more natives in South America in name of God than all the modern wars together? There is a powerful tool called WWW that will reveal the truth of all historic facts of humanity.

No more Mickey Mouse type of stories.

Answer 7

That's a really vague question but I'll try to answer: Maybe because parents are embarrassed about telling children about some things, maybe because they want their children to enjoy an innocent childhood. Or perhaps the whole world is just out to get YOU. Quit being so cynical, there's some good in childish ignorance!

Answer 8

As you have asked a question on Yahoo! Answers I am sure you are aware of the fact that most of the people who answer the questions have no idea what they are talking about. Its not that they are stupid, it is just that they don't know any better and they truly believe what they are thinking.

Even if people may have a hunch that Columbus didn't discover America they still have no idea who discovered it. And even if they have a ballpark idea they think it was Leif Ericson who discovered it when in actuality it was Bjarni Herjolfsson. Not quite as easy to remember as Christopher Columbus huh?

Answer 9

Sometimes historians who are not perfect by the way, make mistakes and instead of readily correcting the mistakes they let it go on and it becomes fact, that is wrong I know it was done at my schools as well. But that is why go to www.history.com on the net, and if they are not correct keep searching into the science departments if necessary. Like the old movies about the American Native being the bad guy? Or General George Armstrong Custer who was a coward and no hero? Who led his men to certain death and was proud of it. No one deserved to die more than that slaughtering maniac. But history tells us of his glorified moments, how is that possible when he literally murdered women and children and unarmed people.

Answer 10

The function of public schools has never been knowledge. School exists to teach children how to be good citizens. The history we are taught is the history that glorifies certain virtues which society finds particularly valuable, and downplays those the society finds detrimental. Historical figures are made into heroes and villains in the story of our culture.

In a sense, this version of history is correct. It may not be factual, but it serves a purpose nonetheless. For example, sex education was added to the curriculum as cultural values slowly shifted, reflecting culture's influence on education, reflecting the social decision to raise sexually responsible but active children. Meanwhile, the continuing focus on math in the curriculum is only because society is attempting to encourage engineering, sciences, and business, which can easily be recognized in modern political discourse.