Are you ever surprised by how little today's teens know about history?

Question

I work with a bunch of teenagers and it seems like most of them only have the vaguest idea of history - even from just the last 100 years. For example, tonight we were talking about Stalin, Russia, and the cold war, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and they basically were giving me a blank stare. I mentioned the McCarthy hearings and the best I could get was "I've heard of that" but no idea what it was about or the context.

I've gotten responses like this to a number of different of different topics. It makes me wonder if schools are basically glossing over these events in history class or if I was the exception in actually finding these things interesting and learning about them. Maybe I just think it's important because I actually grew up in the last half of the cold war and so it has meaning to my life.

Bret, I agree with the idea of leaving an analysis or interpretation of history until you are older so you have a stronger foundation in many different areas to help you understand events. But I think it's critical that people leaving high school at least know the significant events in history - especially recent history. I don't expect the average high school kid to know WHY the Cuban Missile Crisis happened, but I do expect them to know what it was.

Answer 1

I was never a big fan of history class...not that it isn't interesting (I watch the History Channel all the time and love it), it is just the amount that we are expected to learn. So many things happened throughout the ages, and events keep happening and so the history books are getting bigger and bigger and losing more and more detail that it makes it difficult to really learn...and we all end up trying to memorize each labeled event. Also, the dose of information at once is very intense...and the exams pile everything in together...it is way too much information to learn, making it hard to truly stay interested when jumping from event to event. Seriously, I passed history class because of my memorization skills...but I would forget everything after the exams... Only one professor in College helped me retain some information because his passion for history was so immense, he told history in enough detail as it was 'story time' (without the textbook in front of him) and through that I looked forward to sitting through the lectures and listening...and surprisingly I learned. But anyway, when one experiences historical events, they will remember. Future generations will not hold big meaning to 9/11 because it will mix in with all the other past events, whilst this generation will always remember it.

Answer 2

I too have mixed feelings on this. I think that Modern History usually isn't dealt with until Senior High because the subject is encountered chronologically starting with Classical times. There is a danger in dealing with relatively recent history in any clear-cut black and white fashion, so perhaps it's best left until College, when there is more objective and balanced reasoning required.
So often a nation's history is taught in glossy, one-sided sound bites that just lead to narrow-minded jingoism that the world would be a better place without.
Maybe finding out what interests you later in life is not such a bad thing, especially nowadays when the reaserch options have been greatly expanded by the Net and cable TV.

Answer 3

If we don't learn from history we are destined to repeat it correct? I am actually somewhat surprised at how little the youth know about a lot of things these days. I made sure that my son knew his history. He actually enjoyed history and I was glad that he did. He had a couple of really good teachers in highschool who helped him along with it. They made it interesting and real to the students. If you are a teacher then maybe you will be able to change the apathy that kids feel towards hstory by making it new and exciting to them.

Answer 4

People can live in the past but yet if anyone chooses to talk about it they are considered sick. History is controlled ...it's pretty easy to figure out the need to want history to repeat itself. Today's young adults are trained to rant and rave if you see them living in the past and say something to them this is what they say "quit bringing up the past" ironic isn't it all the patterned behavior and projection. Are you kidding if people got over things by dealing with them this country would go broke....good example of preying on the weak while trying to make people believe they are getting help.

Answer 5

I'm not surprised...just disgusted. I'm a fan of history, always have been since school.

Answer 6

It is not surprising given our public schools are into indoctrination rather than education|





---