World History
[i] Gravois, J. (2006). Condemned to Repeat It. Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(14), accessed on 18 June 2007 at http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i14/14a02101.htm.
[ii] Cheney, L. (2001). Mrs. Cheney's Remarks on "Teaching for Freedom" at Princeton University. Accessed on 22 June 2007 at http://www.whitehouse.gov/mrscheney/news/20011130.html.
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World History
Historical Ignorance
As someone who teaches college students, I am continually amazed how historically illiterate many of them are. I had several conversations yesterday that were particularly frustrating. A large part of the problem is that undergraduate students are not well versed in history. It is not a subject that is taught in depth in most of the K-12 schools in the United States. Students often can graduate from high school with a single course in the subject. A recent study found that only 47.8% of college students could pass a basic history test.[i] More than half of the students in a 1999 study believed that Cornwallis surrendered to General Grant after Yorktown during the American Revolution.[ii]
This lack of basic historical knowledge is not limited to the United States. A study in the United Kingdom found that 83% of Scots did not know that Trafalgar was where Admiral Lord Nelson won his famous naval victory over the Spanish and the French.[iii] Chinese students also have been found to be lacking in historical knowledge. A study in Hong Kong found that only 37% of high schools students could pass a test on the history of the People?s Republic of China covering 1949 to the present.[iv]
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian David McCullough calls this lack of historical knowledge in the United States a threat to national security. McCullough said, ?We are raising a generation of people who are historically illiterate and ignorant of the basic philosophical foundations of our free society. We can?t function in a society if we don?t know who we are and where we came from.?[v]
OK, enough complaining. I am just going to have to work harder. History is important and college students should graduate with at least a basic grasp of world and American history.
[i] Gravois, J. (2006). Condemned to Repeat It. Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(14), accessed on 18 June 2007 at http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i14/14a02101.htm.
[ii] Cheney, L. (2001). Mrs. Cheney's Remarks on "Teaching for Freedom" at Princeton University. Accessed on 22 June 2007 at http://www.whitehouse.gov/mrscheney/news/20011130.html.
[iii] Anonymous. (15 October, 2005). Scots ?Ignorant? about Trafalgar. Accessed on 18 June 2007 at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4343866.stm.
[iv] Clem, W. (July 9, 2005). Recent Chinese History ?A mystery to students.? South China Morning Post, p. 1.
[v] Archibald, G. (April 11, 2003). Ignorance of U.S. History Called Threat to Security. Washington Times, accessed on 18 June 2007 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go1637/is_200304/ai_n7601675.
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Teaching Needham?s Puzzle - Fostering Historical Thinking. In this article, the author shares his teaching experience with regard to Needham's Puzzle and introduces online resources and teaching materials. He points out two difficulties he encounters...
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- We The People...the Citizen And The Constitution
We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution. This is a description of an American program to teach about the history of the U.S. Constituion in schools. From the site: "We the People... The Citizen and the Constitution" is a national civic...
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