It's a fairly typical slow-news-day article about American students' appalling lack of civic and historical knowledge. (The article opens with a Mississippi state senator quizzing local high school seniors on the three unalienable rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence. When he prompts them with, "Among these are life, and?&." one student responded, "Death?") But in the midst of the article, in plain view, is an example of the cause of this ignorance. Several history teachers are quoted on their struggle to make the subject "relevant." One remarks, "I'm much less concerned about a test at any given point as I am making sure the kids I work with have the opportunity to extend those skills through their lifetime." Another says, "I always tell my students: If I see you in the grocery store five years from now, I will not measure my success on can you tell me Hamilton's financial plan, but can you tell me if you voted? If you answer yes, then I've succeeded as a teacher." Ah yes, we wouldn't want knowledge to get in the way of education. Keep watching: This fall, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation will unveil four projects on civics and history education that aim to show why they've all but disappeared, and what can be done about it.
"Don't know much about history," by Ben Feller, Associated Press, July 3, 2003
