Where Has Our History Gone?

Have you noticed that the younger generations have little knowledge of history, even American history? After the educational reforms of the past couple of decades, the emphasis has been on reading, math, and sometimes science. With mandates of how much time must be spent in these subjects, history has been cut and sometimes eliminated altogether.

I saw a recent report of people being asked what was the significance of July 4th or what happened in 1776. The most common answer was "I don't know." Other answers included that's when Columbus discovered America, it was the start of the Civil War, that's when the slaves were freed, and "I'm not a history person." As a former history major and teacher, I'm appalled.

Do our leaders not see the danger in this? If people don't understand history, they won't make responsible decisions when it comes to politics, voting, or our nation's future. And they won't respect this nation or the people who serve and help preserve it. I find this quite scary. Parents and communities need to take a stand and insist that history be taught. Measures can be taken to teach thematic units that incorporate several subject areas at once if time is a factor. In any regard, America needs an educated public, and that includes learning history.

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