A rchive Date
[ 11-06-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
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[Witness to ignorance of history in the making
By DAVID SHULTS
May 19, 2002, 6:14PM
The announcement two weeks ago by the National Assessment of Educational Progress that six out of every 10 high school seniors lack even a basic knowledge of history should come as no surprise. No doubt, it will launch many discussions among learned and not so learned men and women as to why a majority of senior high school students are either historically illiterate or historically challenged. However you phrase it, high school seniors, in general, don't know much about the history of their own country or the world.
As a historian who has taught high school history for more than 20 years, I would like to offer a few observations as to why this collective amnesia exists.
First, I would argue that high school seniors are no different from most Americans. The average adult American knows little about his or her country's history. When Jay Leno does his jaywalking routine on The Tonight Show, asking people on the street simple, basic questions about the United States, it reveals an appalling, hilarious and sad lack of knowledge.
About seven years ago, The New York Times published a survey of 1,000 adults who were asked the question: Who is the greatest president in the history of the United States? John F. Kennedy got 70 percent of the vote. Historians may argue over the greatness of Camelot, but I honestly doubt that any historian in the United States today believes Kennedy tops Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.
In fact, Kennedy often shows up in "best presidents" polls of historians in the top 10 but not in the top five. And last fall, after the Sept. 11 tragedy and President Bush's subsequent speech to the joint session of Congress, Bush was rated by the American people as one of the greatest presidents, right behind Lincoln.
Second, I cannot speak for other parts of the country on a firsthand basis, but I can say that here in Texas, the teaching of history has never been very important at the middle school or high school level. When I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. and M.A. in history in 1974, I applied to 28 school districts, most in central Texas. I found that my master's degree was a hindrance in obtaining a teaching position because it would cost school districts an extra $500 or $600 a year, and they didn't want to pay it, when they could get someone with only a B.A. for less.
An even bigger problem for me, however, was my unwillingness to coach. Out of the 28 school districts, only one, Spring Branch ISD, told me I was applying for a teaching job only. In the other 27, if I wanted to teach history I had to coach. Twenty-eight years later, I am sure that a survey of high schools in the state would reveal that most coaches teach history.
This is not to condemn coaches who teach. Many of them do great work, and some are brilliant. In general, however, coaches are not evaluated by what they do in the classroom, but rather how their athletes perform in competition. More parents are interested in successful athletic programs than in whether their child's teacher is qualified, certified or knowledgeable about history.
Lastly, a much larger problem exists regarding the teaching of history. I believe the reason high school seniors and average Americans don't know much about their country's history lies in the fact that there is no economic value attached to it by society. We are a capitalistic nation dominated by a consumer society fixated on material wealth. If you can run a business successfully, you can turn a handsome profit. If you can understand complex chemistry, a major oil company or chemical company can use you in research and/or production. If you can dunk a basketball or hit a baseball, a professional sports team may pay you handsomely. But if your specialty is history, you cannot convert that knowledge into money, unless you happen to get a shot on Jeopardy or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
American society does not reward historical knowledge, therefore students and average Americans don't take any interest in history. Students see no tangible value in "knowledge" for the sake of knowledge, and the result is that students learn history as an immediate necessity. Once the next test or the semester is over, the knowledge is of no further value. It is not expanded on, and it is not reinforced. It is not used as a base from which an individual begins a real education -- one that is self-directed and self-motivated. Like a foreign language once learned and unused, it grows rusty, then vague and, finally, forgotten.
I wish I had a solution to this problem, but I don't. I bring enthusiasm to my classes. I introduce my students to the best literature available. I use documentary video where germane to spark interest in students brought up on television and computer screens. I relate the past to current events to demonstrate the relevancy of history.
But in the end, I am afraid my students retain very little, and this reflects the larger problem in society. Unfortunately, I believe this lack of knowledge about our nation's past could eventually lead to its downfall.
Shults is a teacher at Kingwood High School in Humble Independent School District.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]]
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