Survey: Teens clueless on basic history, literature

George W is an incredible example of ...well, everything.

On this matter one story: He visited Europe a couple of years back, and in Madrid said he´d like to see the Eiffel tower...

AAARRRGGGHHHH!

 

it is stupid that most teens either arn't taught about all the most basic of subjects or are not interested, I mean I am only 21 years old and I know more about all the key subjects then anyone at work they just dont care about science or history or any or the other core subjects. They don't care how it works just that it does, or that everything they do and say can still be done because of soldiers before them fought so they wouldn't have too, it is just so frustrating.

 

The thing that I hate is the fact that one stupid, clueless, ignorant, briandead teen/twentier makes the rest of us look like idiots. And when there's actually a teen/twentier who actually KNOWS something (like me), people suddenly get really excited and before you know it you got bloody wires all over you and little beeping machines and seismograph-readings sketching out brainwaves and all that...

...I wish kids and teens spent a little more time knowing something about history and general knowledge rather than what the latest bloody mobile phone or iPod does or doesn't do. In fact, on that score - teenagers these days have a higher chance of developing a mental illness due to the materialistic society of the 21st century and not having the latest gadgets and fitting in.

I never bothered fitting in - in ANYTHING - apart from my clothes and I was never the worse for it.

 

Ok I just have to reply to this, just because I AM A TEENAGER. I don't find this survey shocking, I find your reactions shocking. I also have been taught not to blame the school neither the system but to only blame myself for my failures, but putting that aside I've learned that its not the students who are to blame, please do not blame the students for being the way they are, instead you need to go straight to the source, and blame the damn thing responsible. THE BOOKS!!!!. Most people that have replied to this thread probably doesn't have first hand information but I do, and here is what I can tell you. The books, which is what will shock you, are garbage. Complete ****ing garbage (sorry for the language its the truth). Ok for instance I have in front of me my sisters history book, their in 8th grade and it is the same one I used when I was in 8th grade which I am starting college soon (January 5th) so listen to this. The book's name is "Call to Freedom" by the company "HOLT" just to let you know my sources of information. First of all this book begins basically when Columbus discovers the new world, It doesn't have virtually any information about anything before hand, it has one chapter (about 17 pages its the shortest chapter in the book most of it is pictures very few paragraphs) to cover from the dawn of time, to 1492. Thats not a joke that's not an exaggeration that's the simple truth. Because obviously anything before 1492 (the age of exploration it says here) doesn't matter. The Romans? Attila the Hun? Alexander the great? none of that matters, period. Going on, this doesn't make any reference to the vikings discovering America first (if u don't count the people who were already here) and on just about every page of this book, it has a poem from someone relevant to the topic, the poems never make sense, or its a part of a diary from that era, which also doesn't make sense what so ever and I'm a pretty intelligent person and I rarely understand what the writer was trying to accomplish at all doing this. It has about two sentences wrapping up the black death, and even less than that on the south American empires, or anything to do with that era or the people in it.

I just also want to say that most of the teenagers they talked to on the phone said stuff stupidly that they knew was wrong because they probably thought it was hilarious at the time, just saying I would've done it too. Also this book has most of the pages taken up with useless pictures of ugly people from ugly drawings that are difficult to make out or are even completely wrong and not from that period or have nothing to do with anything about that era at all which just makes them misleading. It has a lot of the pages taken up by explaining that you should purchase a CD that goes with the book in order to learn more (garbage) from the book and explains how the CD is used and where u can go on the CD to get to what, this takes up a lot of the page which the writers clearly felt wasn't a smart idea to include another page continuing the explanation instead they often end the page (and the chapter) abruptly leaving things unanswered and just poorly written. I spent two years looking at this book so I know a lot about it, this isn't from a five minute glance, believe me this book is a true piece of garbage. Now as I continue.

This book tries to be written in a way that includes all cultures and teaches everything in a way that is directed by the government (obviously) and doesn't offend anyone in any way. So a lot of it doesn't make sense and goes off topic, try reading the HUGE four chapters about slavery and how the white people went to Africa and apparently dragged the black people out of the jungle and threw them into ships and hauled their ass off to north America to work for slaves until they die. This is actually a summery of a speech given to me by my teacher when I was in 8th grade. This is what I was taught, of course I knew it was wrong because my father taught me that we purchased the slaves from other African tribes who won the slaves during battles when making war against other tribes, doesn't that sound more logical? but that's not my field of expertise I'm just saying this is what I was taught in school, now onto more serious things I just wanted to cover that in case anyone was wondering what the government wants our kids to know and don't give me hate mail because you wasn't taught the same thing okay? no **** Sherlock I already said about 15 times that this is what I was taught, and that's it. Others might not have got that experience but good for them I'm just stating this as my experience with teenagers and history and myself. Now onto more serious things for real this time, world war two. How could this book and the school system possibly miss such a huge event in history? first I'll briefly cover the civil war, just to make things in order.

Now the civil war is covered in 20 pages, are you still surprised by things like that? well don't be because this gets a lot worse, first of all this book tells everything by the unions opinion and bashes everything the confederates ever did, if u can consider the few paragraphs that it actually says about the confederacy enough to bash them. But you get the point. Also it doesn't say anything other than the war was about slavery, the war was about slavery, it was only about slavery, and the south was the haters that just hated the blacks and was the ones enslaving them and the north was the bringers of freedom (they forgot to mention the 4 states in the union that still used slaves) and the fact that the war WAS NOT ABOUT SLAVERY. But the government wants to instill certain ideas not facts, as I heard from an extremely intelligent man that the school system was developed to make a student "feel a certain way" about a certain event, its not there (the system) to instill facts because that's so old. Now about World war one, it has six pages and all are about explaining the "supply and demand principle" not the first world war, I'm serious it says virtually nothing other than the united states was in the first world war and it was against its enemy Germany. Thats it, no joke, I can't make this up. But if that doesn't bring your piss to a boil this will.

It groups the second world war, and the cold war, into the same chapter. WOW must be a really long chapter right? sure! if you believe five pages is long. Let me repeat, 5 pages covers the second world war and the cold war. That's FIVE, 5, FH EYE VEE pages. five short pages, about 6 paragraphs and the rest pictures. This isn't made up please I want you to go find this book and look at it because its what a lot of the united states is using for their history book or at least some schools. My sisters who are in 8th grade are using this. They don't know anything about WWII, this book doesn't help. It shows huge maps that take up litterarly three whole pages with one paragraph at the top or bottom of the page and the rest of the page showing the map which shows trade routes plotted out, really necessary right? by the way the cold war is only one page so there isn't even anything to cover. This book has more information on Rosa parks than it does the second world war because the civil rights movement is covered right before the book ends. Oh the vietnam war? it doesn't cover that, the desert storm war? nope nothing about that, the iraq war? nope not important, and this book was made in 2005, no excuse, just government input.

Sorry if I cussed a few too many times I have a huge tooth ache and the doctor said that tooth and the two teeth around it are infected, so is the bone above it, which is severely infected and hurts tremendously so I was a little angry when writing this about the bullcrap of the state our country is in due to books like this and my tooth didn't help. So don't attack me, attack the book. Also I'm not racist I'm just stating facts, so don't tell me I'm racist blah blah blah I'm racist because I covered the civil war and it wasn't to the governments specifications. So thank you and have a nice day, please read this book its truly that bad I'm afraid no one will believe me but everything I wrote was true about this book!

 

I know I am a teenager, but I have to say, I was shocked when no one in my class D-Day happened on Normandy. Thats a basic! And I was really miffed when there were nothing said about Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7th of this year, and when nobody even knew what happened on that date. I honestly almost complained to my principal. I asked my friends 'What Happened on Dec 7th? They couldn't even guess.

 

History to me is like physics and sex/relationship education - They are a must! These three should be taught in every school with the most weight put on them. All three tell a person, who they are, where they are and why...THESE are the basics, not the three Rs.

 

This manifestation of modern living should not surprise anyone.

The women's liberation movement should take the blame. The modern education system caters entirely to their needs. All this politically correct 'learning'. One could see what was coming when "New Math" arrived, and began to teach straight line logic as a 'feel good' subject.

What we now have is an entire society devoted to the wants and mores of teenage girls. The boys now 'dumb down' their education simply to increase their chances of scoring a 'hot' chicky babe. And, what hot little chickling wants a partner on her arm that makes her look incredibly stupid? The solution was to go for the 'jocks', whilst the more academic boys missed out. Consequently, we now have the entire social scene dominated by this state of affairs. You only have to look at the large amount of 'drama' television that dominates our free to air screens.

Get rid of political correctness, restore sexual equality to what it actually should represent, and we may have a chance of producing kids that read and learn for pleasure again, rather than seeing it all as a chore.

 

As a teenager im not shcoked at all thiers the majority of my class mates are dumder than a box of rocks.....Can even pronounce proper english let alone pronounce muslim correctly.

 

Another memento of my Ardennes trip last week - I thought this made a nice picture & it might fit this thread.....



Our arrival at the La Gleize museum coincided with the pre-arranged visit by a group of (I think) Dutch schoolchildren. The teacher was highly enthusiastic ; in the pic he's accompanied my M. Gerard Gregoire, founder and curator of the La Gleize '44 Museum and published Bulge author. The students were able to ask many questions, all of which were patiently answered.

And how about a genuine KG Peiper King Tiger as a classroom prop....?

 

Best Show-n-Tell EVER!