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Moskie · 11-19-2003, 06:40 AM

For a handful of various reasons, my knowledge of history is atrocious. I'm 22 years old now, grew up half my life in southern California, the other half near Baltimore. They were fine schools there, but the subject of history was the exception to the rule. I had to put up with history teachers who were either only teachers because it was the off season for the sport they coached, or history teachers who were in their last year before retirement. In both situations, the classes were jokes. Admittedly, I didn't put forth as much effort into learning the material as I could have, but that's just because I was kid who wanted to get away with doing the least amount of work as possible. Had I been motivated (like some of my math teachers had done), I would have a lot more interest and learned a lot more.

So recently I've been bitten by the history bug. September 11th and the war in Iraq definately have something to do with that fact, but I'm also just getting a bit older and simply want to learn. I've been reading general US history articles and books, trying to get a good picture of things before I jump to too many conlusions.

As for what the article says about learning languages, I think they're absolutely right. Americans hardly study other languages to a great extent, and they're lucky if they can use what they learn to order food from a restaurant. I'm not sure how related that fact is to how ignorant Americans are to other cultures... I think what's more important is for people to actually get out of the US for extended periods of time. Most Americans have no idea what life is like outside the US. This past year I've visited Venezuela (first time I was in South America), and am now studying in Germany. I can't even begin to explain how healthy it is to do things like this. You really begin to see how extraordinarily petty the things are that a lot Americans worry about. Freedom Fries, gay marriage, the 10 commandments on public property... most countries would love the oppurtunity to worry about these things as opposed to their own problems. I've also learned how lucky Americans are to even fathom not caring about their goverment. Their lives often go so well, that they are able to ignore the government completely. Such a perspective is impossible in other coutries.

So, yes, from my own experiences, I'd say things need to be done to have American students learn more about history and the rest of the world.

*edit* stupid typos.

11-19-2003, 06:40 AM	#3 (permalink)
Moskie Pure Chewing Satisfaction Location: can i use bbcode [i]here[/i]?	For a handful of various reasons, my knowledge of history is atrocious. I'm 22 years old now, grew up half my life in southern California, the other half near Baltimore. They were fine schools there, but the subject of history was the exception to the rule. I had to put up with history teachers who were either only teachers because it was the off season for the sport they coached, or history teachers who were in their last year before retirement. In both situations, the classes were jokes. Admittedly, I didn't put forth as much effort into learning the material as I could have, but that's just because I was kid who wanted to get away with doing the least amount of work as possible. Had I been motivated (like some of my math teachers had done), I would have a lot more interest and learned a lot more. So recently I've been bitten by the history bug. September 11th and the war in Iraq definately have something to do with that fact, but I'm also just getting a bit older and simply want to learn. I've been reading general US history articles and books, trying to get a good picture of things before I jump to too many conlusions. As for what the article says about learning languages, I think they're absolutely right. Americans hardly study other languages to a great extent, and they're lucky if they can use what they learn to order food from a restaurant. I'm not sure how related that fact is to how ignorant Americans are to other cultures... I think what's more important is for people to actually get out of the US for extended periods of time. Most Americans have no idea what life is like outside the US. This past year I've visited Venezuela (first time I was in South America), and am now studying in Germany. I can't even begin to explain how healthy it is to do things like this. You really begin to see how extraordinarily petty the things are that a lot Americans worry about. Freedom Fries, gay marriage, the 10 commandments on public property... most countries would love the oppurtunity to worry about these things as opposed to their own problems. I've also learned how lucky Americans are to even fathom not caring about their goverment. Their lives often go so well, that they are able to ignore the government completely. Such a perspective is impossible in other coutries. So, yes, from my own experiences, I'd say things need to be done to have American students learn more about history and the rest of the world. edit stupid typos. __________________ Greetings and salutations. Last edited by Moskie; 11-19-2003 at 09:05 AM..