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RustyBattleship · 06-28-2006, 15:03 PM

This thread also mentioned history. I love history, but ONLY if it was written by Harold Lamb. He writes it as a novel, love story, adventure story, mystery story. It is not cut and dry with meaningless dates except as needed for comparisson as to what the rest of the world was like then.

But the biggest problem with schools is that they are stuck on teaching history starting with the dinosaurs and cave men. This is their "required" program in Elementary School, Junior High School, High School, Junior College and Senior College. By the time they get up to the 20th century, the semester has run out.

I realized this several years ago when we were having a family discussion and the phrase "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what YOU can do for your country" was quoted. I identified that as the acceptance speech by John F. Kennedy when he was elected President. Our daughter, who was in Junior College by then, said, "You know Dad, I've heard that speech many times before but never knew who said it."

BOOOOIIIIIINGGGG! What the hell is wrong with schools today? It turns out that, with luck, students might have enough time to get past the Civil War and maybe have a couple of hours left for a brief descripton of the Spanish American War.

No time for the Boxer Rebellion, First World War, depression of the 1930's, Second World War (and why WW I Treaty of Versailles caused it), invention of Penicillan, popularity of affordable Television sets, Korean War, invention of Salk and Sabin vaccines, Cuban Embargo, Viet Nam War, Race for the Moon, the transistor that led to the micro chip and today's computers and cell phones, etc. It is my firm belief that most of the events that happend in the 20th century have had more of an effect of who we are, why we are and how we are more so than all of the preceding centuries. Rome's conquest of Europe has no meaning to us anymore and Greek philosophies are only of interest to philosophers who have nothing else better to do ("Honey, when are you going to fix the fence?" "As soon as I get done doing a treatise on Plato vs Socrates")

06-28-2006, 15:03 PM	#24 (permalink)
RustyBattleship *Defense Professional* Join Date: 01-12-06 Location: Long Beach, CA Posts: 2,724	This thread also mentioned history. I love history, but ONLY if it was written by Harold Lamb. He writes it as a novel, love story, adventure story, mystery story. It is not cut and dry with meaningless dates except as needed for comparisson as to what the rest of the world was like then. But the biggest problem with schools is that they are stuck on teaching history starting with the dinosaurs and cave men. This is their "required" program in Elementary School, Junior High School, High School, Junior College and Senior College. By the time they get up to the 20th century, the semester has run out. I realized this several years ago when we were having a family discussion and the phrase "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what YOU can do for your country" was quoted. I identified that as the acceptance speech by John F. Kennedy when he was elected President. Our daughter, who was in Junior College by then, said, "You know Dad, I've heard that speech many times before but never knew who said it." BOOOOIIIIIINGGGG! What the hell is wrong with schools today? It turns out that, with luck, students might have enough time to get past the Civil War and maybe have a couple of hours left for a brief descripton of the Spanish American War. No time for the Boxer Rebellion, First World War, depression of the 1930's, Second World War (and why WW I Treaty of Versailles caused it), invention of Penicillan, popularity of affordable Television sets, Korean War, invention of Salk and Sabin vaccines, Cuban Embargo, Viet Nam War, Race for the Moon, the transistor that led to the micro chip and today's computers and cell phones, etc. It is my firm belief that most of the events that happend in the 20th century have had more of an effect of who we are, why we are and how we are more so than all of the preceding centuries. Rome's conquest of Europe has no meaning to us anymore and Greek philosophies are only of interest to philosophers who have nothing else better to do ("Honey, when are you going to fix the fence?" "As soon as I get done doing a treatise on Plato vs Socrates") Last edited by RustyBattleship : 06-28-2006 at 15:09 PM.