A principal who never learned history himself is unlikely to place a premium on a job applicant who did – or even be able to tell the difference between mediocrity and excellence because in comparison with ignorance, even a mediocre grasp of a an alien field of study seems impressive. State legislators who have not learned much history are content with an incoherent hodgepodege of learning standards across 5-6 social science fields, glibly presented by a fast-talking consultant, because they know no better. What they do know as politicians, is that too close a focus on controversial historical issues may enrage organized groups of constitutents, so blandness and thematic schizophrenia seem preferable.
We are in a box of our own making and it will take a long campaign to educate the public in order to force the politicians to let us out.
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Pundita:
May 19th, 2005 at 8:32 pm
Thanks for explaining why Americans know so little about their own history.
mark:
May 19th, 2005 at 9:50 pm
You are welcome P.
I dabble in educational consulting and I once figured out that for my state, Illinois, to meet the State standards in Social Studies an instructor at the secondary level would have to, approximately, successfully teach three new concepts a day for 185 days.
This is simply not how students, even the most bright, learn. But it is a consequence of having standards that cover all the Social science fields, plus a good dollop of touchy-feely psychobabble, while skimming 7,000 years of recorded history.
Plus the State has killed their standardized test for Social Studies rendering the learning unmeasurable. This is actually ok because the State never actually spent the money to confirm that the test questions used were valid and reliable from a psychometric standpoint.
It’s a joke but not an amusing one.
Anonymous:
May 20th, 2005 at 11:52 pm
My daughter is a sophomore in high school (Connecticut) and is currently taking honors social studies. I am amazed at the depth and overall difficulty of the course. She’s learned a great deal more Jefferson and Madison than I ever did. They spent a week disecting the meaning of every sentence in the Declaration of Independence. They’ve analyzed, compared/contrasted Presidential speeches, inauguaration addresses etc. They have just started doing the civil war and are using the Ken Burns documentary as a starting point. Needless to say, much of the class involves independent study; e.g. each person in the class has been assigned a major battle to present to the class. My daughter will present the battle of Murfreesboro. The teacher is very dedicated and expects a great deal from the students.
Barnabus
mark:
May 21st, 2005 at 3:48 pm
Hi Barnabus
That’s wonderful that your daughter has that kind of a teacher – sounds like a gem !
AP and Honors course teachers tend to be a cut above in terms of professional preparation and experience – especially in schools that are located in larger, well-funded, upscale, school districts.
My beef isn’t with the teachers – most of them are dedicated professionals. The problem isn’t on the willingness to deliver in the classroom. However if you had 80 % of the nation’s math instructors with degrees in something other than mathematics you would see very mediocre mean standardized test scores in that subject too.
I don’t want to go to a dentist whose degree is in Urban planning or Horticulture. likewise I want my child instructed by highly qualified teachers who have genuine expertise in their field.
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