- MENU
- HOME
- SITE
- JOBS
- VIDEOS
- WORLD
- MAIN
- AFRICA
- ASIA
- BALKANS
- EUROPE
- LATIN AMERICA
- MIDDLE EAST
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Benelux
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Poland
- Russia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- USA
- BUSINESS
- WEALTH
- STOCKS
- TECH
- HEALTH
- LIFESTYLE
- ENTERTAINMENT
- SPORTS
- RSS
- iHaveNet.com: Education
by Cal Thomas
Given the numerous studies revealing how American education lags behind instruction in other countries in disciplines once thought to be essential, it should come as no surprise that on the 70th anniversary of D-Day, a lot of people are clueless about central elements of the Allied invasion of the European continent on
Colleges and universities clearly are not teaching what they once did.
That is also apparent in the ACTA survey, which found that 70 percent of recent college graduates knew D-Day occurred during World War II, compared to 98 percent of college graduates 65 and older.
Dr. Michael Poliakoff, ACTA's vice president of policy, says: "We are allowing students to graduate college with the historical knowledge of a twelfth grader. Not a single liberal arts college, except the military academies and only five of the top 50 public universities require even one survey of American history."
Poliakoff continues: "We aren't adequately preparing the next generation for the challenges of career and community with this apathetic approach to our national heritage. These college graduates are unlikely to understand the cost of maintaining our nation's freedom."
While much of this should disgust, especially those parents who are paying more and getting less of an education for their kids, none of it should surprise. Today's young people seem to know and care more about sex, pop stars and the latest cellphones, than wisdom and knowledge from our past and the character of those who fought to preserve our freedoms.
In his classic book, "The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students," the late college professor Allan Bloom indicted modern university life: "The university now offers no distinctive visage to the young person. He finds a democracy of the disciplines -- which are there either because they are autochthonous or because they wandered in recently to perform some job that was demanded of the university. This democracy is really an anarchy, because there are no recognized rules for citizenship and no legitimate titles to rule. In short there is no vision, nor is there a set of competing visions, of what an educated human being is. The question has disappeared, for to pose it would be a threat to peace." (p337)
It seems increasing numbers among us don't know what we don't know, and worse, don't care that we don't know it.
The late Steve Allen created the "man on the street" interview for "The Tonight Show." He would ask people general knowledge questions. Their replies were often funny. Jesse Watters of
Someone should ask a question of the aging veterans who are likely visiting Normandy for the last time this weekend. If they could have foreseen what America would become and how little their descendants know, or care, about their sacrifice, would they have done what they did?
They probably would because of their character. I'm not sure the same could be said of too many of their progeny.
EDUCATION NEWS ...
- A Crash Course on Reality
- College Majors That Don't Pay Off
- Is The New GED Too Tough?
- D-Day is Dumb Day for Too Many
- Time to Get Serious About Sexual Assault on Campuses
- The Peculiar Madness of 'Trigger Warnings'
- Trigger Warnings: Maya Angelou's Uncomfortable Facts and Truths
- The End of Affirmative Action
- Race and College Admission: A Volatile Issue
- Affirmative Action Finds Brave Defense in Sotomayor's Dissent
- The High Stakes of High-Stakes Standardized Testing
- Defending Kwasi Enin: A High Achiever
- The ABC's of School Choice
- College Laundry 101: Understanding the Basics
- Changes to SAT will Even Out Playing Field
- Liberal Students have a Funny Definition of 'Diversity'
- Asphyxiating Education
- Liberal Arts: An Endangered Species Up in Arms
- School for Scandal
- A Future Stuck in the Pipeline
- Financial Aid Group Calls on Feds to Shore Up Lending to Parents
- Boys in the Back of the Class
- An Education Reform That Will Work
- Income-Based Diversity Push Falls Short at Elite Colleges
- You Can't Fix Education by Lowering the Bar
- The New American Helots
- The Commencement Address That Won't Be Given
- College, Loans and the Road to Success
Article: Copyright ©, Tribune Media Services.
"D-Day is Dumb Day for Too Many"