Friday, March 27, 2009

The Dark Ages: The Sequel

When I was in education school, I was told by one professor that I might not be able to teach World War Two as part of the curriculum, or at least certain topics like the Holocaust, due to the sensitive nature of certain subjects. At the time, I was flabbergasted that such a notion could be true. Though she herself admitted it was wrong, it would appear she was nonetheless correct if this article is any indication of the future of history education:

Exit Winston Churchill, Enter Twitter

With proposed curriculum changes like this, there could be more than just an hour of darkness after Saturday's "Earth Hour." How does one even contemplate the change from studying the likes of Shakespeare and the Second World War to blogs and social networking trends? Just what the world needs - more self-absorbed dumb people spreading their "knowledge" in real-time without knowing the facts.

Weirdly, there just might be a bright light on the horizon...from the educational system of the United States, no less:

Bill to Reform Teaching of American History and Civics Introduced in the Senate

Guess only time will tell if we learn the lesson. And hopefully, before the mistakes of the past are repeated.

©2009 Steve Sagarra

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