The Joys of Historical Ignorance November 9, 2014
Author: Beach Combing | in : Actualite , trackback
For a student from the west the basic sign of historical literacy is whether or not you can put the following periods in their correct order: antiquity, ‘dark ages’, middle ages, renaissance and modernity. Beach has the privilege of teaching perhaps two hundred American students a year and probably ten percent would be capable of placing them as shown here. British students would do worse and, generally speaking, Continental students better, but few in any of the three categories would win gold stars. Historical ignorance is, in fact, like love, all around us. For example, fewer than ten percent of American fourth graders were, in 2013, able to identify who a bearded man named Abraham Lincoln in a photograph and give two reasons for his importance.
Our education systems generally provide literacy and numeracy but they fail in historical terms, most people you will meet in the street are historically illiterate or can at best scratch out some initials on a tree trunk. It would be silly to exaggerate the gravity of this. History (other than perhaps the question of what country you hate and why your grandfather died in the war) matters less than maths and writing. However, human beings, being, well human beings the gaps left behind by striking teachers, cell phones and intuitive methods do not remain: one of the first laws of the humanities is, after all, that ignorance abhors a vacuum and so the prejudices of the individual set about explaining the what and when.
A rather endearing British example. When ten year olds were asked who Britain had fought in the Second World War the top three answers were: France (of course), Germany and Scotland (!!). Other examples: Beach has come across young and old people who believe that Guy Fawkes is burnt 5 November in effigy because he stopped the plotters blowing up Parliament (Britain’s political class has had a bad a few years); one in five high school students in the UK thought that Winston Churchill was a fictional character (he presumably lived with Piglet and Tigger in the Hundred Acre Woods); and in the same trees, 4% believed that Adolf Hitler was British Prime Minister in WW2 (11-18 year olds including several jokers?); 36% of British children aged five and six did know whose birthday was celebrated 25 Dec (and 22% said Simon Cowell); a colleague of mine, meanwhile, teaching international law, recently, told the class that the Lisbon Treaty entered into force in 2009 and was asked by a student ‘AD or BC?’
Other telling or entertaining historical misunderstandings: drbeachcombing AT yahoo DOT com
29 Nov 2014: RR writes in ‘I read with interest your new post on the joys of historical ignorance. From my extensive reading and observations on education these past few decades is that this was bound to happen as more computers and cell phones take the place of physical memory. Fewer kids have the capacity to remember anything not directly related to their leisure interests. Technology is breeding a generation of barely literate amnesiacs. Add to this the distressing fact that many school boards neglect teaching national history in favour of “ethnic” history in order to introduce students to the idea that multiculturalism is not only good, but here to stay, despite the many negative impacts it has on the majority culture. It dilutes national identity and degrades participation in traditional holidays and even elections. As more teachers get lazier about teaching history, they tend to rely on Wikipedia for information rather than professionally edited textbooks written by people who tend to check their facts. I have heard that universities and colleges are also accepting poorly written, inaccurate internet articles as sources for undergraduate papers in the humanities. Sad to say, but this means that the entire reason behind history as a discipline is being ground underfoot, being replaced with hordes of conspiracy theories and half-baked ideas on streamlining teaching methods to incorporate more technology, ironically leaving understanding to the past. Thankfully there are people like yourself who are trying to rescue history from the backwaters of academia and the public imagination. Without an understanding of history, we are merely pawns in political and religious games played by whomever is in power.’ Thanks RR! Catfish writes: On students who don’t know history. Most Americans who call for war in say Syria, couldn’t find it on a map with two hands and a flashlight. I can think of no more under educated people than the American people. That said, maybe we have had it all wrong all along. Maybe war is good for us. Thanks Catfish! Chris S writes ‘The paucity of knowledge regarding history is simple, corporations can’t make money from knowing why Justinian the II had no nose, nor is there profitability in understanding the profound concepts put forth by Plato. Contemporary education is not about personal enrichment, but churning out workers who can count into triple digits, write legibly, and understand simple orders. Instead, people with a passion for humanities become the smartest man in the bar (or pub) who can’t hold down a real job.’ Thanks, Chris!
