75% of Oklahoma HS students can't name our first President

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 9/17/09 at 11:01pm

And only fourteen percent can say who wrote the Declaration of Independence.

The quote alluded to at the end of the article is fitting: "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be." - Thomas Jefferson

http://www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=11141949

[Calvin]

Posted: 9/17/09 at 11:37pm

Have no fear! They might not be learning that useless junk, but at least schoolchildren will be learning who Phyllis Schlafly is soon, and how to stay a virgin until 56.
Lunacy

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 9/17/09 at 11:39pm

Can he name them?

[nmartin]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 5:31am

Many years ago in a senior English class a student told me that the capital of Arkansas was West Memphis. The high school was in Arkansas. The child had lived in Arkansas her entire life.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 2:51pm

I only missed one, and it's more because I just drew a total blank, because it's embarrassing.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 5:45pm

"Total junk"

An interesting take on learning American History.

As long as they can text or get on twitter or go ape over the Jonas Brothers, that is all that really matters right?

Updated On: 9/18/09 at 05:45 PM

[nealb1]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 5:51pm

Pretty sad, isn't it? But, they sure know who Paris Hilton is.

[nmartin]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 5:54pm

I've taught high school for twenty-three years. This is very typical.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 6:48pm

I don't understand how studies like this keep coming out. Honestly, how do these people attend school every day for 10 years and not learn how to read, or know who the first president was? I know there are some crappy, underfunded schools out there, but 1 in 4 in the state of Oklahoma? Seriously? Why are these students passed onto the next grade if they don't know such basic concepts? It's not like it was a trick question and the answer was actually John Hanson- most of those questions were embarrassingly straight forward.

When I was in high school, it was released that X% of high school students couldn't find their own state on a map of the US. My school made everyone take time from their social studies class to take a quiz labeling the map of the US. I took it in my AP History class, so I got to skip it in AP Government. You know, because I could have checked the answers since I'd already seen the test.

[nmartin]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 7:02pm

I teach 11th and 12th grades English. It is not uncommon to have many children who read at a 5th grade or lower level. By that time it is too late to do anything about it. As far as why it happens, it has been my experience that there are times when a teacher fails a student and over the summer those grades are changed.

[TimesSquareRegular]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 10:49pm

That's ok ..... I'll bet 75% of the country couldn't find Oklahoma on a map. (most can sing the song, however!)

[Weez]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 4:21am

Well, I only got two of them right, but now I look at the answers, I could've got far more if only I were used to the terminology or engaged my brain fully (I know what the Constitution is but I've never heard it actually referred to as the "supreme law of the land" before; also, it turns out I have learned things from watching The West Wing, I just didn't realise I had). Also it's far earlier in the morning than I would like, and I was kept up all night by my cat dancing on my head. Whatever I did to offend her several nights back, it's apparently water under the bridge now. O_O

I know vaguely where Oklahoma is. I could draw a circle on a map of the US and it would be around there somewhere, but I'm not sure of the specifics. XD

In my defence, I'm English, and we traditionally laugh at the idea of rather than study American history. But if you want to mock me in turn, I've no idea who our first Prime Minister or King was. Although I can name the current leaders of four of our political parties (the two major ones, the little one I wish could, and the morally reprehensible one that truly needs to be wiped from the face of the earth) and I'm pretty good on the War of the Roses. I'm also now going to use my shame in not knowing Prime Ministers to spend a half hour or so on Wikipedia, as opposed to remaining a mindless statistic, so there's a little moral high ground there. :3 I also know the Prime Ministers of Australia and Canada, and the President of France. And his wife. And I would have to have my membership of the internet revoked not to be able to name the US president, vice president, their two opponents in the election, and I know the White House chief of staff as well, just for good measure.

... did I go a little bit overboard in trying to eradicate my shame?

[Weez]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 5:57am

Right! It seems that the history of the United Kingdom has been going for so long that it all gets a bit murky after a while, and things tended to happen of their own accord rather than being purposefully put into action.

The first King of England was Offa of Mercia, back in the 700s, but once he died, no one seemed to care about being King of England, preferring to stick with their own individual kingdoms. The English monarchy didn't pick up again until the early 800s, with Egbert, King of Wessex, being in charge of most of the country. From there, it's been a continuous line (although not a strictly biological one, thanks to various violent uprisings) of monarchy ever since, although it wasn't until Alfred the Great that anyone took it upon themselves to say "hey, I'm king of the WHOLE country!". England, Ireland, and Scotland took care of themselves and had their own monarchies right up until 1707 (and beyond, in the case of Ireland), when the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed (initially comprising England and Scotland; Ireland joined in 1801, making it the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, until 1922, when most of Ireland dropped away, leaving the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, name amended as of 1927). And so the very first British monarch was the relatively recent Queen Anne. I love our history, it's a bit mad. :)

As for Prime Ministers, we never officially created the office, so we never officially had a First Prime Minister, but people traditionally list Sir Robert Walpole (in office from 1721 to 1742) as the first, simply because we've got to start somewhere, and that's around the time modern politics started taking shape. Plus he did essentially perform the role of Prime Minister as we know it, even if they didn't know that's what he was yet. XD

Y'know, I'm kinda jealous of American history. It all seems so nicely compact and organised, somehow. (I also now know where Oklahoma is and what the state capital is. Go me!)

Updated On: 9/19/09 at 05:57 AM

[nmartin]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 7:41am

Weez, very good. I have two classes of British lit. We go over the history as well.

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 9:22am

I don't know about the testing protocol, but I know in Florida (where I just came from) and New York (where I am know), Reading, Writing and Math (and every few years, Science) were pretty much the only thing taught in schools due to high stakes testing in the state (and NCLB).

I've always taught at charter schools which have had extended school days and thus the luxury to teach Social Studies/History/Geography, but I know many of the schools in the districts my schools were located in didn't even touch Social Studies since it wasn't on the state test.

[nmartin]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 9:39am

Social studies is not on the state test? It is in my state. I can't believe any state would leave it out.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 9:52am

Most state tests leave off social studies (and a lot of other topics), but the standardized tests some schools do at the end of the year (not related to NCLB) do include them. This is just one of the many stupid things about NCLB, which has actually destroyed education in America. If I ever have to teach it will not be in a public school that is too afraid to actually educate their students but in a private or charter school where education is the most important thing (and teaching to the test isn't because the subject matter was covered years before).

[nmartin]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 10:00am

I can't speak for most states, but it is part of my state testing and is counted for AYP.
This whole thing is the fault of NCLB. If Al Gore had carried his own damn home state, this would not be happening.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 10:21am

Who's Al Gore?

[tazber]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 10:48am

I was able to list all the presidents (in order, thank you very much!) except one: I forget who comes after Beyonce. Anyone?

Updated On: 9/19/09 at 10:48 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 12:16pm

Chester Alan Arthur.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 12:18pm

86% of performing arts high school students can name the opening number in Oklahoma!

So it balances out.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 3:45pm

"I was able to list all the presidents (in order, thank you very much!)"

Me too, I learned it in music class in elementary school. I somehow always forget Truman.
And, I know the states in alphebetical order from the same music class.

(Of course, when someone asks me who the 30th presient was, I have to sing the song)

They have a US Map test online to see how many states you can name; I got 43 of them correct.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 11:15pm

This site is really great to play around on, both for testing your knowledge of this type of "list" based information and for improving your skills at the same time.
Just try not to get too caught up when you have other work to do, as I did with the "countries of the world" list when it came up on this board the last time.


Sporcle: mentally stimulating diversions

Updated On: 9/19/09 at 11:15 PM

[tazber]

Posted: 9/20/09 at 12:56am

Me too, I learned it in music class in elementary school. I somehow always forget Truman.

Cool! So do you know who comes after Beyonce?