To be honest I cant complain about my high school history classes. Yes its basic and just gives an overview but its effective in giving a general flow to history. To be honest and I doubt many will agree on this but I believe history really isnt all that important in schools. Yes it must be taught but I would rather see more effort go into more practical skills. So what if a good amount of people arent good at history or cant point out Ukerain on a map? Were a completely functioning society without that.
While it is important to learn practical, everyday skills, I would argue having a decent to great knowledge on historical subjects is even more important. Its a cliche but I'll be damned if it isn't true: those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. Children are the future (another cliche huehuehue) and they are taking over the future governments and future problems. The majority of my peers (and not to sound smug or euphoric) are complete idiots in history who have paid little attention to the subject. Hell, I have been insulted many times using the American slur "communist" and when I try to explain my ideological differences, it goes over their goddamn head. And these are people who want to be functional members of society. It is an ignorance of past events (such as governmental manipulation, fabricated claims for imperialistic goals) that leads to...sheeple. This allows an easy manipulated people who are, of course, soft targets for any megalomaniac who does know his/her history. I honestly feel if a teacher isn't teaching history to his students in a way that creates some sort a massive passion (anger/sadness--like myself. Or, something on the complete other side on the spectrum--cold, calculated justification for past horrors) then you end up with a mob of neutral, happy little lambs.
But hey, it's just me.
This whole belief about our generation being idiots and unprepared to take on the roles of leaders in society... It's... It's just plain incorrect. It is a fact that 99% of people in any society ever were completely inept and utterly unable to make a responsible decision if their life depended on it. This is true today and it will always be true. The thing is, these 99% of people are natural followers. These people are not the ones who rise to positions in government, invent great things in the name of progress, or create great works of art. These are the people who are drafted into the military and die. They do what they're told for the whole life and live their lives poor and unskilled.
Our generation is just like any other - no better and no worse. We will have our great men, our prodigies, our maniacs - this doesn't mean there will be a surplus of any of these. The intelligence of the human race has been increasing consistently with the millennia and we have access to the greatest resources ever available to the average person. To say that this generation is doomed to fail is frankly ridiculous. Sure, many people are uneducated and don't know history, or can't even find their own country on a map, but that's an all time high for the human race. Three hundred years ago 99% of people could expect never to leave their isolated villages a single time in their lives. If they ever left it was to be drafted in the King's army to die a horrible death for a cause they didn't know existed before being called to arms. How could you say this generation is off badly? We have the most potential for smashing success of any generation in human history.
And the thing is, EVERYONE who thinks they're hot shit talks about how bad this generation is. I would think something like 30% of people in the western world have not uttered the words "my gen sucks" or "doomed to failure", or something along those lines. Everyone is thinking the same thing as if they're unique and the only saviors of the human race, but the thing is that simply the fact that so many people agree on the same thing shows that we are set up to achieve the greatest things ever imagined, and probably things that the human mind at this stage in our history cannot even properly comprehend.
Have some optimism - we'll be fine.
+1, finally, a realistic interpretation.
Oh, and also.... Guys, don't be so idealistic. "Not Stimulating", "Bad preparation for life" and "Focused too much on [insert object the lesson focuses too much on]" are just odious bullshit, that
D students come up with as an excuse to justify their lack of effort and failure in the academic system.
No one is stopping from learning from other sources, in your own free time, about whatever the fuck you want to learn about (I was reading about Henri Selassie and Abyssinia at the start of the 20th century haha). Face it: School is only about getting you into university; you can bitch about whatever you dislike in a lesson, but one thing is clear: when you find out that you have no offers at Year13/U6/Wtv, and find yourself trying desperately to get into any Uni via UCAS Clearance (UK students), then , well, you kinda failed. The truth. Shouting "OOOOoo why did we learn this" is pointless, as a) the curriculum was designed by professionals at leading universities, who, guess what, are more educated, and intelligent, than you will ever be, and b) they have every right to teach you about your country's history - why are other countries morre important?. So shut up, and study your History, and learn how to excel in the exams (exam technique, practice with past papers, etc). After all,
that is what's gonna be seen on your CV in the future, not your insightful remarks on the focus and scope of the educational system.
