GUEST BLOGGER 260 - 09-17-09

As a follow up to yesterday’s blog, I thought I might invite a ‘guest blogger’ to add some emphasis to my observations of Berkeley students’ responses to history related questions (see Blog 259 OUR UNDOING).  Tim Matherly is my former classmate from Wiley High School in Terre Haute, Indiana who is now an Associate Professor at Florida State University, Tallahassee, and he offered the following response to my blog.  I thought you would benefit from the read, so here is what Tim had to say: ‘There is, sadly, a great deal of truth in your observations. Not only do many of our young people know little of American History, and the values that formed the basis for our government and our institutions, but much of what they know isn't true. Was it Elbert Hubbard who said "It ain't the things I don't know as gets me in trouble, it's the thing's I know that ain't so." I personally work these topics into my course, and I am always saddened by the lack of information so many students have, although I am always grateful for the many who have thanked me for the information. There are several things that I identify as major causes of this sad state of affairs. First is the replacement of History in the public schools with Social Studies, a curriculum that was supposed to integrate fields of study to explore the forces that shape history, but which has given way to a mushed up, politically correct curriculum with less intellectual rigor.  A second factor is the fact that too much of our preparation of teachers is given over the Colleges of Education, where students are taught "how to teach." Look at Undergraduate Bulletins from major universities and see how much of a student's program is occupied with Liberal Studies courses and Ed courses and calculate how much time is left for courses in the area in which the prospective graduates will teach.  A third factor, quite frankly, is often in the quality of students who wind up in teaching programs.  These areas simply don't attract the "Best and Brightest" in too many cases.  The prospect of dragging through those boring but easy Ed classes was a major factor in driving me out of an Ed program as a youngster.  As a result we too often have second class minds who don't even know much history (or economics, political science or anything else) teaching our kids. Tie that to the fact that the teachers have had their minds crammed with Cream of Wheat and you get intense young people who cling to bumper sticker slogans as though they were gems of wisdom, and seem incapable of entertaining a thought that can't fit on a t-shirt.  Speaking of which, one of my favorite bumper stickers - "If U Kin Reed This, Thank a Teecher."  I'd better stop before I go all night on what I think is wrong with education today. Thanks for listening.  Oh, what the heck!  I've got to rant about the lack of discipline. Remember at Wiley, if we wore Weejuns without socks (remember that silly fad) or didn't shave (assuming anyone could tell) we'd be sent home. And nobody back sassed the teachers. Sure, some of our classmates got pregnant, but not in Study Hall.  And we had an atmosphere that you could learn in.  OK, I'm done.”

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