The Old Folks Home

[ozexpat]

Ask an American what countries fought along side then in Korea or Vietnam?

Ask an American to find Armenia on a map or why the Armenians, to this day, have a hatred of Turks?

Why did the USA invade Grenada?

 

[ozexpat]

Cinco de Mayo is not an official US holiday; the reason the Battle of Puebla has become the penultimate holiday for Americans of Mexican descent is beyond me.

We do study world history. The Armenian Genocide, the Young Turks, the Crimean War, the rise of the Zulu Kingdom, all of that showed up in college. A great deal of it showed up in high school. And in the freshman year of high school we had world geography which covered physical, cultural, and economic geography. We even learned about how the Brits in Austraila hunted the natives for entertainment, not unlike our own collection of morally bankrupt Gold Rush types who did the same thing.

Where one goes to high school makes a great difference. The high school I attended was considered one of the better schools in not only the state, but the nation at the time I attended it. Now it is very poorly rated and many of the students are the children of illiterate immigrants. In 1998 the school was still reasonably highly rated; in the years since then the town has become heavily populated by illegal immigrants with the resulting decline in school standards and the flight of those who can afford to go elsewhere. The mandatory core curriculum is now significantly less rigorous.

You have a better grasp them most.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

...

Modern countries outside of the us study world history and geography. We learn of such atrocities. We know of the events that shaped the world and where they occurred.

America focuses on american history. The knowledge of Americans pertaining to world history and geography is appalling.

That's why cinco de mayo is a bigger event in the USA than it is in mexico

Many in other parts of the world know much more about US geography than most of the Americans I know.

They at least know most of our states, cities, rivers and mountain ranges and their orientation to one another.

95% of Americans one would question about cinco de Mayo would say it is the Mexican independence day. Not true, it's September 16. El Dia de los Muertos (all saints day)is a much bigger celebration in Mexico than cinco de Mayo.

http://www.boredpanda.com/americans-place-european-countries-on-map/

 

[ozexpat]

All you mentioned I learnt about in junior high school. In most western countries there is enough general education in high school not to require general Ed subjects in college.

When my kids finally get here, I will be very active in their education.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Ask an American what countries fought along side then in Korea or Vietnam?

Ask an American to find Armenia on a map or why the Armenians, to this day, have a hatred of Turks?

Why did the USA invade Grenada?

Call on me!!! I know!!! I know!!!

Somehow our conversation at work one day centered on geography. I mentioned a country in South America. Someone said it wasn't in South America. I challenged that I could name every country in the western hemisphere and their location in relation to their neighbors. I won a lot of money that day.
I just have never been able to do the same with Africa, though I've tried. Europe and Asia are a cinch.

 

[ozexpat]

Cinco de Mayo is beverage companies' version of Valentine's day

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I was aware of some of this ignorance but working with foreign exchange students from Europe, Asia and Latin America, I became aware how woefully lacking our education system is - whether populated by illegal immigrants or 7th generation Americans.

 

[dsqard]

I disagree with you Yakima.


Modern countries outside of the us study world history and geography. We learn of such atrocities. We know of the events that shaped the world and where they occurred.


America focuses on american history. The knowledge of Americans pertaining to world history and geography is appalling.
Oz you know that 'mericans only care about 'merica!


That's why cinco de mayo is a bigger event in the USA than it is in mexico

Cinco de Mayo is not an official US holiday; the reason the Battle of Puebla has become the penultimate holiday for Americans of Mexican descent is beyond me.
It's ALL about the beer. Just sayin'...

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Ask an American what countries fought along side then in Korea or Vietnam?

Ask an American to find Armenia on a map or why the Armenians, to this day, have a hatred of Turks?

Why did the USA invade Grenada?

The main ones were:
South Korea.
The Commonwealth countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, and of course the UK..
The Phillipines.
Thailand.
The other SEATO nations.
Japan provided rear bases for both wars.

Armenians hate the Turks because the Ottomans massacred them in what is commonly known as the Armenian Genocide.
Finding Armenia on a map is challenging. Historic Armenia is essentially part of Turkey, although there was an Armenian SSR.

The US invaded Grenada because the murder of the revolutionary president provided an opportunity to reinstall the previous President who was more to the liking of the US power elite. The pretense was to allegedly "save" US students at a local medical school. Most of those "saved" were irate as they were generally unable to continue their medical studies.

The French fought in Korea; but had left Indochina before the US entered the war.




Several UN nations..

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I would ask the exchange students that were sophomores, juniors and seniors in high school how they were able to do so well in things like calculus, physics and other sciences that our students in the same grades struggled with. They told me that many of the mathematic principles we begin to teach at middle and upper levels of high school, they began to learn in 6th and 7th grade.