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Fair enough.
Another statistic I heard today - when asked who the Vietnam War was fought between, 11% (that might not be the actual percentage) of public educated high schools students answer "North Korea and South Korea".

When the group doing the study looked at history texts used in public high schools, almost nothing is covered on the Vietnam War in most texts currently used. So sad - we need to reform public education, and such reform needs to include proper metrics for textbook selection.

resedit wrote:

Insurance companies make the decisions because Doctors order all kinds of tests just to cover their own asses, and leave it to the insurance companies to decide if they are going to pay or not.

DukeofNuke wrote:

Insurance Companies that are making those decisions. Based only on a preliminary diagnosis and a request for treatment.

Perhaps you should should be damn glad the doctors run those tests.

That is, if you had insurance.

KHannon wrote:

resedit wrote:

Fair enough.
Another statistic I heard today - when asked who the Vietnam War was fought between, 11% (that might not be the actual percentage) of public educated high schools students answer "North Korea and South Korea".

When the group doing the study looked at history texts used in public high schools, almost nothing is covered on the Vietnam War in most texts currently used. So sad - we need to reform public education, and such reform needs to include proper metrics for textbook selection.

When I was in in 11th grade, my AP US History text book had a 15 page chapter covering everything after World War II.  It wasn't an old book, either.

I agree, it needs to be looked at, especially considering that Post-World War II events in this country, I believe, are more important than, say, the War of 1812.

My High school's AP History program is based largely on the structure suggested by James Loewen in his book Lies My Teacher Told Me. Read the book as the prerequisite but was too effin' lazy to do the review questions. So I am stuck with the typical College Prep dreck.

Let that be a lesson to ye, kids!

Last edited by c_norris1 (2009-11-02 5:17 pm)

Ideally, controversy would produce a good deal of speech, but alas.

c_norris1 wrote:

Pariah wrote:

I might guess that the reason the section on Vietnam is so neglected is because, even to this day, the telling of that history is going to be very controversial so text book writers give the subject short shrift.

It's one of the main points of his book; most history textbooks are neutered to remove pretty much all chance of controversy and disagreement in favor of some patriotic mush that attempts and fails to instill nationalism in students.

I blame Texas.

so do I. You ought to have people with some type of intelligence or scholarly capabilities in charge of selecting text books.

Instead, we have Dumb and Dumber.

c_norris1 wrote:

Pariah wrote:

I might guess that the reason the section on Vietnam is so neglected is because, even to this day, the telling of that history is going to be very controversial so text book writers give the subject short shrift.

It's one of the main points of his book; most history textbooks are neutered to remove pretty much all chance of controversy and disagreement in favor of some patriotic mush that attempts and fails to instill nationalism in students.

Students need a firm grasp of historical events before they can start talking about "controversy".

Otherwise history class might as well be an internet message board.

resedit wrote:

Fair enough.
Another statistic I heard today - when asked who the Vietnam War was fought between, 11% (that might not be the actual percentage) of public educated high schools students answer "North Korea and South Korea".

When the group doing the study looked at history texts used in public high schools, almost nothing is covered on the Vietnam War in most texts currently used. So sad - we need to reform public education, and such reform needs to include proper metrics for textbook selection.

the good news is that 89% -- nearly 90% said something (hopefully) reasonable in response. If you look at only the dumb responses, then you probably need your own head examined. Probably 30% weren't even paying attention to the subject matter when it was presented, so,.. WIN!

Tallgeese wrote:

Otherwise history class might as well be an internet message board.

The key is to teach the students about "historical method". Unfortunately, that requires textbooks of an entirely different sort.