It has been a month since the death of the longest tenured Senator in US history, Robert Byrd, and today I'd like to honor Byrd by talking about one of his favorite subjects: history. Over his lifetime Senator Byrd was a staunch champion for history and civics education. He realized the importance of history and the current sad state of civics in the US.? There is no easy solution, but our 2003 report, ?The Best of Both Worlds? proposes a novel idea. Why not teach history in tandem with geography to help students grasp the information?
We learn? that American students' knowledge of history and geography is lamentably thin, that their understanding of their nation's past is weak, and that their comprehension of the world
American students' knowledge of history and geography is lamentably thin...Yet there has never been a time when such knowledge mattered more.
outside the United States is skimpy indeed. Yet there has never been a time when such knowledge mattered more?The present contribution is both useful in its own right?a fine curricular guide for educators and policymakers that imaginatively blends the two core disciplines of social studies?and a needed reminder that this field needs urgent attention.
You've probably heard the numbers, but it might not hurt to see them again. Half of seventeen-year-olds don't know what the Renaissance was, a majority of eighth graders can't explain the purpose of the Declaration of Independence, only five percent of high school seniors can describe federal checks and balances, and only 36% of students aged 18-24 can identify the UK on a blank map. The state of civics knowledge is in a dire state. With the death of Senator Byrd who will take up the fight?
-Saul Spady, Fordham Intern