BruceDeitrickPrice
We spend a lot of time teaching people stuff that isn’t really useful. I mean honestly if you’re not actually teaching history when was the last time it mattered in your life if the Revolutionary War and Civil War came first? There’s some level of “good American” that probably should know that, but it’s just not part of life, it doesn’t make me better at my job, doesn’t put food on the table. And really even on the “good American” level the dates aren’t nearly as important as the whys, that’s the part that shaped the country.
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Being historically literate is like being literate in other areas of life. It gives you a framework to hang the information you run into in life. And to test its reality. Someone once said that and education basically teaches you what is rot and what is not.
I like that one. And it’s true. But again we’re going into the different between data and other stuff. I’m talking about data. Data you put in your brains that you don’t periodically get back out goes away. But of course that framework you wind up using, just because you can’t not use. I’m not saying don’t teach them, I’m saying don’t be upset when they forget. Somebody that’s had a couple of physics course between AmHis classes is probably going to be a bit rough on their history, they weren’t using it, and while they weren’t using it they were cramming all kinds of other stuff in there. It doesn’t mean they’re dumb, it means they’ve been busy with other stuff.