Recently a study was released that startled me. Just 45 percent of 12th graders scored at or above "basic" on the history test. About 10 percent of seniors scored "proficient," and 1 percent are considered to have an "advanced" knowledge of U.S. history.
For our international readers, this might be a cause to laugh, but don't get to hasty. It is a good bet that your country scores much lower on U.S. History than we do...........
There are so many reasons to know your history. None the least of which is not repeating it. For example, you know that chair with the impossibly pointy wheel mechanism? The one that you know for sure will impale you if you even look at it sideways? Yeah, that one. How many times did you have to stub your toe on that before you avoided it?
There is so much more at stake than stubbed toes here though. World wars have been fought and people have lost their lives due to our lack of understanding of history. In the United States, we have fought a Civil War and there are a surprising amount of people who do not know why.
In the spirit of understanding and teaching, I present to you a very small quiz on U.S. History in the hopes that it will scare you into learning.
1 - How many original British colonies were there?
2 - What is the Declaration of Independence and when was it signed?
3 - Who wrote the Declaration? (I will slap you if you say John Hancock)
4 - From which country did the United States declare their independence?
6 - What year was the Constitution of the United States ratified?
7 - What are the Bill of Rights?
7 - Who was the first President of the United States?
9 - What is Abraham Lincoln known for?
10 - What is the Emancipation Proclamation?
12 - What is the Civil War and why was it fought? (several answers to this one)
13 - What two Ammendments to the Consitution came after the Civil War?
14 - Name two Presidents that came after Lincoln and before Theodore Roosevelt.
15 - What war was fought wherein Teddy Roosevelt took part?
16 - Which President required a larger bathtub to accomidate his large size?
Anyway, those are only a few questions that cover from the late 1700's until the early 20th century. Score yourself and see if you can count yourself as one of the few who have a "basic" understanding of U.S. History.
Scary huh?
For our international readers, this might be a cause to laugh, but don't get to hasty. It is a good bet that your country scores much lower on U.S. History than we do...........
There are so many reasons to know your history. None the least of which is not repeating it. For example, you know that chair with the impossibly pointy wheel mechanism? The one that you know for sure will impale you if you even look at it sideways? Yeah, that one. How many times did you have to stub your toe on that before you avoided it?
There is so much more at stake than stubbed toes here though. World wars have been fought and people have lost their lives due to our lack of understanding of history. In the United States, we have fought a Civil War and there are a surprising amount of people who do not know why.
In the spirit of understanding and teaching, I present to you a very small quiz on U.S. History in the hopes that it will scare you into learning.
1 - How many original British colonies were there?
2 - What is the Declaration of Independence and when was it signed?
3 - Who wrote the Declaration? (I will slap you if you say John Hancock)
4 - From which country did the United States declare their independence?
- In what year?
6 - What year was the Constitution of the United States ratified?
7 - What are the Bill of Rights?
- Name two of them
7 - Who was the first President of the United States?
- The Second?
9 - What is Abraham Lincoln known for?
10 - What is the Emancipation Proclamation?
- Who gave it?
- What did it do?
12 - What is the Civil War and why was it fought? (several answers to this one)
13 - What two Ammendments to the Consitution came after the Civil War?
14 - Name two Presidents that came after Lincoln and before Theodore Roosevelt.
15 - What war was fought wherein Teddy Roosevelt took part?
16 - Which President required a larger bathtub to accomidate his large size?
Anyway, those are only a few questions that cover from the late 1700's until the early 20th century. Score yourself and see if you can count yourself as one of the few who have a "basic" understanding of U.S. History.
Scary huh?
No comments:
Post a Comment