Quote:
Originally Posted by polak
Memorizing when WW2 started is useless in this day and age. It's the Why and what happened that kids should memorize and learn about.
|
It's important to know dates for context and for sequence. Knowing that Germany invaded Poland in 1939 tells you that it happened after the Great Depression. Knowing that WW2 ended in 1945 gives you a context for when the post-war economic boom started in North America.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sainters7
Actually funny you should mention all the history examples, seeing as history is basically being removed from Alberta high school Social Studies in 2017. It's going to be a MUCH larger emphasis on social justice issues, while the history aspect basically falls by the wayside. Been chatting with an old university buddy turned SS teacher who is none too happy about it.
|
That's idiotic. You cannot understand social justice issues unless you understand history. You need to understand colonialism and trade to understand slavery in America (you also need to understand slavery was practised for thousands of years before it was brought to the New World). You need to understand the transition from an agrarian society to an industrial society to understand the role of women in the workplace. You need to understand religion to understand attitudes towards homosexuality. And you need to know when and how the Enlightenment happened in order to understand why the West has made more progress on these issues than other societies.
If Alberta education really is cutting history in favour of social advocacy, I guess I'll have to teach this stuff to my kids myself.
I'd hate to see the public school system remove traditional religion from the curriculum only to replace it with the secular religions of identity politics and the cult of victim-hood. Let's stick to reason and empiricism and leave ideology at the school door.