American schools, in my opinion, are failing our children. In more ways than one, of course, but let’s just focus on one aspect for the moment. The fact that people don’t know basic history of their own country. From what I’ve seen and heard, foreigners know more about American history than Americans do! Let’s leave behind the fact on why this is happening, and just accept the fact that it isn’t. As a teacher, I can attest to this. Unless your child has me, of course 😉 I kid, I kid. I try my best, but there’s always room for improvement. Again, let’s not discuss the reasons because that’s a whole different post!
Things your child probably already knows…Ask him/her these questions…
Who is George Washington?
Who is Martin Luther King?
Who is Harriet Tubman?
Who is Rosa Parks?
Who is George Washington Carver?
What did Abraham Lincoln wear?
*all fine things to know about. But there’s so much more rich history to our country, and so much more to know!
Things they probably don’t know about….
Everything else!
Ask them these questions: NO HINTS ALLOWED.
How many states are there?
How many stars are on the American flag?
What state do you live in?
Name one country.
Name one continent.
Name one ocean.
You may think these are pretty basic, but you may be unpleasantly surprised to find out how many kids, even adults, do not know the answers to these questions. For a brief moment that I taught middle school (I’m an elementary teacher), my kids didn’t know the answer to ANY of these questions. Not kidding.
You may or may not have seen this video online of Mark Dice asking every day people why we celebrate the 4th of July. It’s scary! Americans Don’t Know Why We Celebrate 4th of July.
I just urge you to please have the conversation with your children on this important holiday, and every other holiday. Don’t rely on school to teach it anymore.
Here’s a 6 minute video that explains 4th of July, and gives a brief history beyond. It’s completely kid friendly and puts everything in kid terms. May be you can learn a little something in there, too. 😉
4th of July-Independence Day Kid video
If you’re willing to share, how much did your child know about any of the questions from above? Were you surprised? Did you assumed they knew?
Happy 4th, everyone! Stay safe, and have fun!
God Bless America!
Mommisadventures 