Here’s an excerpt from a post by Callista Gingrich:
[W]e are failing to pass on our appreciation for America to the next generation of Americans. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that only 34 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 34 say they believe America is the greatest country in the world.
The problem begins in many of our schools. Our students are failing to learn American history–and without understanding our country’s past, they can’t possibly understand what makes America an exceptional nation.
For two generations now, we have taught our children revisionist or politically correct history–like the strange idea that our Founding Fathers risked their lives out of greed or self-interest, or that they intended our interpretation of the Constitution to “evolve” over time. As a result of this failure to teach the truth about our history, we are beginning to see our nation’s memory of the past slip away–especially the values and principles for which our founders actually fought.
Recent results of a Department of Education National Assessment of Educational Progress survey suggest how great a challenge we face in correcting this problem. Just 20 percent of fourth-graders, 17 percent of eighth-graders and 12 percent of twelfth-graders are at grade-level proficiency in American history.
Only one in three fourth-graders can identify the purpose of the Declaration of Independence that we celebrate this week. Less than half understand why George Washington was an important leader in American history. And most fourth-graders don’t know why the Pilgrims left England.
These are alarming findings. It seems we are doing a poor job of helping the next generation understand both our amazing history and the great privilege of being American.
Those of us who are proud of our country and committed to passing on the lessons of its past must find creative ways to tell the American story.
Read more: www.gingrichproductions.com
Image credit: thefederalist.com.
