"Bloody Yanks."

Said a certain bicyclist in Upottery, England some years back ...

At any rate, let me ask you - do you think that 1 in 100 could name the day and month on which we celebrate Veterans Day each year? How about offer a short description of how it came to be - the 11, 11, 11 story? Maybe 1 in 1000? 1 in 10,000 perhaps?

I find the over all lack of historical knowledge that the average American has, of his own country in particular, to be disdainful in the extreme. I know we've all grumbled about that since our days at the Grand, and surely even before that. I recall hearing Jambo say to Titus once: "The Force is strong in this one", after I quipped that most Americans gleen their knowledge of classical history from episodes of Xena Warrior Princess ... and things haven't gotten better on that front since that day sitting box. Stats up and down the line paint a sad picture. A 2008 study revealed that a full third of US high school seniors couldn't point out their own state on a map. Nearly half couldn't name the nations consisting of the Axis Powers. And it gets worse from there.

As an aside I must give Bill Bennett, excuse me, Dr. Bill Bennett (he taught philosophy), credit. He is on a one man mission to make detailed US history a required course beginning at the elementary level, rather then starting at middle school as is the prevelant trend in the US education system.

Now you can argue that the Brits have a vast knowledge of their history and we are far and away a more productive nation by every measurable standard; but I find that a facile analogy. And while I'm no conspiracy theorist I do think it more than coincidence that public educators, whom vote overwhelmingly for one Party over the other, are the very people that do a piss poor job educating their pupils on US, or any, history (the idea being that a factual, detailed account of the Founders, the Constitution, etc wouldn't lend itself to a nanny state mentality). Any 5th grader that comes home and can't name the first THREE US presidents has been failed by his school - a scenario I realized was prevalent among many of my players on our public school's 5th grade football team. And yes, yes, the parent is the primary educator, I understand that and embrace it, believe me. And my children can name those presidents and much more, I've seen to that. But given the American tax payer foots the bill for public education to the tune of $9,138 per child, per year (according to the US Census Bureau) is it that outrageous for me to ask the DOE to spend a little less time encouraging district wide "Earth Days", and a little more time instructing students on just whom those elder men ARE on the dollar bills we keep forking over?