If George Santayana was correct that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” there are a lot of surprises in store for the raising generation of Americans. A new study shows a shocking lack of knowledge about U.S. history among our school children, including the fact that only 35% of fourth-graders knew the purpose of the Declaration of Independence. The results of the study are part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
According to the report, “[o]nly 20% of U.S. fourth-graders and 17% of eighth-graders who took the 2010 history exam were ‘proficient’ or ‘advanced,’ unchanged since the test was last administered in 2006.”
We are not alone in such dismal understanding of history, as recent studies in England have shown. This included the shocking disclosure that one in four people in England did not believe Winston Churchill existed.
The results of this study should be viewed as a national crisis. A lack of understanding of history denies a collective sense of identity and meaning in being a citizen. It reflects a dangerous disconnect between our rights and understanding of the foundation for such rights. A people that is ignorant of their history is not just at risk of repeating history but the loss of rights secured in that history. Ignorance may be bliss in one’s personal life but it is a threat to a free republic. For those who cite other essential guarantees of our Republic, a well-informed public is every bit as important as a well-armed militia to the preservation of our liberties. We are raising a generation of citizens with little understanding of our national struggle for freedom beyond soundbite phrases and cartoon imagery.
I have been working for years to reintroduce more civics training and classes in our public schools. This report shows how urgent such efforts have become.