THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 23, 1995 TAG: 9504220007
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: By JOY HAKIM
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
That we care about what our children are taught is encouraging. But when the controversy over the proposed standards of learning dissolves into political haggling, it becomes distressing. We all share the same goal: We want our children to be well-educated, thinking citizens. Hardly anyone believes we are achieving this goal now. As someone who visits schools across the nation, I can tell you that the teaching in civics, history and economics that I see is, mostly, pathetic. (That's a strong word, but realistic.)
Last spring I visited a fourth grade in Norfolk where the children knew only that George Washington was a president. Which one? They didn't know.
I find the same shocking lack of knowledge of who we are in schools from California to New York. In addition, ask kids what their least favorite subject is, and the winner is usually social studies.
How sad. History used to be everyone's favorite subject. There is no reason why it can't be so again. History, after all, is filled with stories, people and adventures. As I tell children, they all just happen to be true.
I am encouraged by the tone of the proposed Virginia standards of learning. They seem a sincere attempt to bring solid learning back to the social studies. I understand there is criticism that the material in the early grades is too tough for Virginia's children and not developmentally appropriate. Hogwash!
I find today's children astonishingly bright and, especially in the early grades, particularly ready to take on the world. These are boys and girls who come to school knowing all about brontosaurus, tyrannosaurus rex and space travel. Thanks to the Ninja Turtles, they even know the names Michaelangelo, Leonardo and Rembrandt. Television, which in heavy doses can be destructive to learning, introduces preschoolers to an incredible diversity of knowledge. Teachers can build on that.
But can 7-year-olds think historically? The theorists say that an understanding of historical time and of the subtleties of history, and life itself, arrive at about age 16. Does that mean you wait until that age to introduce history? Of course not. You just present it in a form that children can digest. And that means, I believe, as a narrative, with provocative questions that lead children to search out additional materials, think for themselves and draw conclusions.
I'm sure every American has asked himself, or herself, how was it that we produced that astonishing collection of intellect that gathered in Philadelphia in 1776? Well, those men all had history-centered educations. They knew political theory, they could discuss the governments of Greece and Rome and the British constitution. Some of them had started with Greek and Roman history (and the language, too) at age 5. Are our children less intelligent? I don't think so. The material those founders studied at an early age was usually in story form. Traditionally, cultures have passed on their history and values through stories. That's what the best of today's history does.
Are there materials to fit the Virginia framework? The critics are right: They're not easily available. But they do exist. Good history for children can be found in tradebooks. (Traditionally, tradebooks have been sold in bookstores, in contrast to for-schools-only ponderous textbooks. Happily, some of the textbook houses are introducing new formats and tradebooks.) The best schools are throwing out textbooks and using only ``real'' books.
The social studies have become peripheral in most schools. That is tragic. We center our efforts - especially in the elementary and middle years - on reading and math, because that's where we do most of our testing. The reading we teach is a literary skill. Reading literature is important and life-enhancing, but we're raising 21st-century kids. They're living in the information age. They need to be critical readers. They need to be taught to read nonfiction; that's what most of our adult reading is today. And that is where history shines. History, in order to be comprehended, demands thinking skills. It takes a kind of pedagogy that we've neglected for too long.
Do I have criticism of the Virginia standards? I do. Some of the details and examples need change. The key people in the Civil War (Page 15) are Robert E. Lee and Abraham Lincoln? With no mention of General Grant? Now that is a Virginia bias and very poor history. MEMO: Ms. Hakim, who lives in Virginia Beach, is author of the 10-volume ``All
the People: A History of US'' (Oxford) aimed at schoolchildren and their
parents and teachers. by CNB