Historical Value - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Birdland · 06-02-2002, 12:50 AM

The truely sad thing about this spread of apathy towards history, and perhaps education in general, is that we are living in an age when so much information is available to us.

At it's best, 12 years of a formal education can only prepare you to "learn how to learn". Most schools can only cover so much material, and hopefully will encourage your interest enough that you will seek out further knowledge on your own.

At worst, certain "details" of history may be left out a child's education altogether. (An example of how the "winners" not only write the history, but will re-write it as well.) I remember the shock I experienced at age 19 when I saw a TV movie dealing with the Japanese internment camps in the U.S. during W.W. II. These events were never mentioned in all the years that I was in school, and I had to go to my parents and ask, "Did this really happen?"

Anyway, getting back to my original theme, we now have this amazing invention, The Internet, where any subject can be researched, analyzed, and discussed, right in your own home. I am still in awe of the fact that if I read of something in the paper, or see something on TV, I can sit down and get immediate information and answers to my questions. If I want to find a book on a subject, I can search bookstores and libraries all over the world. I can speak to people who may be experiencing these events first hand. I've waited for something like this most of my adult life.

And yet, in this age when we have such incredible innovations, (Hey, want history? We have an entire cable channel devoted to it.) I sit and read that people more and more seem to want to wallow in apathy and ignorance. How can this be?

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06-02-2002, 12:50 AM	#11
Birdland Ghastly Neekerbreeker Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: the banks of the mighty Scioto Posts: 1,751	The truely sad thing about this spread of apathy towards history, and perhaps education in general, is that we are living in an age when so much information is available to us. At it's best, 12 years of a formal education can only prepare you to "learn how to learn". Most schools can only cover so much material, and hopefully will encourage your interest enough that you will seek out further knowledge on your own. At worst, certain "details" of history may be left out a child's education altogether. (An example of how the "winners" not only write the history, but will re-write it as well.) I remember the shock I experienced at age 19 when I saw a TV movie dealing with the Japanese internment camps in the U.S. during W.W. II. These events were never mentioned in all the years that I was in school, and I had to go to my parents and ask, "Did this really happen?" Anyway, getting back to my original theme, we now have this amazing invention, The Internet, where any subject can be researched, analyzed, and discussed, right in your own home. I am still in awe of the fact that if I read of something in the paper, or see something on TV, I can sit down and get immediate information and answers to my questions. If I want to find a book on a subject, I can search bookstores and libraries all over the world. I can speak to people who may be experiencing these events first hand. I've waited for something like this most of my adult life. And yet, in this age when we have such incredible innovations, (Hey, want history? We have an entire cable channel devoted to it.) I sit and read that people more and more seem to want to wallow in apathy and ignorance. How can this be?