History Lesson: The Decline of Rome

[Reader Rabbit]

My students and I are currently in the midst of our unit on Ancient Rome. As we read through the chapter about the fall of Rome and the reasons for it, I have to work hard not to scream out loud. Here are some excerpts from the 7th grade history book we're using (Journey Across Time: The Early Ages, McGraw-Hill, 2005.):

Under the heading Weak Roman Government:
Dishonest government officials provide poor leadership...Fewer Romans honored the old ideals of duty, courage, and honesty. Many government officials took bribes. As problems increased, talented people often refuseed to serve in government

Under the heading Declining Economy:
Income and wages fall...Wealthy fail to pay taxes...As the economy worsened, people bought fewer goods. Artisans produced less, and shopkeepers lost money. Many businesses closed, and the number of workers dropped sharply...Rome also began to suffer from inflation.

My students are actually able to grasp most of these concepts and reasons simply because they're seeing them firsthand, and apparently their parents are talking about it at home. As a teacher, it makes my job a heck of a lot easier, but it also makes me want to cry.

If 7th graders can figure it out, how come no one running the country can do so?

[acmavm]

1. I believe that I once read that Will Durant figured the average life

span of any empire to be around 200 years.

[JuniperLea]

2. History is a very important subject!

We are doomed to repeat, apparently.

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. Well, in that case we should be OK.

Our empire only goes back to 1898. We've got nearly a century to go!

:woohoo:

[raccoon]

10. Seems to me the cameras of history have speeded up.

Things change so much faster now.

[RaleighNCDUer]

13. We better get busy then.

Hey, if we annex Mexico we automatically eliminate 95% of the illegal aliens problem. Do they have any oil left?

[amandabeech]

14. Their main field, Cantarell, is declining by as much as 10% a year.

It won't be too long before Mexico uses all the oil that it pumps and will not be able to export the million barrels a day to us that we've become used to.

However, if we annex Mexico, U.S. oil companies will be able to get in there--which the Mexicans prohibit now--and may be able to drill in a few smaller, more difficult locations and to use some measures to get more out of Cantarell. For the time being.

Right now, the Mexicans don't have enough money or technology to do the difficult stuff, and the Mexican constitution forbids the joint venture with 3rd parties which is the way many fields around the world get developed.

[JDPriestly]

3. Thank you for posting this. We need to look to history.

[havocmom]

4. Wow. Thanks for being a teacher! And thanks for a post which gives me hope!

Let us grid our loins for another day's battle with those who are sending America down the sewer. Those kids deserve a future better than what the neocons and huge corporations have planned for them!

:thumbsup:

[Reader Rabbit]

15. Heh. You should have seen my lesson on "bread and circuses"!

None of my students will ever look at the media in the same way again! Mwahahaha!

:evilgrin:

[havocmom]

16. Your students are lucky to have your guidance and inspiration

Opening minds and eyes is probably THE most important work humans can engage in. If you help them learn to see, you have done much toward making them the authors of their own lives.

Bravo!

[Fran Kubelik]

5. Oh, there is no doubt in my mind that this is the decline of our "empire"

I just want to know what comes next. It scares me.

[pbca]

6. You left out environment/agriculture

As rome was built up, and nearby farm land eroded to supply the city Rome became increasingly dependent on imported goods - when they were cut off from those markets skyrocketing costs put basic neccessities out of the reach of many.

[Reader Rabbit]

8. The environmental aspect wasn't in our textbook.

Although it did mention farms being destroyed by Germanic invasions and farmers having to go into the army. It also discussed how people could barely afford the basics, if at all.

[spin]

9. Lead in cookware might also have contributed

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/wine/leadpoisoning.html

[Hannah Bell]

11. Too much inequality. It corrupts everything. n/t

[joeybee12]

12. Because it doesn't pay for politicians to be thoughtful...

...seriously, in the age of soundbites, can you imagine anyone trying to explain or discuss this?

[Peace Teacher]

17. Your smart students reflect the fact that they have a smart teacher.