Next time someone tells you a story about how bad the US education system is . . .

[ET Awful]

Well, they're probably right, but apparently, the UK is no better:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1126434.html

Adolf Hitler was the manager of Germany's national soccer team, and Auschwitz was a World War Two theme park, a poll released by the Daily Mail on Friday said, questioning U.K. children aged 9 to 15.

The study, which was conducted by war veterans' charity Erskine in the run-up to Remembrance Day, tested 2,000 children for their knowledge of last century's two world wars.

One in 20, according to the poll, thought the Holocaust was the celebration at the end of the war and one in ten said the SS was Enid Blyton's Secret Seven. . . .

See link above for rest of article.

[donco6]

1. Oh boy, a school-bashing thread!

Yay! We haven't had one of these for like, a day.

I don't suppose it ever occured to people that kids are smartasses sometimes, and they like to answer questions in ways they think are funny?

And really . . . the Daily Mail?

[ET Awful]

2. LMAO . . . overreact much?

You might want to consult your physician about adjusting that dosage.

[donco6]

You think THAT was overreacting?

Heh. You ain't seen nuthin'.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. Insult much?

Or are you working for a pharmaceutical company?

[ET Awful]

19. Well, in all honesty . . . yes, I do work for a pharmaceutical company

:P

But we don't make THAT kind of drug. We only make diagnostic drugs for imaging purposes :).

[Richardo]

3. If I were 15 and someone showed me a multiple-choice test with Hitler as a soccer coach...

...I'd be very tempted to go with that.

[ET Awful]

5. Really? Hell, when I was 15, I was just a tad more serious than that I guess. . . . n/t

[Richardo]

9. I was serious too, but that choice would have an insult to my intelligence even then.

Sounds like a poorly-written test. Auschwitz a theme park? Why not a range of choices that make one think, like:

A) Wartime capital of Germany
B) Wartime capital of Poland
C) Nazi missile base
D) Concentration camp

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Especially if it was some officious old fart giving me the test.

And there were no penalties for getting it wrong.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Or if it was anonymous

[seabeyond]

11. they did similarly in okl, u.s. who is first pres. an incredible amount of kids "missed" it.

hm....

and people seriously took it as lack of education ergo... must increase time spent in school.

if by 11th grade they dont know, another 5 yrs will do nothing.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. When I was around that age they surveyed us about drug usage

I was at an all girls private school. We were very sheltered and 99.9% of us didn't take drugs. But on the survey 50% admitted being heroin addicts. School freaked out, called an emergency parent meeting and scheduled drug education classes. And we kids just sat through them grinning like Cheshire cats.

I have never trusted teen surveys since then.

[Richardo]

18. !!

:rofl:

Exactly my point :pals:

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. One funny thing - during the drug Ed class they showed us a film about heroin

and this was the 60s so the heroin addicts depicted were glassy eyed street people who stumbled and slurred their words. One of my classmates pointed out that it was odd since 50% of us supposedly were addicted to heroin, then how come she couldn't remember seeing anyone act like that at school.

[d_r]

24. yep

I think there's some cheeky responses in there.

[dalaigh lllama]

4. I wonder what year(s) the kids over there study their country's history

I'm trying to remember back myself -- I think sophmore year we had American History, so if you asked American kids under 15 some basic American History stuff it shouldn't be too surprising if they don't know it. I'd like to see the results of polling kids in college with the same questions.

[ET Awful]

8. I was taking US history in the 6th grade. I was required to remember

the Preamble to the Constitution in 7th grade. In 8th grade, I was required to memorize the Gettysburg Address, AND required to read the Diary of Anne Frank.

By the time I was a freshman in high school, I knew damn well who Hitler was and what the Holocaust was.

That was in the early 80's in case you're wondering.

Sorry, but if I could handle learning about it at that age, anyone can.

I would think that they'd teach it to kids earlier over there, since, well, their country was bombed to hell in back by that soccer coach with the funny moustache.

[enlightenment]

23. They start very early - there are ed standards

(things they should understand) for little ones, but the heavy lifting starts when they're about 11.

[seabeyond]

7. the education is there. it is whether a child takes the opportunity given. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. Oh come on. A survey like this is no better than those man in the street interviews

Jay Leno does. They don't prove a majority of Americans are stupid. At least Leno is doing it for the comedy.

[TlalocW]

13. And the charity, Erskine...

Is named after the doctor who turned Steve Rogers into the first and only super-soldier known as Captain America before he (Erskine) was shot by Nazi saboteurs before committing the super-soldier process to paper.

I'm so good, I even know fake World War II history.

TlalocW

[ET Awful]

17. LMAO . . .

Well done :)

[Ozymanithrax]

14. Did the children take the poll seriously?

I'd be more interestes in seeing the results of a history exam, multple choice would be find. Looking into the textbooks to see what they say about the period would be enlightening.

Remember 1 in 20 is only 5%.
1 in 10 is 10%.
25% missed questions on D-Day and Pearl Harbor.


In any poll, you will have both bright and stupid students. I detest manufactured outrage.

[ET Awful]

20. No outrage here, in all honesty, I posted the article because I found it rather comical since

the UK spends so much time bashing American "stupidity".

BUT, as is apparent, most people here don't deal well with the obvious.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. What is obvious is that this was an unscientific survey

that lacks validity and reliability. And as stated above, is just one more chance to bash education.