Was anyone else lied to in their high school Government class?

[T.Lex]

Good thing I was already married when I found that one out the hard way.

TWSS

 

[maxwelhse]

I took Government class at an alternative high school that was self-paced and independent study. I passed out of the course in 2 days, without opening the book, and that was only because the teacher wouldn't let me take more than 8 chapter tests in one night (she was only supposed to let people take 1 test a night, I guess). Did the same thing with Econ.

I was then, and am now, amazed that a typical late teenager has so little idea of how their country operates that they needed someone to explain it to them for an entire school year, 5 hours a week (between those 2 classes).

Sounds like I'm glad I never had anyone tell me their version of the truth on those subjects.

 

[2A_Tom]

I'm glad I never had anyone tell me their version of the truth on those subjects.

So are you saying that you were born with in innate genetic knowledge? Are you a Goa'uld?

 

[Dead Duck]

So are you saying that you were born with in innate genetic knowledge? Are you a Goa'uld?

Speaking of.....

I found a hot tub I want.

 

[BigRed]

I had a high school teacher tell us that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves.

 

[2A_Tom]

Speaking of.....

I found a hot tub I want.

That is a Lantean gate I want a Milky Way gate.

 

[Dead Duck]

That is a Lantean gate I want a Milky Way gate.

That would be my pool.

 

[AlVine]

High school? I barely remember going. I don’t think anyone is being lied to in their government class because I doubt they teach it anymore. If it is still being taught then it’s probably all lies these days. Does anybody watch PragerU videos? They have a young guy doing those ‘man on the street’ questions. ‘Why do we celebrate the 4th of July?’ ‘Who’s the Vice-President,’ ‘What was Pearl Harbor?’ Etc. Judging by those we are a nation of idiots that can’t even name the two houses of Congress. They can’t be teaching civics in high school anymore.

 

[jamil]

High school? I barely remember going. I don’t think anyone is being lied to in their government class because I doubt they teach it anymore. If it is still being taught then it’s probably all lies these days. Does anybody watch PragerU videos? They have a young guy doing those ‘man on the street’ questions. ‘Why do we celebrate the 4th of July?’ ‘Who’s the Vice-President,’ ‘What was Pearl Harbor?’ Etc. Judging by those we are a nation of idiots that can’t even name the two houses of Congress. They can’t be teaching civics in high school anymore.

Yes. They still teach government. It's a required class in the local high school.

 

[PaulKersey]

It’s been a long, long time ago, but I took government in rural Georgia. The school had a tendency to use football coaches to teach government and history classes. The coach was a great guy and popular because he drove a Corvette, but it is quite a stretch to refer to him as anything resembling an instructor. To give you some idea of the level of difficulty, “tests” were generally matching, followed by a word search for extra credit. Academic rigor at its finest.

 

[Nazgul]

High school? I barely remember going. I don’t think anyone is being lied to in their government class because I doubt they teach it anymore. If it is still being taught then it’s probably all lies these days. Does anybody watch PragerU videos? They have a young guy doing those ‘man on the street’ questions. ‘Why do we celebrate the 4th of July?’ ‘Who’s the Vice-President,’ ‘What was Pearl Harbor?’ Etc. Judging by those we are a nation of idiots that can’t even name the two houses of Congress. They can’t be teaching civics in high school anymore.

I am going to take exception to this statement. I am old and had an old school education, graduated HS in 1972. I had a proper fact filled education.

As I mentioned earlier my wife has taught Gov't for over 30 years. She teaches regular, AP and dual credit classes. They HAVE to study and know the material to pass. No easy way out. I started working at the school after retiring from heavy equipment and was pleased to see a group of dedicated teachers that are concerned about the students. They go to amazing lengths to encourage and teach the students.

There will always be a small number of kids who will not learn. A few have legitimate reasons, most of the failures have zero or negative parental support. There is literally no way a teacher can undo a lifetime of bad parenting in a few hours a day. Or are lazy and allowed to get away with it. The vast majority of the students are normal teenagers with a good number of superior students. Go to a local HS on awards day at graduation. Our small rural HS awards $300,000 a year in scholarships!!

The notion that teachers are not teaching is wrong. Like any other profession the exceptions get the exposure in the press.

Don