Wednesday is the 74th anniversary of D-Day, the day Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy which ultimately led to liberating Europe from Hitler’s rule. It’s one of my favorite historical events because Hitler’s regime was so clearly evil and Operation Overlord was such a clear example of the extent to which men will go to free others from tyranny. Still, despite the fame D-Day now enjoys, what with books and movies like “Saving Private Ryan,” history still isn’t a popular subject in schools – and it should be.
A 2014 report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that only 18 percent of high school kids in America were proficient in U.S. history. Some of America’s elite colleges don’t require Western civilization classes, and many high school history courses gloss over pivotal events, especially if they seem “controversial.”
While there should be an effort to restore history in the classroom, parents can offer their kids historical perspective – it doesn’t have to be entirely up to a fledgling school system. While I chose to home-school my kids, parents can teach their kids history, regardless of their employment or school choice.
My kids love to learn history, presented in various ways. Younger kids tend to be more hands-on (professionals call this Charlotte Mason or Montessori). We have been known to make the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria with popsicle sticks and coffee filters as sails. (It’s as corny-cute as you’re imagining.) We have been fortunate enough to live near Washington, D.C., and saw where George Washington grew up, where early settlers landed near Jamestown, and where Thomas Jefferson built his beloved Monticello. Field trips make history come to life.
My older kids (by older I mean upper elementary) enjoy field trips coupled with history games, watching short, age-appropriate documentaries of important events, and listening to volumes upon volumes of “Story of the World” which, as my 11-year-old says, is “all about history and it’s pretty exciting.” (He falls asleep at night listening to it, that’s how much he loves it.) Because we embrace the classical model of education, they memorize a lot of historical facts that include important people, dates, and events. When we recently visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., my son spotted a reference to the “Compromise of 1850” but wondered why they had not mentioned British abolitionist William Wilberforce – memorization is that helpful. I encourage adults to try this with their kids – they’ll do better than you at history, and that’s okay.
If I’ve learned anything about teaching my kids history, it’s that they will embrace it if it’s presented to them consistently, in various ways, and with zeal. While it’s certainly different than math and language arts (both of which are essential) a solid understanding of history, as it relates to the rest of culture, is key to grasping current world events. An understanding of history not only provides context and perspective but meaning: How else could we understand and appreciate the events of D-Day? If we do not teach our children about the horrors of the world that existed in Hitler’s Germany how then would it matter if heroic men liberated it? How can our children grow up with chutzpah, verve, determination and ferocity, if they do not know they can glean it from their ancestors who were just as bold, confident, selfless and stoic?
History provides valuable perspective and meaning, with a richness even children appreciate. How unfortunate educators in the United States are robbing them of a chance to understand a world they did not have to grapple with, even as they could learn about a battle between good and evil that rages stronger than any Star Wars film.
Nicole Russell is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist in Washington, D.C., who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota. She was the 2010 recipient of the American Spectator’s Young Journalist Award.
