Engaging Youth In Learning History May Require Innovation

After years, even decades, of school curricula changing with the times, strapped budgets in many places, and numerous outside influences, today’s focus on STEM (for science, technology, engineering and mathematics) through countless programs at all levels is an admirable thing. After all, studies show we have slipped behind many other nations when it comes to student performance in these areas and these fields of study are strongly desirable assets for a young person entering our increasingly technology-driven world.

However, studies demonstrate a notable lack of student knowledge of American history. An article last year in the Washington Post cited that only 8 percent of U.S. high school seniors could identify slavery as the central cause of the Civil War; and only 44 percent of the students answered that slavery was legal in all colonies during the American Revolution……………