[Ansteorra] World History in High School

Sat Jul 19 10:13:40 PDT 2008

Wars are very often dramatic turning points in history, so yes, they tend to show up.  I will tell you that not all of those dates are tested... the ones we see most often on the test are 1776 (Declaration of Independence... and a war to go with it) and 1789 (Constitution written, no war).  On of the emphases on the 10th and 11th grade tests are the formation of American government.

Let me reiterate that while I would agree that making kids memorize a whole bunch of dates would sure make my job teaching history easier, it's just not reality.  Dates are a very small part of the test.  Students are not asked, "What nifty thing happened in 1861-1864," but if they know that those dates are the dates of the Civil War, it will help them better understand the secondary source they must read and interpret, for example.

I would encourage anyone who thinks that the test is all about knowing what happened 1941-1945 to go view a released TAKS test (you can Google to the TEA site to view them) and see for yourself.  You may find there are valid concerns about the test, but that it doesn't delve beneath basic surface historical understanding probably isn't one of them.

Best,
Breila of Duart
(Rebecca Lyman, Social Studies teacher and TAKS guru...)   :-)

--- On Fri, 7/18/08, Richard Threlkeld <rjt at softwareinnovation.com> wrote:

From: Richard Threlkeld <rjt at softwareinnovation.com>
Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] World History in High School
To: alexsandraeryn at yahoo.com, "'Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc.'" <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
Date: Friday, July 18, 2008, 11:11 AM

I note that most of these dates are wars. I'm not opposed to war for good
causes, but it seems there are a lot of other dates that are as important.
I'm also opposed to memorizing and testing on date recognition as opposed
to the study of what happened, who the players were, why it happened, what were
the results of what happened, etc. The date is the least important part of the
things to be learned. Of course, it is the easiest to test. 

I understand, of course, you are telling us what is tested by the state and not
endorsing the process.

Thanks,
Caelin on Andrede

-----Original Message-----
From: ansteorra-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org
[mailto:ansteorra-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Sandra Geil
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 10:30 AM
To: ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] World History in High School

The state of Texas at least does put emphasis on a few things about World
History in the course (usually taught to sophomores).

for example there is a list of dates (to know for the experiment in state
sponsored torture -- of the teachers, not the students)

1066
1215
1492 - though why this one and not 1517 boggles the mind
1789
1914-1918
1939-1945

There is a similar list for 8th grade (U.S. History up to 1877)
1607
1776
1787
1803
1861-1865

and also for 10th grade (U. S. History 1877 - present)
1898
1914-1918
1929
1941-1945
1957

How would you do on that part of the TAKS?

al AERYN

spoiler 
- you knew I had to give the answers so you would not set something terrible on
my trail

§113.24. Social Studies, Grade 8.

1607, 	    The English establish a colony at Jamestown
1776, 	    Signing of the Declaration of Independence
1787, 	    Constitutional Convention convenes in Philadelphia 1803, Louisiana
Purchase
1861-1865.   War Between the States (American Civil War)

§113.32. United States History Studies Since Reconstruction 

1898, 	    Spanish American War (Remember the Maine!)
1914-1918,   World War I
1929, 	    Black Tuesday – the stock market crash 
1941-1945,   World War II
1957	    The launch of Sputnik

§113.33. World History Studies 

1066, 	    Battle of Hastings (Norman Conquest)
1215, 	    King John is forced to sign the Magna Carta
1492, 	    Christopher Columbus 
1789, 	    French Revolution
1914-1918,   World War I
1939-1945.   World War II

*1517         Martin Luther (95 Theses)

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