“We're raising young people who are historically
illiterate," says noted author David McCullough. Having lectured at more than 100 colleges and universities over
the past 25 years, he says, "I know how much these young people—even at
the most esteemed institutions of higher learning—don't know." He shakes
his head in dismay. "It's shocking." He's right. When the Department
of Education released its 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress, it
revealed that only 12% of high school seniors have a grasp of our nation's
history. Mr. McCullough began worrying about the history gap decades ago, when he
met a college sophomore at "a very good university in the Midwest."
She admitted, "Until I heard your talk this morning, I never realized the
original 13 colonies were all on the East Coast. I thought, “What have we been
doing so wrong that this obviously bright young woman could get this far and
not know that?”
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