Posted August 17, 200816 yr Young people are far less knowledgeable about British history than their elders, a nationwide quiz has found. Just 23 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 knew which English monarch signed the Magna Carta, compared with 83 per cent of those over 65 who correctly named King John. One in four of the younger group identified James Watt with the steam engine, whereas three in four pensioners got it right. In the ICM survey of 1,041 people for the History Channel's 'Great British History Quiz', people aged 18-24 scored an average of 49 per cent, the 25-34 group scored 51 per cent, while the over-65s scored 78 per cent. Men averaged 70 per cent, women 57 per cent. People from Scotland outperformed all other areas of Britain with an average of 69 per cent, while the lowest-scoring regions were Wales and the north-east, with 58 and 59 per cent respectively. Source: The Observer Does history matter today?
August 17, 200816 yr I'm not surprised Scottish people came out tops. We have a much better knowledge of British history. From my experience, English people know very little of the history of Scotland, Wales or Ireland. -_- Why the Welsh came bottom I've no idea. :lol:
August 17, 200816 yr I suspect a similar poll 20 or 30 years ago would have produced similar results. We acquire more knowledge as we get older. I know far more about history now than I did when I was a teenager 30 years ago.
August 17, 200816 yr Oh great, ANOTHER article dismissing teenagers. :D :D :D I mean, it's not like they expect us to recite to others about World War I/II and about Hitlers Reign in the way that ours nans + granddads explain to us, is it? :D
August 18, 200816 yr Oh great, ANOTHER article dismissing teenagers. :D :D :D Just wait for the GCSE results on thursday :lol:
August 18, 200816 yr thats appauling.. yes it matters, we need to know our history, to understand how we got to where we are today, to learn from mistakes made. we might continue learning as we get older... but the basics should be taught and understood.
August 18, 200816 yr thats appauling.. yes it matters, we need to know our history, to understand how we got to where we are today, to learn from mistakes made. we might continue learning as we get older... but the basics should be taught and understood. But we'll pick up more knowledge as we get older i'm sure.
August 18, 200816 yr That said, the older generations generally have appalling knowledge of current culture. I agree with Suedehead2 that you pick up a lot as you go through life...just as long as you make the attempt to.
August 18, 200816 yr Yes, because we aren't taught about the Industrial Revolution and the Magna Carta (or, if we are, it's generally a two-week subject at the age of 11/2 and hardly the most memorable of things :lol:). If they'd asked them about British history that we actually get taught in depth about (e.g. Liberal Reforms of the early 20th century, Home Front etc.), then we probably wouldn't be reading anything about this - it seems rare that newspapers these days actually write anything positive about teenagers -_-
August 18, 200816 yr Oh great, ANOTHER article dismissing teenagers. :D :D :D I mean, it's not like they expect us to recite to others about World War I/II and about Hitlers Reign in the way that ours nans + granddads explain to us, is it? :D Stuff like the Magna Carta, the Industrial Revolution/Steam power, etc is FUNDAMENTAL though Josh... It's what I was taught in school, and taught it at a pretty young age at that... I'd be willing to bet these kids wouldn't know a damn thing about the Corn Laws, The Combination Acts, Protectionism, "Gun Boat" Diplomacy, Pitt the Younger, The Fenian Society, William Wilberforce and the Abolitionists, the Labour Movement, Gladstone and Disreali, the Luddites, The Chartists or the Suffragettes either.... I knew ALL about these things by the time I was 16. By the time I was 17/18 I knew about Colonialism and Imperialism..... Not because I'm smarter or more intelligent, but because the standard of education was a damn sight BETTER...... It's not really the kids' faults in many cases, it's our increasingly p!ss-poor, overly bureaucratic State Education system..... Kids in this country are being majorly short-changed by the system.....
August 18, 200816 yr Yes, because we aren't taught about the Industrial Revolution and the Magna Carta (or, if we are, it's generally a two-week subject at the age of 11/2 and hardly the most memorable of things :lol:). If they'd asked them about British history that we actually get taught in depth about (e.g. Liberal Reforms of the early 20th century, Home Front etc.), then we probably wouldn't be reading anything about this - it seems rare that newspapers these days actually write anything positive about teenagers -_- To be honest mate, I read this more as an indictment of the 'dumbing-down' of our education system (which is frankly undeniable when you hear serious suggestions made by supposed "education experts" to teach sodding HARRY POTTER to A-level students :lol: :lol: ), as opposed to anything particularly negative being said about teenagers...
August 18, 200816 yr Stuff like the Magna Carta, the Industrial Revolution/Steam power, etc is FUNDAMENTAL though Josh... It's what I was taught in school, and taught it at a pretty young age at that... I'd be willing to bet these kids wouldn't know a damn thing about the Corn Laws, The Combination Acts, Protectionism, "Gun Boat" Diplomacy, Pitt the Younger, The Fenian Society, William Wilberforce and the Abolitionists, the Labour Movement, Gladstone and Disreali, the Luddites, The Chartists or the Suffragettes either.... I knew ALL about these things by the time I was 16. By the time I was 17/18 I knew about Colonialism and Imperialism..... Not because I'm smarter or more intelligent, but because the standard of education was a damn sight BETTER...... It's not really the kids' faults in many cases, it's our increasingly p!ss-poor, overly bureaucratic State Education system..... Kids in this country are being majorly short-changed by the system..... absolutely.... you are an 'adult' at 18, you can vote at 18, you need to have a fundemental understanding of how we got to where we are in this country, to understand politics, to vote and become a responsible adult ... its no use saying 'we'll pick it up as we get older'.. WHY WAIT? history is one of the most important things you can learn, its about our identity, our struggle to become one of the leading countries in the world, to have equality and a fair judicial system (even if these things are being corrupted). there are so many lessons to be learnt from history and to treat history as irrelevant is utterly stupid.
August 19, 200816 yr absolutely.... you are an 'adult' at 18, you can vote at 18, you need to have a fundemental understanding of how we got to where we are in this country, to understand politics, to vote and become a responsible adult ... its no use saying 'we'll pick it up as we get older'.. WHY WAIT? history is one of the most important things you can learn, its about our identity, our struggle to become one of the leading countries in the world, to have equality and a fair judicial system (even if these things are being corrupted). there are so many lessons to be learnt from history and to treat history as irrelevant is utterly stupid. Actually, I'm pretty fukkin' disturbed that today's kids dont appear to be getting taught about the more radical aspects of UK history - Chartists, Suffragettes, The Labour Movement, The Fenian Society, Irish Seperatists such s Charles Parnell, etc.... Could it be because these organisations were built upon an ethos of Civil Disobedience and people challenging authority in order to change things for the better.....??? Hmmmmmm, I wonder...... :thinking:
August 19, 200816 yr history is one of the most important things you can learn, its about our identity, our struggle to become one of the leading countries in the world, to have equality and a fair judicial system (even if these things are being corrupted). I would put it that people NOT learning about these things and why they are so important is what makes it easy for the powers-that-be to come along and corrupt and taint them for their own ends... It's all beginning to sound rather deliberate dont you think.....?
August 21, 200816 yr thats appauling.. we might continue learning as we get older... but the basics should be taught and understood. What, like how to spell appalling?
August 22, 200816 yr What, like how to spell appalling? Oh dear Rob, he got you there.... :lol: :lol: To be fair though Suedehead, it is a thread about History, not spelling.... Mind you, there's no way Rob could pass judgement on anyone's spelling or grammar, he often makes mistakes with both in posts.... :P :lol:
August 22, 200816 yr Oh dear Rob, he got you there.... :lol: :lol: To be fair though Suedehead, it is a thread about History, not spelling.... Mind you, there's no way Rob could pass judgement on anyone's spelling or grammar, he often makes mistakes with both in posts.... :P :lol: thats true... my literacy has never been my strong point.. :lol:
August 23, 200816 yr Glad you took it in the right spirit :D well its the truth, my spelling is appalling... i often 'over think' how things should be spelt, and im too lazy to use spellcheck!
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