We’ve all had a laugh about the ignorance of young people when it comes to history…but this is taking things a bit too far. And please don’t see this as a slap at the UK, I see plenty of examples of sanctioned ignorance here in North America.
From the Fox News website:
“One in four Britons don’t believe wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill existed, according to a recent survey.
Churchill is compared to Florence Nightingale and Sir Walter Raleigh, seen by many survey respondents as a mythical person, the London Daily Mail reported Monday.
The survey, conducted with 3,000 respondents to test their general knowledge, reported other historical figures such as Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, Cleopatra and the Duke of Wellington were made up for books and films, the Mail reported.
The survey, by UKTV Gold, also found that Sherlock Holmes was a real person.
Young Britons under 20 lack a basic historical education according to the survey results, historian Correlli Barnett told the Daily Mail.
“This suggests a complete lack of common sense and respect for our greatest heroes of the past,” Barnett said.”
By: duxfordhawk - 5th February 2008 at 05:24
Lets be honest this result is no suprise in a culture where fame and celebrity means appearing in some reality show on TV.
You only have to look around to see that children really have no care for history these days, I guess its all part of the same thing that has led to the general lack of respect for other human beings and for themselves.
It seems to me many do not know about current affairs let alone history, This leaves me so sad when i think of those who fought for this country.
By: contrailjj - 5th February 2008 at 04:21
stupid is as stupid does…
as much as I hate to quote ‘Pop fiction’… Forrest Gump did indeed sum it all up… ‘Stupid is as stupid does’.
One can only blame the current state of the education system (and not only in the UK – this equally applies to Canada and the US) – the current trend to ‘dumb-down’ the curriculum (and everything else) has done nothing but create a generation of idiots.
JJ (old enough to have learned a few things when the opportunity existed)
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February 4, 2008 at 10:35 pm