One in five American teens don’t know the answer to this grade school history question: From what country did the United States declare its independence?
Twenty-two percent of those who responded to a study commissioned by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation did not know that the answer was England. Fourteen percent thought it was France.
The study was based on a fourth-grade level history test, but the results read like bad Jay Leno man-on-the-street interview, during which the talk show host makes light of how little the average American knows.
Nearly all those surveyed knew that Washington, D.C. is the U.S. capital and that George W. Bush is president, however:
l One in 10 of the teens did not know George Washington was the first president.
l Seventeen percent did not know the United States started with 13 colonies.
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l Fifteen percent did not know the Continental Congress published the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
l Nearly one in four did not know who fought in the Civil War, and 13 percent thought it was between the United States and England.
Most people I told about this study laughed and found it humorous that people could be so ignorant. I’m disappointed, but not surprised.
Teens didn’t fail this quiz, everyone did. We treat young people as though they are a burden and not this country’s future, using television and movies as the ultimate babysitter. We treat teachers like they are second class workers by asking them why they don’t choose “better” professions and paying them pitiful wages.
The results of this survey highlight the desperate need for education reform and a greater emphasis on the youth of this country as resources to be nurtured and valued.
The teens surveyed would likely fail the citizenship test administered to immigrants seeking to become full-fledged Americans. I guess we’ll just have to teach all the newcomers the American way of forgetting our roots and neglecting our education.
-Iliana Lim¢n
Editor in chief
