MissM

To some, the observance of Presidents' Day in the United States goes very much unnoticed. Local newspapers splash ads of “President’s Day Sales!” and many get the day off from work. But have you ever stopped to think about this important day of recognition?

Presidents' Day is intended to honor all the American presidents, but most significantly George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

According to the Washington Post, the most recent results of students' performance on civics exams on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, sometimes called the nation’s report card, revealed a continuing lack of knowledge about the nation’s past: On the 2010 test, only 2 percent of fourth-graders, 1 percent of eighth-graders and 4 percent of 12th-graders performed at the advanced level, which represents superior performance.


See how well you can do on the Presidents’ Day quiz. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...40NR_blog.html

I end up with 70%

QuiltnNan

i only got 30%. but, really, how many of those questions are actually important to know? they are all good trivia questions, though.

MissM

I think as an American we should know our history....and I don't consider any of it trivia. The important message here is our school children are not grasping the knowledge. Knowledge is power. When we lose our knowledge we lose our ability to compete in the global market. I am embarrassed of my score.

DebraK

I enjoy watching the history channel around President's Day. Very informative and interesting.

Murphy1

They were trivia questions. Learning how to access information and apply it is far more important than pulling up and spitting out trivia information. Bloom's Taxonomy lists the levels of thinking. Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation. Knowledge is basic and Synthesis and Evaluation are higher levels of thinking with the others in between. In education, as a teacher, I planned my lessons to provide learning opportunities that helped students reach the higher levels of thinking.

ptquilts

down here in LA (lower Alabama) no one really cares about Presidents Day but TOMORROW!!!! is MARDI GRAS - state holiday!!

Charlee

I disagree Murphy1...dry facts tend to "dehumanize" our history. Trivia makes it more fun, and adds interest. I know as a student (and at 55, I believe I am still a student, still learning about all sorts of things), that I am more likely to absorb and retain important facts if they are mixed with the more "fun" trivia. Dry study is boring, and I resist it at every turn.

sandybuttons

WOW I got 6 out of 10 right

Nanamoms

Our schools are no longer teaching Civics and Government and it is one of the most important things our children can learn! And they can soak it up like a sponge. So many of our high school graduates have no concept of how our government works so Presidents' Day is not really trivia but the back story of America. If our children and grandchildren have no concept of how we came to be, they lose a vital part of how our freedom came to be. JMO

Cybrarian

I don't know about other schools but in my school Govt and Economics are required courses for graduation. I teach in a Christian school in Largo, FL