What's wrong with this picture?

[Emher]

If you guys are serious that's seriously scary. And explains a lot.

Then again for the geography bit, I was the kid who picked up an atlas and just read trough it, finding out where stuff what, what the capital of Turkey was and the such.

 

[RoJoHen]

I was taught a quick and sanatized version of WW2 (war began in 1941 when aggressor nations attacked Pearl Harbor) and there was no mention of the holocaust, just that the Nazis mindlessly slaughtered civilian populations and that they were very bad people.

Korea was an attempt to stop communism from spreading and since we saved South Korea we were the winners fair and square.

Never learned about Vietnam.

Geography was mostly "learn the fifty states and the provinces of Canada for extra credit."

The Holocaust was the ONLY thing I learned about WW2...every. single. fucking. year. I'm not saying it's not important, but good lord, didn't anything else happen in the world ever?!

If I had to give a history of the world based only on my education, it would go like this:

Dinosaurs
Mesopotamia/The Fertile Crescent
Ancient Egypt
The American Revolution
The Gold Rush (and I only know about that because I played a lot of Oregon Trail)
The Great Depression
The Holocaust

Those are the only things that ever happened.

 

[Chekov's Phaser]

I've taught teens who didn't know where the US was on a map.

And they live in the US...

 

[RoJoHen]

Like Chicago? Seriously. Many Americans can't name all of the fifty states.

True. I can if I look at a map, but I couldn't list all 50 off the top of my head. There's always one or two I'd forget...usually Delaware.

Seriously, though, I don't know if other schools are different, but I never really learned any kind of geography beyond the continents, oceans, and the states. I never even had to learn the capitals.

I can list the whole 50 in alphabetical order but that is only because I am a bit of a trivia buff.

When I was a tennager we had to be able to draw free-hand maps of the world, of Great Britain, and of Australia and we were expected to know where the 'major' countries in the world were.

A lot of people I know learned a song for the states, but I must have missed that class. Just like I never learned how to play the recorder.

 

[pheonix]

That's awesome.

Whats even better is that I did not even notice what was wrong till people started calling Americans idiots so I new there had to be a mistake some where.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I remember learning the following at school.

British History - we learnt all about the Kings and Queens of Enland/Britain. We also learnt about the British in India.
Australian History and Geography
World Exploration - including sea explotation from about the 1400s onwards, explration of Africa by the British, Christopher Columbus, and exploration of Australia.
World Geography
World War Two - Especially Australian and British involvement and the Holocause.
Ancient Egypt, Anicent Rome etc

We didn't really cover much American history except for Colombus and some 20th century history.

 

[RoJoHen]

I would also like to mention that the only thing that happened in the American Revolution was that a bunch of people dumped tea into Boston Harbor. And Paul Revere rode a horse and yelled a lot.

The abridged version of history is occasionally hilarious.

What's not hilarious is that abridged version of history is the only history I was ever taught.

 

[trekkiedane]

and the provinces of Canada for extra credit.

Back in my days in school you weren't as much taught where everything on the globe was, as you were taught to look it up!

Watching the news on TV taught me what little world geography I know!
ETA: of course, Europe and Afrika and parts of Asia has changed since then and I find it difficult to keep up!

 

[RoJoHen]

I honestly learned more about Middle East geography from people bashing the new Transformers movie than I ever had before.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I would also like to mention that the only thing that happened in the American Revolution was that a bunch of people dumped tea into Boston Harbor. And Paul Revere rode a horse and yelled a lot.

The abridged version of history is occasionally hilarious.

What's not hilarious is that abridged version of history is the only history I was ever taught.

Come to think of it we did learn about the American Revolution because it indirectly was thr cause of Australia being settled. Up to the American Revolution Britain had been sending convicts to America (mainly to Georgia and Maryland) but after the war they needed somewhere else to send them.

We briefly covered the Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere's ride and I think we might have looked at Lafrayette as well.

 

[SilentP]

I've heard of people who think Canada is a state...

Maybe they're accidentally spilling the beans on future invasion plans

 

[Miss Chicken]

The only people who have, online, ever asked me where Tasmania is have all been Americans.

However this could be a result of people from other countries refusing to admit ignorance. Maybe they Google Tasmania instead of asking 'where's that'.

 

[Chekov's Phaser]

The only people who have, online, ever asked me where Tasmania is have all been Americans.

However this could be a result of people from other countries refusing to admit ignorance. Maybe they Google Tasmania instead of asking 'where's that'.

I bet you the vast majority of Americans have no clue as to where Tasmania is. Sadly though, they would recognize the name because of the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes.

 

[RoJoHen]

The only people who have, online, ever asked me where Tasmania is have all been Americans.

However this could be a result of people from other countries refusing to admit ignorance. Maybe they Google Tasmania instead of asking 'where's that'.

I bet you the vast majority of Americans have no clue as to where Tasmania is. Sadly though, they would recognize the name because of the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes.

I see nothing sad about that.

 

[Emher]

I don't even to look it up, I instantly know where Tasmania is. Then again, not a yank.

 

[trekkiedane]

Tasmania, that's in New Zealand, right?

 

[Chekov's Phaser]

Tasmania, that's in New Zealand, right?

Yep, which is all a part of Australia.

 

[RoJoHen]

Tasmania, that's in New Zealand, right?

Yep, which is all a part of Australia.

I knew it was all in that general area. That's something, right?

 

[Miss Chicken]

I have seen a segment on TV in which Americans were asked where Tasmania was. Many of them answered 'in Africa" (confusing Tasmania with Tanzania??) and one said he had heard they were having a lot of trouble with the natives.

 

[trekkiedane]

Tasmania, that's in New Zealand, right?

Yep, which is all a part of Australia.

Ah! must be the ''South Island" then!