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Member |
I had two classes of seniors today at vocational school. I'm retired and don't want to get certified for any of the shop classes, just sub for a day here and there. So the students have to be in the classroom. They do busy work which is easy but I can see that it sucks for them not to be in the shop. Anyway, in each class a student asked the date for the paper they were doing. My comment was June 6, a famous day in history. No one in either class knew the least bit on the subject but knew we were in WW II. Living the Dream | ||
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teacher of history |
Of course not, history is no longer taught. | |||
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Oriental Redneck |
Hey, they can't even locate the USA on the map. What makes you think they would know what June 6th is? Q | |||
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| Member |
I asked my kids earlier (June 6th) what happened today in history. My son is going to a junior and my daughter will be a sophomore in HS this fall. Without missing a beat they said D-Day. Oh, and I asked them separately and at different times. Made me proud. Told them to think and pray a little for some kids not too much older than them did 74 years ago so they could go to a football camp and play a softball game today in freedom. | |||
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| Member |
I don't think they don't care, I believe they were never taught modern history in any detail. They can tell you about ancient Rome and Egypt, but don't know what has happened much since the Great Depression. It is just a guess, but from what I have seen working in schools is that by the time they get to the last century, time has run out in the school year and teachers race through it in order to finish. Living the Dream | |||
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Ammoholic |
Most people don't know the significance of the date which is insanity. Those kids on the beach quite literally saved the world. Had we not been successful the world would be saluting a Nazi flag. Then again most people think Memorial Day is a holiday celebrating opening pools and BBQs. Good to know your kids are smarter than 75% of population. Jesse Sic Semper Tyrannis | |||
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Member |
Here in New Mexico the news media turned June 6 into all about Bobby Kennedy no mention of D-day to me that's just sad. | |||
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| Too old to run, too mean to quit! |
Sadly, it is not surprising to me. Anyone else remember that tidbit some time ago when some enterprising reporter asked a bunch of people (upper level high school kids included) about who we fought against in WW2. A bunch of them replied that we fought against FRANCE! When I went in the army in 1955 we were honored to have a 2 star general visit us in the barracks and spend more than an hour with us. He answered every question. He had been a POW in Korea but also had served in WW2. A couple of times, he had tears running down his face as he described how many of his fellow POWs did not make it home. My guess is that if we were to ask the current generation of uneducated high school students who we fought against in Korea, all we would get would be a blank stare. You know, that "the lights are on, but nobody is home" look. Elk There has never been an occasion where a people gave up their weapons in the interest of peace that didn't end in their massacre. (Louis L'Amour) "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical. " -Thomas Jefferson "America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." Alexis de Tocqueville FBHO!!! The Idaho Elk Hunter | |||
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| I Am The Walrus |
What a shame. The reason why we're not speaking German or Japanese is because of the bravery those men showed on D-Day _____________ | |||
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| Freethinker |
Considering what else most people (not just high school students) don’t know these days, I would be astonished by anyone that age who did know of what that particular date was the anniversary. What would be even more astonishing would be if they knew why the operation was significant. And unfortunately it’s not something that just happened. I knew someone whose father fought and was wounded in the European Theater in World War II who asked in the late 1960s, “Did we fight Germany in the war?” The invasion of Normandy wasn’t the only D-day, or even the first. My father participated in three previous amphibious landings that also had their own D-days. They were not of the same scale as the Normandy invasion, but in their own ways they were just as important; without the successful invasions of North Africa, Sicily, or Italy, as a very minimum things would have been far more difficult in Normandy than they were—and perhaps impossible. “D-day” was simply a shorthand way of referring to the scheduled date of any operation that allowed changes in such things as D-plus 1; D-plus 10, etc., without changing the specific date in countless documents and plans. The Normandy D-day was originally 5 June. “H-hour” was the same idea that referred to a time that could also be shifted as necessary. I never remark about it, but whenever someone mentions “D-day” as if it was one single event, I can’t help but ask, “Which one?” to myself. And I must disagree that the Normandy campaign won the war. The Russians could have done it by themselves (with our logistical support), and although it would have taken longer, the Americans, British, and other forces fighting in Italy and Southern France could have done it as well even without the campaign in Northern France. (FWIW, we did actually fight against French forces in the war. Not that those who answered “France” would know why or under what circumstances, but the statement is technically correct.) ► 6.4/93.6 “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.” — Plato | |||
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Member |
They did sort of a mix of that here in AZ, though perhaps more about Kennedy. But here's a quirky fact that occurred to me while I was listening to all the coverage on the radio: Lynn "Buck" Compton was the senior prosecutor at Sirhan Sirhan's trial, and he was also a 101st Airborne paratrooper who jumped on D-Day. June 6th must have been quite the day for Buck! -- When you rest your steak and your whiskey upon the table you have made, you feel pretty goddamn tall for keeping those treats off the ground. | |||
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goodheart |
Most likely had we not invaded France all of Europe would now be speaking Russian. _________________________ “ What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.”— Lord Melbourne | |||
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| Member |
I would venture to say that todays current high school students would be hard pressed if asked about the Tet Offensive of 68 or Khe Sanh. As a kid growing up in the 50's WW II was still talked about a lot and a lot of TV shows were on at the time that gave us a good understanding of the war. Combat, 12 O'clock high, John Wayne in the Longest Day, and many others. Living the Dream | |||
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| Freethinker |
And if they recall anything at all about Tet, it would be the leftist/Communist version of the story that it was a major defeat for the U.S. and Republic of Vietnam. The vast majority, though, would simply react with a blank look; I’m not sure which would be better now. I’m reminded of that quote about newspapers attributed (probably falsely) to Mark Twain: misinformed versus uninformed. ► 6.4/93.6 “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.” — Plato | |||
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Spectemur Agendo |
It's not just the kids. I had a friend's dad insist to me that December 7th is D-day. SIGforum's triple minority "It can't rain all the time." - Eric Draven | |||
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Member |
I actually get annoyed by people who talk about Normandy as if it's the only battle of the war. "Ninja kick the damn rabbit" | |||
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Member |
There was a caller on Rush some months ago that thought we attacked Japan unprovoked during WWII.He had not heard of Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona, and what happened on Dec 7. He also mentioned he was a college graduate. Truly unbelievable that is what they are putting out these days, but I bet he could tell you how great communism is. "Hold my beer.....Watch this". | |||
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Member |
I’d cut the kids some slack. D-Day is more important to our generation because our fathers/grandfathers fought it. For kids, however, they wouldn’t know anybody who was there, so it’s just a date in history. To illustrate my point. How many here can tell me off the top of their head what happened on July 4th, 1863, and why it is more important to U.S. history than June 6th, 1944? See, after three or four generations it is just history. Many on this forum might be better educated than the average person on military history, but that isn’t indicative of a declining standard. My daughter was playing trivia with friends on her phone, and asked me what triggered the U.S. entry into WWI. I correctly answered “The Zimmerman Telegram”. Doesn’t make her uneducated, it’s just that WWI/II history is my thing. Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well. -Epictetus | |||
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| Member |
Gettysburg was my first guess, but it was a guess. Living the Dream | |||
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| Member |
Great guess, only off by one day. But the fall of Vicksburg, MS was far more significant to the outcome of the war, as important as the destruction of the German 6th army in Stalingrad was to WWII. As of 7/4/1863, the Mississippi became a Union river, Texas and Arkansas became isolated, and any hope of reclaiming Missouri were over. Also, the supply of the western Union armies became certain, ensuring a repeat of the winter Rebel campaigns would never be repeated. After Vicksburg fell, I don’t even think European involvement would have changed the outcome. Vicksburg was the ensign that signified the point of no return for the South. It would also propel a certain Union general to prominence, eventually leading to the White House, kinda like Ike and D-Day did for him. To reiterate my point, though, the farther in the past an event becomes, the less likely we are to remember the exact date, even if a person is resonably educated. Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well. -Epictetus | |||
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