What do they teach them in schools?

[guardpig]

My son, who soaks up information like a sponge and is currently awaiting his degree results was a bit bored and browsing my bookshelves.  During a discussion it was discovered he didn't know who Caxton was and hat he was famous for.  Then he wanted to know who Samuel Pepys was.  Well they did some Tudor history for A levels and some modern and Georgian at secondary but.................................

Do you know who these people were and why they are famous(sort of).?

I thought history was boring at school because it was taught in a boring way. History today is supposed to be taught in a more exciting way that is more relevant to the students - son found it more than totally boring.  Not sure what the answer is but if we don't know where we came from we're going to find it difficult to understand where we are going, whether we should go where we are going and to avoid repeating past mistakes. Hmm.

[*pixachu*]

Yesterday for the first time in several years, we took the kids into London. We parked in Westminster and walked to The London Eye. En route there are lots of statues.

My daughter did not know who Nelson Mandela is, or Churchill. She is nearly 12 and so annoying that she will only study at school and will never entertain the idea of doing anything school related at home (she has always been goody two shoes at school!)

She remarked that she doesn't care about it; why should she care about people in the past?!

Dumbfounded, I simply said that what these people did shaped our current life and our future. I can only hope that she shows more interest one day.

The funny thing was.... As well as checking out the historic buildings from the London Eye, we also went to the London Dungeon, so she had to endure half a day of history :^O 

[chickengrandma-2008]

I would have been much more interested in social history and the way people lived in 19th and early 20th century, but 1066 and all that????  I just wasn't interested.  I went to an all girls school, boys might be interested in battles and wars but I was more interested in how family life was back then.  I find I don't retain information if it means nothing to me. 😐

[ilove2patch]

My grandad instilled a love of history in me. I can't even remember history lessons in school. I had a very fractured education & most of what I know & who I am is self taught. He took me to castles, stately homes & museums. He told me all sorts of things you wouldn't find in history books. Like the fact that his father helped build the theater in Windsor Castle. 🙂

[peteryola]

 Like the fact that his father helped build the theater in Windsor Castle. 🙂

My great-grandfather built the Zambezi Bridge.  Seriously - he went out there to supervise the construction; he was a senior bod at the company that built it. 🙂

[ilove2patch]

It's great finding out about things like that when family is involved.:-D

[*chez*]

My 13 yr old likes History, mostly due to the Horible History books/tv show. he loves to visit places like Dover castle.

My family claim to fame is being related to William Penn.