What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

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thecoalman
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What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by thecoalman »

We have a very diverse community here at phpBB,com and I'm always curious about many things. I'm more interested in history. For example how does the history taught in UK schools treat the US Revolution? Does history classes in France discuss the Louisiana Territory purchase and how is it framed? What about the US role during the World Wars? What about the vast migrations during the 1800 hundreds and early 1900's?

As for this last question for context I live in area where you are going to find people with Polish, Slovak, Irish, German and Italian decent among others. I can actually get some damn good kielbasi, Italian meats etc.

I realize this is very broad question and I'm not looking for someone to write a book, just a general idea of how important history topics are covered.
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by Deactivated 1950056 »

I'm an American, but I'm on a board that is diverse and has plenty of international users, and I can say that even amongst countries supposedly allied with us, Anti-Americanism is very much alive.
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by thecoalman »

I'm not really interested in the current politics, more about how histories are taught.

Edit: for example we both know how the US revolution is taught in US schools. Patriots united to free themselves from oppressive taxation and laws dictated by the British. There usually is not much mention about the role France and other European countries had in helping US interests. ;)

Does UK history lessons treat this as criminal act? Is it taught as something positive?
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by david63 »

It is more years than I care to remember since I was taught any history but in my day "modern history" was not a subject on the curriculum.

I am from the UK and to be honest there is not a lot of "general" information about US history - plenty there if you want to dig for it and I do not particularly recall any of my grandchildren even taking history as a subject whereas in my day history was a mandatory subject.

A couple of years ago we spent three weeks in Washington DC and I learnt more about American history, especially the Civil War, than I had in the previous 70 years but the way that it was portrayed was anti British and I suspect that whichever country you are in their perspective of history will be somewhat slanted towards them.
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by AmigoJack »

German schools teach nothing about U.S. history, as history is already packed with enough events to learn and discuss that are either older than the USA (Egypt, Hellas, Rome, French revolution, industrial revolution...) or more contextual (world wars, Nazi Germany, east/west Germany...). It hasn't changed in 25 years. What do U.S. schools teach about German history? Why do you think other nations teach U.S. history, especially non-English speaking ones?
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by thecoalman »

AmigoJack wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 7:06 am What do U.S. schools teach about German history?
When I was in school there was very broad overview of the entire world from ancient history to present. A lot of it based in the churches role but certainly the roles of other religions were covered. You can't teach history without delving into the roles religion played. Specifically with Germany major figures like Gutenberg would of been covered and of course the World Wars.

Why do you think other nations teach U.S. history, especially non-English speaking ones?
I would think the discovery of the Americas and the subsequent creation of the US are important milestones in history. Particular to Europe because it was populated and created mostly by people of European decent. In the area I live If you ask someone "what they are" you will get an answer along the lines of "I'm half polish, 1/4 Italian and 1/4 Irish". I live in a town that takes it's name from British town, the general area uses the original Native American name, regionally it's named after French representative during the Revolution. :D

According to Wikipedia there is 3.5 million people in my state with German decent. A lot of them are Amish many of whom still live like it is the 1600's. Horse and buggies for transportation and the strictest sects don't even have running water in the house. Some of them have some very odd rules, all of them pretty much avoid any type of electric provided by a power line. A corded drill is something they won't use but some sects battery operated is fine. They charge it using a generator, why the generator is any different than the wire from the pole I don't know. Just to be clear these people do not live in poverty and many of them are quite well off. The products they make like furniture have quite a lot of value.
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by AmigoJack »

thecoalman wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 11:44 pmthe US Revolution
Louisiana Territory purchase
This and your chosen subject clearly frame "U.S.", not America in whole. Hence my answer exactly fitted that. Discovering America was far before the states, let alone united states. Colonialization is a topic that is discussed, along with Christianity - and then the continents come in, too. You can't argument with discovery because that's anachronistic to "the US".

Amish aren't mentioned during school lessons. The USA having immigrations from several nations was surely discussed In geography (as own school subject).
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by Mick »

As I remember it there was very little if nothing taught about the US. I do remember being taught a load of bunk about the reasons for Adolf Hitlers rise to power and why antisemitism was such a driving force in the Nazi party. If my history master was still alive I’m certain he would be quite embarrassed.
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by Deactivated 1950056 »

I love my country, but I have to admit that most people do not view the American Revolution as very important. We are not usually looked up to as a beacon of democracy/republicanism or liberty either. It is extremely easy to think our country is more important to people than it is.
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by thecoalman »

I would suggest the US revolution was important milestone in history obviously for both the US and British but also for France. The aid they provided helped fuel France's debt ultimately leading to their own revolution. Granted it's much longer history but a lot history of Europe was taught when I went to school, e.g. I know the history of the Spanish Armada and what it relates too.
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by Mick »

Did they tell you the Spanish Armada was beaten by the weather?
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by thecoalman »

Most certainly. I believe I got a fair overview of most history while in school. Teaching about religion is touchy thing here in public US schools but I did learn about many of the religions. Most of that was in historical context that would of avoided more controversial aspects whether they were covering Christianity or Islam.
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by Mick »

I’m wondering what was the final year you were studying history. I stopped around 1966 and, as you can probably tell from some of my replies, we were fed a lot of rubbish in many parts of the history syllabus. I believe a lot of the nonsense we were taught was down to the colonial age, making sure the home fires kept burning. Unfortunately for the likes of me we didn’t find out the truths until much later, it’s a good job history wasn’t a criterion for my career.
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by thecoalman »

I would of been in school almost 20 years after you. Did they teach you something different about the Spanish Armada? I would imagine no matter where you are at the history you are taught is going to have bias, it's just a matter to what degree. I don't think there was much lies in what I was taught, I can't think of any major ones. It would of been more along the lines of what they left out.

At the top of the list would of been the atrocities against Native Americans. There is a lot of history where I live about Native Americans, many towns and areas still have their Native Americans names or took their name from Native Americans. If you are following some roads many of them will aimlessly meander, that's because they go back to Native American footpaths where the shortest path wasn't always a straight line.

A lot of that local history was taught but it was always from the side of the settlers.They would cover the hardships of settling the land and battles against Indians but never cover the hundreds or thousands of years Native Americans occupied this ares. Case in point I don't know if hundreds or thousands.
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Re: What do European Schools (or other regions) Teach About the US?

Post by AmigoJack »

thecoalman wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 10:12 ambut never cover the hundreds or thousands of years Native Americans occupied this ares
One simple reason might be: it's neither documented, nor researched. Settlers/conquerers/invaders wanted to "make" history (hence document it), not exploring other nation's history (hence not document it). America is not the only continent having natives - countless other people/tribes remain unstudied up to today.
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