The World According to Oatney

The Politics of History

Such is true for no subjects more than for history and civics. Entirely too many Tennessee students-and yes, students around the country as well-graduate school with very little knowledge of where we, as a State and as a Union, came from, how we got to this point in our history, and who the significant contributors were to that history. Entirely too many young people leave high school with very little knowledge of how their local government works or impacts their life. If we are lucky, they all know who the President is-we hope that a majority of them know who the Governor is (although it might be shocking to learn the sizable percentage that does not). How many know who their State Representative is, or their Senator? How many of these students at least know the process by which a bill might become a law in Tennessee (it differs from the federal Congress)? How about who the Governor of the Southwest Territory was, and what was the Southwest Territory? How many of the students in Tennessee can tell us that the first Governor was John Sevier, or give the name of three battles other than Shiloh-and we hope they know Shiloh-that were fought in Tennessee during the War Between the States?

Labels: Conservatism, Humor, Local politics, Tennessee politics

posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 2:45 PM