Letters: The importance of history exams
Assemblyman Charles Lavine, left, talks with World War II veteran Jack Hayne, center, and Vietnam veteran Charlie Armstrong at the Museum of American Armor in Old Bethpage, where they discussed the importance of keeping World War II history in in the school curriculum. Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
It's wrong for the Board of Regents to let students opt out of either a global history or a U.S. history and government exam for graduation ["State exam opt-out," News, Oct. 21].
Knowledge of U.S. history should be required for all students. Don't we expect them to live here? Won't it be beneficial for our next generation to know about our history -- the good and the bad?
How can we move forward as a democracy if the public isn't educated? By taking away this requirement, the Regents are undermining its value. I find that potentially dangerous.
Graig Bornn, West Babylon
So the Board of Regents has voted to allow vocational students to opt out of a history exam. I'm confused. Aren't we trying to raise educational standards so that our kids can compete in an increasingly global economy?
This is yet another sad step in devaluing the importance of history, and it sends a clear message to students, teachers and administrators that the subject doesn't really matter.
History can be a cautionary tale, teaching the dire consequences of prejudice, isolationism, greed, rampant nationalism and weak leadership, to name a few. On the positive side, when presented effectively, history teaches the value of important virtues like courage, self-sacrifice, diligence, determination, responsibility and honor.
If we keep chipping away at social studies education, we will get exactly what we deserve: a country whose citizens have no concept of the past and an inability to handle the problems of the future.
Karen Hoenscheid, East Northport
