George, the experience of my children in Durham Public Schools confirms Ravitch’s point. If they learned American history at all, it was outside the classroom. A good example involved my youngest son. During his first week in high school the teacher of one of his classes administered the standard U.S. citizenship test. My son was the only one in the class who passed it. Why? Because he had already completed the three Boy Scout citizenship merit badges, which require more historical knowledge about our country than any school history class.
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