Insight gained through knowledge of history

The article, “Report: Maine gets F for U.S. history curriculum” (BDN, Sept. 24), explains how courses in history are, for the most part, severely lacking in Maine schools. As a parent with two children currently enrolled in Maine’s educational system, there is an obvious absence of a comprehensive history curriculum at all levels from elementary school through post-secondary education.

My question is, “Why?” Why have Maine educators chosen to deprive the children of this state knowledge of the rich history of our country and deny them the opportunity to learn from its past rights and wrongs?

In the vast majority of public schools and universities, history takes a back seat to courses that have little significance in students’ everyday lives. By not requiring a better knowledge of history, we are denying our children the information they need to not only better understand our government and its operation, but the ability to see the influence of cause and effect on a global level.

Unfortunately, public education in Maine is not immune from the forces that seek to “dumb down” the educational necessities required for a balanced perception of what’s taking place in the United States and the world. The old adage that those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it is as pertinent as it ever was and there is much in history that should never be repeated.

Public schools today put great emphasis on math and science in an effort to catch up with the rest of the industrialized world because past test scores have indicated the United States lagged far behind those countries in overall academic performance. By failing, however, to include history as an integral part of a well-rounded education, we run the risk of creating a society of technocrats who, by their ignorance, could create scenarios by which our liberties could be put in jeopardy.

There are, no doubt, those who seek to dominate others by creating a society of uneducated drones who dare not question the status quo. The most effective way to accomplish this goal is through a subverted educational system. And given the fact that a young mind is easy to mold and less equipped to resist attempts at indoctrination – something Josef Stalin knew all too well – we must make sure our children are provided an unbiased, factual presentation of past events.

A knowledge of history provides insight and allows for the questioning of beliefs and philosophies that are detrimental to a free society. That is why it is imperative that history courses be required in all levels of public education and at least the first two years of college. It is time to hold accountable those who are in positions to dictate our children’s curriculum and replace them with individuals willing to make sure our children get the education they need to survive in an ever-changing world.

John H. Sovis lives in Hampden.