Carl Sandburg and Lincoln

[L Verge]

Just a personal, disgruntled opinion; but I think we have "analyzed" teaching methods, curriculum content, etc. to such a degree that the good old basics have been left behind - and those good old basics are genuinely needed in the world we have today.

Genealogists have taught us to trace our individual roots, but many historians (on the elementary and secondary level) are not teaching how to trace and understand our roots as a nation. I had a wonderful 8th grade teacher who did just that so that we understood why one thing caused another to happen, etc. My 11th grade teacher, however, was a P.E. teacher being forced to teach history. You can guess how that went.

I had made up my mind in the 8th grade to be a history teacher. When I got to the 11th grade, I made up my mind to be a MUCH BETTER history teacher than the one who was standing in front of me!