Re: Todays students knowledge

Tom Holloway (xuegx@CSV.WARWICK.AC.UK)
Mon, 14 Apr 1997 09:38:24 +0100

Michael Kennedy asked....

> Do you find that children today are not taught enough about WWII in
> the normal school curriculum?

I think - given the requirements of the various school
curricula - that enough time is spent on WW2.  What
mostly concerns me is not the _quantity_ of time spent
but rather the _quality_ of the information.

This list concentrates on the effect that War had on
the lives of ordinary people, rather than looking at
the military and political aspects.  I hope it helps
to give a different perspective of the war.  I still
find some alarming gaps in the knowledge of young
people about WW2 though, and I don't think that the
TV helps to fill those gaps.

Mary Haas mentioned Pearl Harbour; I hope I won't
provoke anger by pointing out that this was a raid on
a military target in which 2,000 plus people died, of
which only 68 were civilians. In comparison to the
fire-bombing of Hamburg (80,000 civilians in one night)
or Tokyo (120,000 people in one night) it has mostly
military and political significance.

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