No. 785: What Do Students Have to Learn to Graduate From College?
Colleges today market their degrees and package education as a product for easy consumption.
RALEIGH — North Carolina’s history and geography curriculum have been revamped, but one group is saying that American schools aren’t doing enough to fill the huge gap in young Americans’ knowledge about Asia. That’s not only ignorant, it’s dangerous, according to the Asia Society. U.S. military involvement in Iraq, and international focus on the Middle East, make understanding present-day Asia essential, they say. Instead, American social studies classes often present Asia as more of an ancient curiosity, purely in terms of remote civilizations or world exploration.
Karen Palasek reports that amid fanfare, a new curriculum item has arrived on the scene in North Carolina’s public schools. It’s called character education, and it promotes target behaviors that successful character education students should exhibit.