33% of American eighth-graders think Canada, Australia, and France are dictatorships - Polidicks

Source - [url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/the-new-axis-of-evil-canada-one-third-of-american-8th-graders-think-we-live-in-a-dictatorship] The National Post[/url] [quote]It’s a looping belt of tyranny that swoops from the South Pacific to Europe and all the way across the Americas. It controls three of the world’s 12 largest economies and the entire global supply of some key resources. It is, in the eyes of the world’s most important, and perhaps only relevant, demographic, a new axis of autocracy and it isn’t centred in Pyongyang, Tehran or Harare but in Canberra, Paris and, yes, Ottawa. That demographic, of course, is the American teen. And if new U.S. test results are any sign, that all important group doesn’t think highly of us, if it thinks of us at all. In recent results from the U.S. National Assessment of Educational Progress — billed as the Nation’s Report Card — [b]fully 33 per cent of American 8th graders said Canada, Australia and France are dictatorships of one kind or another.[/b][/quote] On the plus side, 54% got the correct answer. A pass is a pass

Too bad that Australia and Canada have consistently been more-democratic than the U.S. over the years (iirc the U.S. isn't even in the top ten for most democratic). At least 54% were taught right.

Probably because we only learn about small snippets of their history and nothing about their modern society.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;47753918]Source - [url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/the-new-axis-of-evil-canada-one-third-of-american-8th-graders-think-we-live-in-a-dictatorship] The National Post[/url] On the plus side, 54% got the correct answer. A pass is a pass[/QUOTE] 54% is an F in the US. You need to get 70% to pass.

[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;47753945]Probably because we only learn about small snippets of their history and nothing about their modern society.[/QUOTE] We're still taught to fear those darn redcoats north of us in Canada.

[QUOTE=deadoon;47753955]54% is an F in the US. You need to get 70% to pass.[/QUOTE] Oops, I don't spend a lot of time learning about how grades work in foreign dictatorships

[QUOTE=deadoon;47753955]54% is an F in the US. You need to get 70% to pass.[/QUOTE] 70%? Generally speaking 60%+ is a D, which is passing. [editline]18th May 2015[/editline] Granted it depends on system.

[QUOTE=Levelog;47753967]70%? Generally speaking 60%+ is a D, which is passing. [editline]18th May 2015[/editline] Granted it depends on system.[/QUOTE] Ds get degrees!

you meant they aren't? this is surprising news!

[QUOTE=Levelog;47753967]70%? Generally speaking 60%+ is a D, which is passing. [editline]18th May 2015[/editline] Granted it depends on system.[/QUOTE] Pass vs pass with credit. Yeah you can pass a class with a d but with a pass/nopass class you need 70%.

This is why I am actually glad I went to a high school where the curriculum was intentionally hard, because afterwards even the underachievers were forced to step it up.

Oh jesus if this is the curriculum then what's the point of wanting to be a teacher...seriously

[QUOTE=Levelog;47753967]70%? Generally speaking 60%+ is a D, which is passing. [editline]18th May 2015[/editline] Granted it depends on system.[/QUOTE] I've never heard of D as passing

That cursed maple leaf has had complete control of our southern neighbor for far too long. It's time that we took a stand against their weed-tainted maple syrup and mounted a full-scale assault against Canda! [sp]/stupidity[/sp]

Honestly the more I hear this news, the more depressed I get, because parents and students alike are going to expect me to teach them things like this, when in reality i want to teach them about the great things in the world and how we got to them.

[QUOTE=KillerJaguar;47753991]I've never heard of D as passing[/QUOTE] Might be more of a university thing

That's because the only place that matters is the States obvs I heard they can't even build a Target up there!

They're oligarchies not dictatorships!

[QUOTE=Tone Float;47754001]Might be more of a university thing[/QUOTE] if not the university then most faculties require a C- or equivalent GPA in order to be awarded a major/minor

Perhaps they thought they were monarchies and considered that close enough to a dictatorship...? I dunno. However, I'm not surprised.

[QUOTE=KillerJaguar;47753991]I've never heard of D as passing[/QUOTE] You can pass a class with a D at any college/high school level I've been to. Most will however bar you from graduation if your [I]average[/I] is below a C average.

US schools don't get into government until like the 10th grade, not very surprising at all, even then they never really cover foreign systems much less anything remotely communist. Its kind of sad because it sort of reinforces this american exceptionalist mentality that our system is so much better than anything else

Feels like a dictatorship to me. Don't worry america, I'm sure the statistic is pretty similar here, if you asked an average aussie student about how france's government worked you'd get a pretty stupid answer too. The governing style of countries is something you learn via news and word of mouth, not education.

This sort of news just flat out infuriates me, okay? I have to say it. A good 95% of teachers are not deserving of their jobs since they do not stand up to talk down the backwater, broken and utterly lie-filled texts and curriculum that they simply ask their students to regurgitate. I'm just a junior in high-school, but I've already worked my way through 2 college courses and preparing to take another 2 over the summer. I want to be a teacher because I want at least [I]one[/I] student to go home from school and say "Hey, guess what I learned today". Just fucking [I][B]one.[/B][/I] That sort of shit doesn't happen anymore! It's all just "man I hate school" or "this teacher makes it so boring" or "we never really learn about anything important". Tell me the last time in a fucking public school that people were even half-engaged with the major humanities classes who weren't already having an interest in it? Probably never. I fucking hate the American school system on an undergrad level. I'm blessed that I go to the school that I'm at and that I can afford to continue these college classes over the next few semesters, but when I become a teacher, no fucking unions and none of this bullshit. Kids are going to learn how to exist, not be taught what to say.

[QUOTE=Tophat;47754018]They're oligarchies not dictatorships![/QUOTE] Have you ever seen a dictatorship that doesn't use the [i]metric system[/i]? Checkmate, communist!

On a related note, in the same test they answered "Which of the following is a belief shared by most people of the United States?" with "The government should guarantee everybody a job." (51%), "The government should be a democracy." (32%), "The country should have a single political party." (11%), and "The country should have an official religion." (6%). God bless the new American Soviet Socialist Republic created by these 8th graders. Glorious 8th graders leading the revolution.

honeStly it's just rEally sad how ignorant some kids caN be about other countries. Don't really blame them though. i Hardly havE time to Look at the education system of other countries what with how Perfect things are here. I have literally no complaints!

[QUOTE=Zillamaster55;47754072]This sort of news just flat out infuriates me, okay? I have to say it. A good 95% of teachers are not deserving of their jobs since they do not stand up to talk down the backwater, broken and utterly lie-filled texts and curriculum that they simply ask their students to regurgitate. I'm just a junior in high-school, but I've already worked my way through 2 college courses and preparing to take another 2 over the summer. I want to be a teacher because I want at least [I]one[/I] student to go home from school and say "Hey, guess what I learned today". Just fucking [I][B]one.[/B][/I] That sort of shit doesn't happen anymore! It's all just "man I hate school" or "this teacher makes it so boring" or "we never really learn about anything important". Tell me the last time in a fucking public school that people were even half-engaged with the major humanities classes who weren't already having an interest in it? Probably never. I fucking hate the American school system on an undergrad level. I'm blessed that I go to the school that I'm at and that I can afford to continue these college classes over the next few semesters, but when I become a teacher, no fucking unions and none of this bullshit. Kids are going to learn how to exist, not be taught what to say.[/QUOTE] Not really. There are plenty of great teachers, especially at a college level. In High School and the early years of college, I can only say there were about 2 absolutely awful teachers that just could not give a single fuck less about what anyone learned. I only had to sit through boring lectures without discussions and all the interesting facts I could handle when the students themselves were acting like twats or simply not participating/prepared. Hell in my area amongst a majority of the non-honor student body, doing good in school was a laughable prospect, not because it was hard, but because why bother. The problem is definitely on both ends of the spectrum, as well as government standards and funding. Otherwise yeah, this article isn't a surprise, I haven't even seen a class focused on government that wasn't the United States for the entirety of my schooling. Most of this stuff will either be found out by the students on their own, or they'll just grow up ignorant of the world.

I can't say I'm surprised. I mean have you even talked to a kid that age? You could totally see how this is possible.

Shit, these mischievous 8th graders have discovered our secret alliance with France and Canada. Move over Iran and North Korea, a new, flashier axis of evil has arisen!