<p>Sea_Tide, when I was touring Canada (the one in the World Showcase at Disney World, not the neighbor to the north), a girl working in one of the shops there was challenging people from the United States to name the Canadian provinces. She said that most Canadian school children could name the 50 United States, but very few of the folks from the USA that she came in contact with could name the provinces. I told her if it made her feel better, many school children in the US couldn’t name the 50 states either. My kids can sing them, but I’m not sure they could accurately place all 50 on a map.</p>
<p>Well, I live in Rhode Island, the official name of our state is The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Many children here do not know that. I have also been asked if RI is on Long Island. Scary huh? This is a fun thread!</p>
<p>Last year, my daughter was a HS junior and decided to take regular US history because AP world history sucked up too much of her time because of the amount of homework. </p>
<p>The first day the teacher gave them a US map and told them they had five minutes to write in all the states. Most of the kids stopped writing within a minute or two, my daughter used all five minutes and had three states left to fill in when the teacher called time. My daughter came home from school and complained that she felt like she was back in 5th grade. </p>
<p>The second day the teacher gave them a questionnaire to complete to figure out their political leanings. Then the kids had to share their results. My daughter came home and explained how angry she was that the teacher made them publicly state where they fell on the political spectrum. </p>
<p>The third day, the teacher showed a movie and after class my daughter moved herself into AP US history which didn’t have much homework and turned out to be her favorite class. </p>
<p>She’s going to be very disappointed if her college history classes are watered down.</p>
<p>BTW, have any of you seen the video “Lunchroom Scholars” that came out within the last year? It was kind of like Jaywalking only in a high school during lunch. That was my daughter’s school :(. A lot of students at her school didn’t know the answers to simple questions. I don’t know if it is still on the Internet anywhere because the principal made the students who made it take it down.</p>
<p>
Apparently they are in good company</p>
<p>[Obama</a> Claims He’s Visited 57 States - YouTube](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGH02DtIws]Obama”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGH02DtIws)</p>
<p>^^^Well, yeah, there’s the State of Mind, State of Affairs, State of the Union, State Fair, State Your Case, State of Confusion, and State No More. See? 57!</p>
<p>Don’t be talkin’ smack about us island folk! :)</p>
<p>This is hilarious, y’all. Scary, but hilarious:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.wilsonquarterly.com/article.cfm?AID=1192[/url]”>http://www.wilsonquarterly.com/article.cfm?AID=1192</a></p>
<p>MSNDIS, not to worry. If your daughter takes Honors history classes, they will not be watered down. 
Especially if she takes 'em with Professor Mixson.</p>
<p>“Just remember these kids are now old enough to help choose the next leader of our country” – YIPES!!!</p>
<p>Have y’all ever read the book <em>Anguished English</em>? It is hysterical. You will laugh so hard you’ll have tears streaming down your face. And the best chapter (besides the church-bulletins chapter) is the one featuring students’ essay and test responses. “Magellan circumcised the globe with a clipper.” LOL–Ouch!</p>
<p>I’'m just amazed Slippy’s son agreed to be his Facebook friend.</p>
<p>Class2012, I thought the same thing! LOL! My older son is my FB friend, but he says if I tag him or post any more pics of him, he’ll unfriend me. :o</p>
<p>My kids became FB friends with me once they found out that I did worse things in college than they ever dreamed of doing. Even some of my son’s fraternity brothers have “friended” me. Little do they know . . . ;)</p>
<p>^ Son of my son’s friends are FB friends with me - just not my own son! To his defense, he created his page maybe 4 years ago and has maybe checked it once a year since that time. I do wish he’d use it - or at least date someone who used it, so I could see an occasional photo!</p>
<p>^^^^ Agree! I’m not FB friends with my son, although he said he’d accept if I ask. But I recently got friended by his gf! Now I have almost daily updates of his activities. Loving it!</p>
<p>Was this an Honors class? None of you seem shocked or upset. I’m horrified.
Is this seriously the caliber of student at UA? What was the professor’s attitude? Can I expect my child to be treated like an illiterate ignoramus if he goes there? I’m seriously upset. My son has fallen in love with this school, and I have given him the okay for the Honors College, but this thread has been a shock.</p>
<p>4mother, read slippys post, #6. Professor was being funny. Also, we do not know how serious the post by the student was either. This was the first day of class, afterall. Proff may have been using it to get the students used to using the clickers as well. </p>
<p>As the rest of the posts point out, history facts are not strong points of US citizens. And K-12 schools are not held to a standard to teach history, unlike reading and math. Prof was likely making that point too.</p>
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<p>Yes, my son is a National Merit moron. So are the other 600 NMFs on campus, not to mention the tons of Presidential Scholars and other merit based scholarship students.</p>
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<p>Of course. That’s why we illiterate ignoramus parents send our kids there.</p>
<p>Sheesh, a little perspective, please.</p>
<p>@ Malanai
Well said my friend! Roll Tide!</p>
<p>Regarding the caliber of the UA student…coming from the “top” or one of the “top” (depending on the stats you are looking at) academic high schools in the state of North Carolina…</p>
<p>My son, a sophmore by credits, who is a “first year” student in the Honors College has surrounded himself with Fellows, Presidentials and other Honors high achieving students! …and I know there are plenty of non-Honors great students as well I just don’t think my son has met them yet :)</p>
<p>@ 4mother
Check this out</p>
<p>■UA is ranked 2nd in the nation among public universities in the enrollment of National Merit Scholars in the 2011 freshman class.
■As of fall 2011, nearly 1 in 4 freshmen were enrolled in Honors College.
■The University of Alabama has opened more than 40 new facilities since 2003.
■The 2011 freshman class included 1,614 students with high school GPAs of 4.0 or higher.
■The University of Alabama debate and forensics program has won 19 national debate championships.
■Since 2003, UA has placed a total of 46 students on USA Today’s All-USA College Academic Team that honors the “best of the best” undergraduate academic all-stars from across the nation.
■The University of Alabama’s graduates and students include 15 Rhodes Scholars, and in the past 25 years, UA has produced 37 Goldwater Scholars, 8 Truman Scholars, 19 Hollings Scholars, 2 Javits Fellows, 1 Udall Scholar and 1 Portz Scholar.
■Student-faculty ratio 19:1</p>
<p>Malanai, I think I love you!</p>
<p>Thank you, malanai! You always find the perfect way of instilling humor into some much needed perspective :)</p>