The State of Education

Quite often, when my husband is interviewing a high school student for a position in his restaurant, he will ask about school. A recent conversation went like this:

"What's your favorite subject in school?"
"I like History."
"Great! What period are you studying?"
"Third."
"No, I mean what period in history?"
"The Civil War."
"So I guess you're learning about the President during that time. Do you know who that was?"
"We haven't got that far."

Just a few weeks later, he interviewed a young man:

"So what's your least favorite subject in school?"
"History."
"Sure... but I bet you know quite a bit about history."
"Oh, yeah."
"Like the President during the Civil War. Who was that?"
"I don't know that one."
"How about the first President of the U.S.?"
"No, I don't know that one either."
"George Washington."
"Oh yeah, that sounds about right."

Now granted, one can make sandwiches without knowing the names of previous rulers of one's country. But this is "Kentucky, where education pays!" Makes ya wonder.

Seriously, as an educator, I feel compelled to give these students the benefit of the doubt. Surely they are learning something. It just isn't what he asked them about. I wonder what it is.