I've been cleaning off my desk today. At the bottom of a stack of papers, was an article I saved from USA Today on February 26 entitled, "Teens losing touch with historical references."  The gist of it is, today's teenagers have lost touch with American History, and can't identify most major events or the impact on our life today. It boils down to the sad fact that History is not taught in most schools as a primary subject.

The article was accompanied by a quiz, Are you smarter than a 17-year-old?  Sadly, my kids failed it, too.

We take some pride in reconnecting our kids with historical facts through hands-on or living history events. We do a little traveling, taking in historical sites and learning a little about our past. I force them to watch historical movies and documentaries, at times.  Heck, we're even descendants of several noted patriots and a signer of the Declaration of Independence--facts they've been forced to learn.

Yet, we don't spend a lot of time of dates and events, really. Until I read this article I hadn't given much thought to the lack of History classes in school.  Perhaps I should have. We have a responsibility to make sure our children learn and understand both our Nation's history and their personal connection to it. 

Poet George Santayana said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." But, I think this quote from Kurt Vonnegut, "History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again," perhaps puts this issue in the best context. 

Without those list of surprises, we'll have produced a generation of leaders who will continually be surprised as the world unfolds about them.

Do "we" want to be responsible for that?