Spin-off: American and British/Irish culture Q&A thread.

[Buzz Rules]

I do. We had farthings, half pennies pronounced hay-puh-nee, pennies, three pence (thrupence), sixpence, shillings, half crowns and crowns. You had to be very good at multiples of 12.

Do you think the American monetary system is simpler than the British system?

 

[Jangles]

Do you think the American monetary system is simpler than the British system?

I think the US monetary system and U.K. decimal system in similar. I do worry sometimes that many children grow up without handling or seeing adults handle cash, because almost everyone now uses cards or mobile telephone apps. I think U.K. money laundering rules, bank regulations etc are more stringent, but to be honest I don’t have any facts and figures to back that up.

 

[Buzz Rules]

The question I'd like to ask is what do US children learn of British history?

A lot. But it varies on the education system where you live. We learn about the Magna Carta through the Revolution. Most focus on European history starts with the big events of ancient history. Ancient Greece/Rome is the overall start, a small amount on the dark ages, a decent amount on the Middle Ages/Renaissance but most of the history we learn starts in 1492.

 

[cheryl.UK]

Oh good, I have a ton of questions from movies & TV shows set in Britain, and just general things you read and hear. To start--what you call public school is what we would call private school. You pay to go to it and have to be admitted. Our public school is paid for by taxpayer dollars, and everyone is allowed in. It is the law requiring kids to attend some school until 16 or 18. If you can afford and qualify for private school, you don't have to go to public school. What do you call that which we call public school? Do you feel like they are not a good education?

About 90% of young people here in the UK attend state schools. Many are outstanding schools which outperform private schools but not all. Our schools are inspected by OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) who categorise them as Outstanding, Good, Requiring Improvement and Inadequate. More than 50% of state schools are Good or Outstanding. Competition to get into a Good or Outstanding school can be fierce in some areas of the country, especially larger cities. Entry is loosely based on where you live in proximity to the school, which can force up house prices in that area.
Not all private schools are judged to be good/outstanding despite the grading and inspection system being more lenient for these schools. I've inspected both state and private schools and can personally attest to this.

 

[Buzz Rules]

We also have a lot of visual learners. So to help move the teaching along, teachers use a lot of educational programs to get the information faster into the students. Example: for High School, we often on a Friday, watched a PBS program talking about the topic we discussed that week. In elementary schools, students often watch programs like Liberty’s kids.

 

[cheryl.UK]

Yes, we use a lot of videos's too. YouTube is a godsend for this. We also have a lot of YouTube teachers who put lessons up especially at GCSE level. One of our famous ones is Mr Bruff who delivers GCSE English Language and Literature lessons. Lots of our young people use them to revise for their exams but teachers use them too as a way off engaging learners.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Do the British have any questions on the American Revolution or colonial era in America?

 

[BadPinkTink]

I know many Americans are very proud of their Irish ancestry and heritage. Is Irish history taught in schools or is it mostly the old stories and history from family members? Do Americans know about modern Irish history like the 1916 Rebellion, The Treaty, The Irish Civil War and the creation of The Republic of Ireland in 1949? And more modern history, like The Troubles, The Good Friday Agreement, or things even more modern like how divorce and abortion are now legal?

 

[mikalkwin]

I am French, living in Germany, but I love this topic. Thank you all for sharing

 

[penn19]

I know many Americans are very proud of their Irish ancestry and heritage. Is Irish history taught in schools or is it mostly the old stories and history from family members? Do Americans know about modern Irish history like the 1916 Rebellion, The Treaty, The Irish Civil War and the creation of The Republic of Ireland in 1949? And more modern history, like The Troubles, The Good Friday Agreement, or things even more modern like how divorce and abortion are now legal?

Very proud Irish American here. I think the only thing I learned in school in regards to Ireland was about the potato famine. Anything else I know is from now deceased family members and I used to read Time magazine every week when I was younger.

 

[Buzz Rules]

I know many Americans are very proud of their Irish ancestry and heritage. Is Irish history taught in schools or is it mostly the old stories and history from family members? Do Americans know about modern Irish history like the 1916 Rebellion, The Treaty, The Irish Civil War and the creation of The Republic of Ireland in 1949? And more modern history, like The Troubles, The Good Friday Agreement, or things even more modern like how divorce and abortion are now legal?

Yes and no. My school was very good so we did learn some things. My history teachers tried to connect big historical events that happened here to other things that were happening in other places in the world during the era we were studying. St. Patrick’s day week is usually when we studied Irish events that we normally wouldn’t cover. Also I should mention that part of what history is taught depends if your state has a state wide exam (FL, NY, and CA).

 

[Buzz Rules]

I am French, living in Germany, but I love this topic. Thank you all for sharing

If you have any questions about American and British culture, feel free to ask questions.

 

[Wendy31]

The question I'd like to ask is what do US children learn of British history?

I think a lot of school history programs/curriculum usually have their beginnings in British & European history - as it relates to the early exploration & founding of the United States. I’m sure American students don’t learn as much about British history as they do US history, but, out of all the other countries, they probably learn the most about Britain.

We homeschool, so I’m not sure what most schools’ current history programs are like.

However, I attended a private school, &, when I was in junior & high school (7th-12th grades), my 6 years of social studies were State History, World Geography, Civics, World History, US History, & Government/Economics. And the World History focused quite a bit on British history & politics.

For the 4 years of high school (9th-12th), we also had a semester each of General Literature, World Literature, American Literature, & British Literature.

*NOTE - I‘m including literature with history because so much of literature is wrapped up in the culture, myths/traditions, history, politics, socio-economics, & art of the places where the author lives or has lived or the settings of the stories themselves, so, for instance, when you’re studying British literature, you can’t help but also learn about the country itself as well.

In college, for my major, I had to either take 2 semesters of Western Civilization or 2 semesters of US History. I chose US History, but, in the 1st semester, the professor focused quite a bit on British history & politics & World history & politics since those things helped shape the United States. And, as an English major, I took ALL the literature classes, so I learned even more about world history & British history through those classes as well. When you add in the various philosophy, art appreciation, music appreciation, & other humanities classes, you pick up even more world history & culture.

For our children, again, we homeschool currently & also belong to a educational co-op. At the co-op, the high school English program rotates through the following 4 literature programs for the 4 high school years (9th-12th): Ancient, World, British, & American. For our 2 older children, in their high school years, for the most part, we matched history w/ the literature course they took through the co-op. For example, the year, they had World Literature, they also studied World History & World Geography. When they had British Literature, they studied British History, &, when they had American Literature, they studied American History. (I plan on doing similarly w/ our younger son.)

So, while I‘m not as familiar w/ current history programs in American public schools, I do know that our 2 older children had a year of both British history & British literature. (The older 2 are now in college, & they both ended up taking 2 semesters of Western CivilIzation for their social studies requirement.)

 

[Buzz Rules]

I think a lot of school history programs/curriculum usually have their beginnings in British & European history - as it relates to the early exploration & founding of the United States. I’m sure American students don’t learn as much about British history as they do US history, but, out of all the other countries, they probably learn the most about Britain.

We homeschool, so I’m not sure what most schools’ current history programs are like.

However, I attended a private school, &, when I was in junior & high school (7th-12th grades), my 6 years of social studies were State History, World Geography, Civics, World History, US History, & Government/Economics. And the World History focused quite a bit on British history & politics.

For the 4 years of high school (9th-12th), we also had a semester each of General Literature, World Literature, American Literature, & British Literature.

*NOTE - I‘m including literature with history because so much of literature is wrapped up in the culture, myths/traditions, history, politics, socio-economics, & art of the places where the author lives or has lived or the settings of the stories themselves, so, for instance, when you’re studying British literature, you can’t help but also learn about the country itself as well.

In college, for my major, I had to either take 2 semesters of Western Civilization or 2 semesters of US History. I chose US History, but, in the 1st semester, the professor focused quite a bit on British history & politics & World history & politics since those things helped shape the United States. And, as an English major, I took ALL the literature classes, so I learned even more about world history & British history through those classes as well. When you add in the various philosophy, art appreciation, music appreciation, & other humanities classes, you pick up even more world history & culture.

For our children, again, we homeschool currently & also belong to a educational co-op. At the co-op, the high school English program rotates through the following 4 literature programs for the 4 high school years (9th-12th): Ancient, World, British, & American. For our 2 older children, in their high school years, for the most part, we matched history w/ the literature course they took through the co-op. For example, the year, they had World Literature, they also studied World History & World Geography. When they had British Literature, they studied British History, &, when they had American Literature, they studied American History. (I plan on doing similarly w/ our younger son.)

So, while I‘m not as familiar w/ current history programs in American public schools, I do know that our 2 older children had a year of both British history & British literature. (The older 2 are now in college, & they both ended up taking 2 semesters of Western CivilIzation for their social studies requirement.)

This is pretty accurate for school nowadays in most places.

 

[mikalkwin]

If you have any questions about American and British culture, feel free to ask questions.

When we learn English we actually learn quite a lot about UK and American culture. Plus, this is widely spread through Movies and TV (yes, I know Trainspotting or Downtown abbey are not necessary true to real people or real history, but still ). I am more curious about Irish culture and the differences with English culture.

 

[Jangles]

This is pretty accurate for school nowadays in most places.

It’s a very odd feeling when you realise that one lived through what school children are now taught in history lessons. I seem to have spent a disproportionate amount of my primary years being taught about the Tudors and Stewarts.
Luckily in my school days, between the ages of 7 and 11, the emphasis was on English grammar and penmanship. Recently, I was shocked to read on this forum that children are not taught cursive script. I thought it was an odd American quirk, until my daughter told me that it is the same in U.K. schools. I and my children were taught to write ‘ladies hand’ with fountain pens and even my children, who are 24 and 28 were required to use fountain pens for school examinations and marks were awarded not just for content but also for neatness and legibility. Young children had books with blue and red lines, so that they knew how to correctly form letters.
It would be sad it the art of letter writing disappears. It is so much nicer to receive a letter than an e mail.

 

[Wendy31]

What’s interesting to me, in considering both this thread & the US/Canada thread, is that I feel like, as an American, I’m actually more familiar w/ British culture & history than I am w/ Canadian culture & history.

My children, in their elementary history/geography curriculum, learned the Canadian provinces & territories & can label them & other Canadian land features on a map. However, beyond labeling Canada & its capital on a map, I don’t remember learning a lot about Canada, while I DO remember learning quite a bit about England & other European countries.

I‘ve actually learned more about Canada through the Disboards & my own “I’m curious so I’m going to Google“ than I ever did in school, which is rather sad.

Edited to Add - In thinking about it more, I grew up in the South (& still live here), &, maybe had I grown up in a state bordering Canada or closer to Canada, I would have grown up being more familiar w/ Canada - in the same way people in southwestern states are more familiar w/ Mexico. But, still, it’s funny how, as American students, we seem to learn more about the European countries than we do about Canada & Mexico.

 

[Buzz Rules]

It’s a very odd feeling when you realise that one lived through what school children are now taught in history lessons. I seem to have spent a disproportionate amount of my primary years being taught about the Tudors and Stewarts.
Luckily in my school days, between the ages of 7 and 11, the emphasis was on English grammar and penmanship. Recently, I was shocked to read on this forum that children are not taught cursive script. I thought it was an odd American quirk, until my daughter told me that it is the same in U.K. schools. I and my children were taught to write ‘ladies hand’ with fountain pens and even my children, who are 24 and 28 were required to use fountain pens for school examinations and marks were awarded not just for content but also for neatness and legibility. Young children had books with blue and red lines, so that they knew how to correctly form letters.
It would be sad it the art of letter writing disappears. It is so much nicer to receive a letter than an e mail.

I learned both cursive and print writing starting in grade 1. It was required to be in use for assignments by grade 4.

 

[Jangles]

When we learn English we actually learn quite a lot about UK and American culture. Plus, this is widely spread through Movies and TV (yes, I know Trainspotting or Downtown abbey are not necessary true to real people or real history, but still ). I am more curious about Irish culture and the differences with English culture.

The English tried very hard in the past to ‘cancel’ different cultures. In Wales, for example, children were not allowed to speak Welsh in schools and were punished if they broke this rule.

If you think of television programmes that humorously portray stereotypes, for example, Stella, Gavin and Stacey, Derry Girls, Fawlty Towers, Darling Buds of May etc., which U.S. programmes so you think portray American stereotypes in an humorous way?

 

[Buzz Rules]

What’s interesting to me, in considering both this thread & the US/Canada thread, is that I feel like, as an American, I’m actually more familiar w/ British culture & history than I am w/ Canadian culture & history.

My children, in their elementary history/geography curriculum, learned the Canadian provinces & territories & can label them & other Canadian land features on a map. However, beyond labeling Canada & its capital on a map, I don’t remember learning a lot about Canada, while I DO remember learning quite a bit about England & other European countries.

I‘ve actually learned more about Canada through the Disboards & my own “I’m curious so I’m going to Google“ than I ever did in school, which is rather sad.

European history influenced the world for over 500 years in comparison to Canada.