Question for people from Britain

Question for people from Britain

I was wondering if in school you learned about the war in the Pacific during the Second World War?

Because my english teacher was from Britain and she has never heard of the battle of Midway, and I assumed that anyone with any knowledge of the Pacific War would know about Midway.

Do you not learn about it or is she just really eh?

 

I guess she just didn't see the movie

 

We were taught it yes but not in huge detail. She really should be aware, at least in name, of such a significant event. Besides, it's the kind of event you just know about regardless if it was covered at school. Bit like the Bay of Pigs, the Alamo or the Spanish conquistadors.

 

Oh! I have a question too. The american revolution, do they show the british side or something? Cuz in our school it mainly showed the good and bads for the americans only......

 

Get out of this thread you little wipersnapper! This is about Midway not that American Revolution crap. Not like its even important.

 

Gasp! YOU ARE A CANDIAN SPY!

 

O Noes! My Identity!!!

 

Britain has alot more history than the US, so we can't get taught all of it

We generally just ***** about how America seems to think they won the whole of WW2 single handedly. And although its true we couldn't have won without your help, we had been asking for it for a few years before we let the japanesse bomb pearl harbour... iirc.

Also didn't learn much about the Empire when I was in school. And all the shinanigans that went on in India. It was pretty much homegrown history we looked at, with some stuff about europe too.

There are some things I've picked up outside of school, about the alamo, about India, about Operation Market Garden (in which the americans and canadians did fine, but the brits messed up, and had some pretty bad luck on top of that.)

I guess the more you study history, the more you know about it (d'uh) so if you didn't bother studying it much, then there will be huge gaps in your knowledge.

 

China was the bad stuff, getting the entire country addicted to Opium and then fighting a war to protect the opium market, nasty


and re:WW2 there were a couple years, after the fall of France, which, btw, people never shut up about OMG Franec suxxorz alway looz :grrr: , anyways there were a couple years where England was alone against the Axis and withheld the onslaught and at the very LEAST deserves equal credit for winning the war in holding off the Germans and neutralizing the Luftwaffen

 

Okay, I just want to flesh out Bob's post somewhat.

History in the UK education system is compulsary upto the age of 14, before GCSE's. What kids learn depends generally on the teacher and where they are located.

Much of pre-GCSE history is pre-WWI, including the Norman Invasion, Black Death, Slavery, English Civil War, and to a small extent (and I do mean small) the discovery of the American continent.

GCSE History teaches 20th Century History in the main, especially WWI, post WWI and its contribution to the start of WWII. Not a huge amount of the battles of either war is studied, concentrating more on the human and geo-political aspect of the War. Also, in the main the European theatre is concentrated on, with only a little reference to the Pacific. Midway, though mentioned, is not studied in depth.

Further to that, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War up-until the fall of the Berlin Wall is the main focus, again with a view to the politics rather than the conflicts. I can't remember Vietnam nor Afganistan alluded to in any more than a general sense.

As Bob said, very little about the history of the Empire is taught, and I don't remember anything being taught about either the American Civil or Revolutionary War. Think of that what you will.

I agree with Elly though. Midway is something that should be general knowledge rather than necessary to study. Unless you go further into the education system and specialise in an era in history.

 

I'd hope that despite getting less coverage of U.S. History, whatever coverage you get would be less biased and with less patriotic overtones than that in U.S. schools?

 

Yes BRITAIN held them off for a long time, and iirc the whole time we were asking the US to help us, but the refused, saying it wasn't any of their business or some such. Imagine that, America not jumping in on someone else's war...

The history lessons to tend to be rather non-biased, afaIk. I can't really compare it with the US education though.

And yeah, I didn't take History past what was compulsory in High School. Not my thing.

I think I speak for all of Britain when I say we get annoyed at things like the U573 (or w/e number it was:lol: ) film which depicted US navy men getting an Enigma code book, when in reality it was a british crew that did it...

 

that sounds a little biased to me :uhhuh:

we didn't have much of a modern military, 1939-1941 we were working on it, and then it really picked up 1941-1943

US couldn't have helped much, just sent supplies while building up the army, like in WWI, its a luxury you get to have when the fighting is nowhere near you :thumbsup:

 

Well, I can't really speak for the American education system but I can say with a pretty fair amount of certainty that the history being taught in the UK is by no means patriotic. Heck, to a certain extent cynicism of our historical 'greatness' is pretty common, almost lingering on the things we did not do well rather than those we did. Slavery for example.

It must be remembered however that patriotism in the US is far higher than it is in ther UK when looking at a cross-section of society.

 

As a UK history student now at at degree level, I have to admit to not knowing much at all about the Pacific theatre in WW2. But then again, I don't know much about the European theatre either :clap: The main reason for this being that military history is almost non-existent on the UK syllabus as far as I can tell.

Perhaps the reason why the British Empire gets so little coverage is the sensitivity of teaching students about how a bunch of anglo-saxon brits went and brutally conquered much of the world, including many places (India, the Carribean etc) whose population subsequently emigrated to Britain in the 20th century and whose descendants will now be sitting in British classrooms learning history. Not to suggest that Britain is rife with racial tension, but it is hard to understand why else Empire history is so completely ignored.

 

i did history up until year 9 (age 14) and we were never taught anything about it

ive seen a few documentaries though

 

British people make me giggle. I just can't hold a regular conversation with the. It's the accent and that little pang of immaturity I won't dare let go of.

 

tis a shame were stereotyped as either talking like the queen or a commoner from london :/

Ive got a Northern accent and when i went to the USA, 9/10 shopkeepers asked me if i was Australian

i like American girls :love:

 

:lol:

Those crazy Americans.

 

To be honest, I also have trouble distinguishing the accents.


edit: G'day govna!