Policymakers | General Education

These College Students Are Totally Clueless About World War II

HUFFINGTON POST   |  January 28, 2014 by Sarah Barness

When college students’ knowledge of World War II is put to the test, many are in the dark. Actually, some are entirely clueless.

You might think it wouldn’t be too hard to answer questions like, “What year did WWII begin?” or “Can you name one Axis power?”

You’d be wrong.

When asked to name three Allied powers, one hopeless girl answered “Alaska.” When asked to name one Allied leader, not one, but two people named Adolf Hitler. Seriously?? Oh, and just to clarify, WWII did not begin in 1847.

Oy vey.

The guys seem to have won this knowledge war, but perhaps the girls deserve a break. After all, the top 30 liberal arts colleges don’t require a U.S. history survey course.

Top notch schools like Amherst, Grinnell, Middlebury, Vassar, Oberlin, Smith, Swarthmore, Colgate and Harvey Mudd are just some of the colleges listed in the “Education or Reputation?” report by The American Council of Trustees and Alumni as not requiring an American history class.

Pretty shocking, don’t ya think?

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