Friday's Wall Street Journal, in a column entitled "Don't Know Much 'bout History," quoted a recent study. "According to a recent survey of America's most elite universities, nearly all college seniors could identify Beavis and Butthead but 40% could not place the Civil War in the right half century. A national history test of high school seniors found a majority of them identifying Germany, Italy or Japan as a U.S. ally in World War II. Still another survey of Americans at large found a third attributing the line 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs' to the constitution rather than Karl Marx."
This brought several issues to my mind, as it has brought thoughts to the minds of others down through the centuries. A couple include:
"History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illumines reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life and brings us tidings of antiquity."
--Cicero (106 - 43 BC) Pro Publio Sestio
"History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon."
--Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821)
"Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn anything from history."
--George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)
"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."
--Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)
But mostly, I think that we have a great need to know and to learn from history. When you look over these thoughts, is it any surprise to you that there are people in this world who are trying to deny that the Holocaust, as one example, ever happened? People who try to rewrite history to fit their cause or justify their outlook are reprehensible. So, looking at statistics, such as those cited above, is a sad lesson for me about the efficacy of our schools and our reading.
In your hiring practices, you want to hire the smartest, most creative people you can find. One of the ways you can identify these candidates is to take a look at what they read. Your best candidates are generally widely read, both in their field and out. And, I'll bet they know their history, too.
One of my favorite quotation sites.
Warmly,
Susan
2:04:11 PM
People Don't Learn From History 
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