Kentucky Gets an F in World History

“It's the end of the world as we know it.”

-REM

In a world where the global and local economies are interconnected, it is vital to know something about the culture, people, and places we are doing business.

I am afraid we don’t know much about our neighbors.

I have often complained about the lack of focus on American history in Kentucky schools.   It looks like the study of world history is even worse.

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute released a report called, “The State of State World History Standards for 2006.”  The report gave all 50 states a letter grade based on their world history standards.

Kentucky received an F. 

Chester Finn Jr., President of the Thomas B.  Fordham Institute was one of my favorite professors at Vanderbilt University.  I know from experience that he does not give out a lot of A’s (at least he did not give them to me) but he does not give F’s lightly either.

If Kentucky received an F from Professor Finn, we are in big trouble.

As much as I would like Kentucky to impress my former teacher, a more important issue is for Kentucky to compete in the world economy.

Terms like immigration, globalization and world economy are the hot buzz words in the business world.

If you plan on doing business with another country, you need to know about their history and culture.

In Kentucky high schools and colleges, history does not get the emphasis that it deserves. 

Many American companies don’t understand that ignorance of history can put them out of business. 

Finn and Martin Davis’s forward to the report noted that “Nations that were a littler more than curiosities to most Americans have transformed themselves into places of vital interest and concern to us.”

You cannot turn on talk radio without hearing an argument about immigration.  I wonder if the people beating their chests know anything about the history of the people trying to enter the United States or the history of the immigrants who came to this country over the past 200 years.

It would help if they understood the long history of people fleeing economic depravity and social injustice to come to the United States.  As long as we pride ourselves on being the symbol of freedom and opportunity, people with ambition  will want to want to join us.

Almost every Fortune 1000 company has a division located outside of the United States.  The advancement of technology and communications will cause that number to increase.

I do business on with people in India and Great Britain. A working knowledge of the historical culture of their countries, has allowed me to break down many barriers.

They all know about the history of the United States. However, we know little about where they came from.

If an American can tell me the Prime Minster of India without looking it up, email me and let me know.  I may not send a prize, but will give you a personal A in current events.  

If you know something about a person or country’s  history, you understand their ideas, hopes, desires and motivations.  These are the same factors that businesses need to know to sell them something.

The report points out our neighboring state of Virginia received an A.  

I hope the big fat F on the Fordham Institute Report card serves as a wake up call for Kentucky. It is a problem that can be fixed.

Unless we get our act together, global companies are going to look for employees in places like  Virginia instead of Kentucky.

We need to start teaching world history, and teaching it correctly.  If not, it will be the end of the world as we know it.

Don McNay is President of McNay Settlement Group where we know understanding history is vital to success in business.   You can write to him This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or read other things he has written at www.donmcnay.com.  His award winning column is syndicated on the CNHI News Service.