[mook]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by
Well the problem is nobody *wants* to learn about the Cold War. Nobody wants to know about the Cuban Missile Crisis and the negotiations between the US and USSR, or the Berlin blockade and its resolution and results, and the various gurellia wars fought and sponsered by the US/USSR.

Basically most students consider it boring.

If you want to learn about the Cold War, you enjoy stuff on Russians and Americans screaming at each other (ie. Kruschev's shoe!), then sign onto a specific class. I did late-20th century history, and we covered a lot of that.
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What makes the Cold War any less interesting than the (as has been mentioned) Industrial Revolution? You can hear the snoring from halfway across the high school when the teacher's going on about.. *yawn*.. the rise of industry and.. *zzz*.. the expansion of western agricul... *collapses*

I know it is somewhat subjective, but I can assure you that more high schoolers (and those younger than them) would find the Cold War to be more interesting. They'll be able to connect better to the modern "superpower" America--far more than they could connect to the America of 150 years ago.

I'm just saying that writing off the Cold War period as boring is no excuse to not educate students about it. There are far more boring subjects (that we are taught about countless times), and even if it were the most boring subject, it would still be essential to educate the masses about it.

I understand that the option is commonly given for 20th century history classes, but that's just the thing: It's an option. After years of enduring the same garbage over and over they're typically so sick of history that the motivation to take the class is not there. The end result is the same, either way: Only those interested in learning more about recent history take the time to do so. Everyone else goes on living without such knowledge.