Canucks fail test

I managed a respectable 70% on 20 questions

No wonder I thought you were from Canada when we just met!!! 

   Damn, I'm smart.  More Canadian than thou.

Mind, I thought Metis were only half French, half native.  i still do.  leader of BC opposition party?    Sheesh.

I got 75%

I was surprised to hear that there was a general knowledge test for becoming a citizen...I recall all the fuss when the Netherlands were going to introduce one a wee while ago. For us in NZ, what you need is a certain level of English and the more $$$$$ the better to become a citizen.

Just a side note - I am a Canadian History major and have taught MANY history classes over the decades.  I have also published a Canadian history book (Metis history).  I am not typical for a Canadian.  However, I do think that Canadians know more about any other country in the world that do USAnians who for the most part think Canadians live in perpetual winter, eat raw seal meat and live in igloos.  I am proud of Canadians for their general apathetic sense of ultra nationalism as it tends to make them more tolerant of all others.  We are a pluralistic society and damned proud of our general sense of confusion about who and what we are.

Now, where's that beer, eh?

[quote author=Con ate dog link=topic=539.msg9705#msg9705 date=1183292922

Mind, I thought Metis were only half French, half native.  i still do.  leader of BC opposition party?    Sheesh.
[/quote]

 I also thought the Metis were only half French. Blame my grade 10 history teacher for that one.

 I did get the leader of the BC opposition party(a stupid question IMO) as a lucky guess. The day I left for China BC was having an election but I couldn't vote because I didn't have anything with my address on it. Never heard who won...but judging by the test it looks like Gordon Campbell 

So Mr. Eagle, history teacher, sir - please tell me the correct answer for the Metis.  That question was not on the test I took, but I would have answered half French and half Native American.  That's what I learned in school.  Did their genetics change since I was a kid?

Eagle, I'm also curious to know how you did on the test, being recently departed from Canada and a history major/teacher. 

However, I do think that Canadians know more about any other country in the world that do USAnians who for the most part think Canadians live in perpetual winter, eat raw seal meat and live in igloos.

Man, that's like science fiction. Do some teachers enforce such stereotyping in Canadian history classes? Does the hour only have 22 minutes with such a point of view? I ask, because I've met a frighteningly large number of Canadians in my travels overseas who think this - and very few who think this actually spent a substantial amount of time in the U. S.,  In fact, none did - who honestly believed this rhetoric. I've yet to meet a single American who even assumed such things, but I've seen hundreds of hours of Canadian television dramas, comedies and commercials that perpetuate that deliberate stereotype/misinformation regarding Americans and how they view Canada.

I'm doubly shocked that a "history teacher" would fall into such a trap.


 

I am proud of Canadians for their general apathetic sense of ultra nationalism as it tends to make them more tolerant of all others.  We are a pluralistic society and damned proud of our general sense of confusion about who and what we are.

Your previous quoted bit of unrealistic sterotyping contradicts this statement.

This is now joining threads a bit with the Yo Canada discussion about national days.

In general the education system of a country will concentrate on the history and geography of it's own country particularly in primary and lower secondary levels - ie where the highest percentage of students attend - unless for a long time you were like Australia and suffered from an enormous cultural cringe and so learnt British history along with the explorers of Australia.

This took a long time to change and it is not that long ago now that we started to include a broader view of Oz history (especially in regard to our dealings with the Aboriginal, Torres Strait and Australian South Sea Islander peoples). 

But a fair percentage of history and geography taught in OZ focuses on the outside world - so we get US, European and some Asian history in our curricula now - although only a little bit of Canadian or African - the latter mostly based around wars.

BUT ... because we have so much overseas content in our television programming (including news, current affairs and doco-commentaries ), I tend to think we know a fair bit about a pretty big chunk of the world - and I think we could take on most countries in a general knowledge trivia night!  Losers buy the beer.

And I think Aussies are a bit blas

Oddly enough my early history lessons were about the middle east followed by a rigorous diet of classical Greek which I loved. Got socked six semesters of Australian History in the last two years of school. (Boring Food for thought.)

In general the education system of a country will concentrate on the history and geography of it's own country particularly in primary and lower secondary levels - ie where the highest percentage of students attend - unless for a long time you were like Australia and suffered from an enormous cultural cringe and so learnt British history along with the explorers of Australia.

I don't recall much British history as a younger student, but it still features as one of two major topics for senior students - Tudor England (the development of the Westminster system) and early NZ history are the two subjects a history student in their last year at NZ High School study.
I think our students get quite a broad range of history / geography, plus. of course, we get to watch a lot of tv from other countries so we get exposed to a lot of culture that way as well.

As to who's better at Geography - US citizens or Canadians, I don't know...but I do know  that a common stereotype is that many Americans are not that good on history or geography outside of the US. This tends to be supported by international testing which shows the US school children, from memory, usually perform in the lower third of those tested. I know Clinton tried to rectify this, he sent some bigwigs in the academic field over to NZ to look at our Social Studies curriculum.
I just googled to try and find some proof but couldn't get anything...I'll try again when google's going

As to who's better at Geography - US citizens or Canadians,

That's not the bone of contention. 

My bone of contention is the outright lie/blanket statement about Americans' supposed views on their neighbors.

Rick Mercer's 'Talking to Americans,' a national treasure.  I remember our sole American employee was not amused when we'd discuss the previous night's episode in the lunchroom the next day but it was just so darn funny.

Rick Mercer's 'Talking to Americans,' a national treasure.  I remember our sole American employee was not amused when we'd discuss the previous night's episode in the lunchroom the next day but it was just so darn funny.

Yes, making fun of other counties in a one-sided manner because you're (i. e. Rick Mercer and crew - to clarify) insecure with your own identity is so hilarious. 

I think Rick Mercer is the greatest.  I still loved his one about banning seal hunting in Saskatchewan.  Or Tim Horton for Prime Minister etc.  These were shot in the USA and the people were asked for their opinions.

I have travelled over a lot of the USA and people in the south tend to think of Canada as the land of ice and snow. Obviously, people from New York State, Vermont etc knew better.

MOP you really need to get a life.  I will not let you turn this thread into a fight.

Every nationality has it's stereotypes. Unfortunately there are just enough people that fit each stereotype to make it difficult to state that the stereotype is totally wrong.  After all - that's why they arose in the first place.

But the rest of us are also aware that many, many, many, more people don't fit that image.

Think of the stereotypes of Aussies.

Bronzed, beer-drinking, meat-pie eating, (real)football-loving, slow-talking etc etc.

We will all be able to say - yeah I've met the stereotypical (name any country here) person.

But there is no need to get stirred up about it - I laugh when people tell me I am (or am not) typical.  I invoke the typicality when I feel like it.  "I'm Australian, of course I can drink beer/swim/play tennis" "I'm Australian, of course I grew up riding horses" etc.  Not every Australian can or does do these things (and my tennis is terrible!!), and we all know that logically.

I met what I would call 'stereotypical' USAnians, Germans, French, Israelis, Italians etc.  I have met people who match some of the criteria required and are totally different in other areas, I have met people who have NONE of the traits. 

But it is easy to get defensive about the negative sides of stereotypicality, and unfortunately, it is impossible to say it NEVER happens or has happened.

Make people lose the image by your own actions.