The Retired Know More About History?

Newspapers in Britain this week reported the results of a survey showing that young people knew much less about their nation’s history than older persons. The ‘Great British History Quiz’ revealed that 18 – 24 year olds got 49% correct and the over 65s 78%. Some commentators tried to use this to rubbish the British education system, but I didn’t find the results all that surprising working on the basis that the over 65s had a good forty years to accumulate the extra knowledge. I suppose the counter argument is that a decade of schooling ought to give people a working knowledge of their nation’s past.