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Why are they teaching American history at College in Quebec?


In the scene where Remy recalls telling his class he has fallen ill and cannot finish the semester, you can hear the substitute teacher talking about the election of 1840 with the Whig Party.

Just thought it was odd. Why would Canadian students study that? More importantly, why would students take a course like that?

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This may come as a surprise to many Americans, but Canadian students are taught American History in grade school. This as well as British, French, and Canadian History. We are also taught how the American Republic works as well as the British and Canadian Parliamentary models. In Canadian Universities, history students can take a number of courses in American History. This can only be explained by the fact that it is best to know as much as you can about your closest friend and ally. The only way to see where they are going is to see where they have been.

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I study in a montreal college (universite de montreal) and I have to tell you that not only we learn about americain history but like r_coli said, we learn about every countries history in geopolitics and history. This takes us to be one of the society with the greatest intelectual properties ever (quebec)

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Why are they teaching French-Russian hisory at a high school in Childress, Texas? Because they are H*ISTORY CLASSES, not ONE-COUNTRY history classes...ain't y'ever been t'school?

"O, That blue, blue shirt of yours"

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Too bad so many americans cannot understand that it could be useful to study history of what happened in other countries.

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I'd just like to say that this was one American's post, and that there are many Americans who know that it is imperative to study the history of their own country as well was other countries in the world. We aren't all completely ignorant.

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The U.S. is not simply "another" country in relation to Canada. Countries whose borders touch share histories. They alternately war and ally with one another. You just cannot know U.S. history without crossing over to Canada and Mexico. In this case, the figureheads of the Whig party in 1840 included war heroes who fought over Canada with the British in 1812. In some ways the Revolution was not yet over then.

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Allow me not only to dispute your comment but to completely refute it. Maybe in comparison to other north americans, quebecers know more world history but the general knowledge of the society here (yes I am a quebecer too) is unbelievably low for someone who has lived in a few countries around the world. The ignorance about national politics, the economical system and world history are making me wanna cry every time I talk to a quebecer (I do not compare to the average north american because the the situation is dramatic). So if you think that quebec has the "greatest intellectual properties ever", then you're either ignorant, nationalistic or just never lived anywhere else.


Btw, the school system here is incredible (literally)....Children learn basic mathematics and just a summary of world history and geography and can pass to the next grade regardless of their knowledge. But then again the situation is even worse in the rest of N.America and Europe seems to be envious of that ignorance and is trying to mimic it with a fast pace.

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Why would Canadian students study the election of 1840 and the Whigs? For the same reason I studied the Thirty YEars War as a history student in an AMerican college.

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The only thing I was ever taught about the French is their women don't like to shave their armpits or their legs, but I went to Southern University of Nairobi and majored in Bigotry.

Nothing exists more beautifully than nothing.

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Only thing I learnt about the Maasai is that they feed on porridge made out of watusi blood and milk.

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I've heard watusi blood is good for the soul.

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I've heard Gomer Pockris, avant garde composer, has written a polka based on it.

Nothing exists more beautifully than nothing.

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Many people do not realize this, but Gomer Pockris also invented midgets.

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I thought they taught US history in Canada bcuz they don't teach it anymore in the US.

Nothing exists more beautifully than nothing.

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You'd be surprised at how many countries teach American History and politics. I've spoken with many Europeans over the years who knew more about US History than many Americans I know.

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[deleted]

I'm taking a class in American Politics this year. We study everything from the drafting of the constitution to the structure of the bureaucracy in the United States.. and I'm a student at the University of Toronto...

STudying American politics helps you compare the structure of democracies in other countries. Its influences, etc. Afterall, America is one of the oldest democracies in the world. So studying about American politics and history is quite relevant world wide.

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In the states we had world history in our 10th year of school in the 60's.

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Meaningful.

Nothing is more beautiful than nothing.

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Wow, that is really weird.
I mean, they've been teaching us world history since primary school.
Including America.

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[deleted]

i like the part where Canada defeated the US when they tried to invade us (by us I mean Canadians)....but i could see why you would find that boring

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In the same way that education is boring. For Americans. And your politicians, on the right wing, anyway, agree with you! In fact they're even taking steps to accommodate you. Turning more people on to the anti critical thinking craze sweeping the wingnutosphere.
Wonder why?

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I'm American and I took Canadian History in college (a U.S. college) and I was a Computer Information Systems major.


"My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider."

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