Kids don’t know history, and that’s a BIG problem

Did you know that only 13% of eighth graders are proficient in American History?  

Thirteen. It’s astoundingly awful.

Knowing history isn’t just remembering dates or names—it’s understanding how we got here. It’s knowing why the Founding Fathers declared independence, what led to the Civil War, or how the principles of free markets and individual responsibility shaped this nation.

This historical knowledge is critical to understanding the world we live in today.  

And yet, many young people can’t express the ideas that inspired the Founders, explain what caused the Civil War, or even identify the basic rights protected by the Constitution. 

Instead of teaching history as a story of ideas, principles, and lessons of the past, schools just focus on shallow, rote memorization lessons that lack any substance or meaning—or worse, they rewrite history to fit modern political agendas. 

That’s a miserable way to learn. No wonder so many kids simply tune out. But we can’t afford for it to be this way. 

This utter failure of American education isn’t just disappointing; it’s dangerous. 

Kids who don’t know their history grow up without the tools they need to make informed decisions about the future. When they don’t understand the context of past triumphs or failures, they’re more likely to repeat mistakes or reject the principles that made the American experiment so great in the first place.  

They’re easier to manipulate, easier to control, and easier to sell historically deadly ideas to, like socialism, communism, or limitations on the freedom to speak. 

That’s why we created our America’s History books and curriculum. 

Our goal is to teach kids the real story of America, not the watered-down, revisionist, or irrelevant versions they get in most classrooms. 

From the Silk Road to the Civil Rights Movement, our books and curriculum bring history to life by showing kids how the principles of liberty, the free market, and entrepreneurship shaped the world we live in today.  

And soon, we’re taking that mission even further. 

In the coming months, The Tuttle Twins Academy will include a comprehensive U.S. History course that teaches kids the context behind the events that shaped our nation, helping them see the past through the lens of freedom, responsibility, and reason. 

The more we understand the past, the better equipped we are to shape the future. And right now, American kids are being robbed of the future they deserve because of the failures of the public education system. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. And with parents like you using resources like ours, it won’t be this way for long.

I’m proud to be part of a movement that wants to see kids grow up knowing where they came from—and why it matters.  

I’m excited for the future they’ll shape.

— Connor