Careful, You Might Learn Something

Who is buried in Grant’s tomb? (See answer at the end of this column.)

More people than you realize may not know the answer. Hence, this pitch for cable’s History Channel on its six-month anniversary.

Here is some recent history regarding history.

A 1987 study of high school juniors by the Center for Assessment of Educational Progress in Princeton, N.J., concluded:

* 32% did not know that Christopher Columbus reached the so-called “New World” before 1750.

* 39% did not know the Constitution was written between 1750 and 1800.

* 68% did not know that the Civil War occurred between 1850 and 1890.

* 25% did not know that Abraham Lincoln was President between 1860 and 1880.

* 43% did not know that World War I occurred between 1900 and 1950.

* 36% did not know that Watergate occurred after 1950.

No less depressing was the center’s “U.S. History Report Card” for 1989, which found that “across the grades, most students have a limited grasp of U.S. history.” Only a hopeless optimist would expect anything better from the center’s soon-to-be-released “grade card” for 1994.

Why care? “A knowledge of history,” notes the center, “provides the perspective needed to make sense of the present, as well as the past.” Fair enough. And as a bonus, the poking around in history can be a great adventure.

Not that Americans aren’t getting history lessons en masse. Most of those pouring in to see Disney’s new animated box-office blockbuster, “Pocahontas”--especially kids--surely leave the theater afterward persuaded that this Native American Barbie was so smitten with dashing Capt. John Smith that she saved him from death, a romantic tale that has endured through the years. It’s also one that has drawn hoots from many scholars.

All of the above points to a disturbing high level of historical fuzziness. What to do? If you have access to cable, lobby your local system to begin carrying the History Channel.

In this metropolitan area, only Century Cable in Los Angeles, Paragon Cable in Torrance and Garden Grove and Copley/Colony Cable in Costa Mesa now carry the History Channel, which was launched Jan. 1 as an offspring of the Arts & Entertainment Network.

The History Channel--whose lineup includes original programming in addition to previously run documentaries, movies and miniseries with historical themes aimed at adults--is obviously no panacea for an educational system that produces so many graduates who believe that life began with MTV. And because it relies so heavily on entertainment programs itself, the History Channel’s own perspective is sometimes suspect.

Yet its programming for youngsters, at the very least, is a positive step forward.

As part of its ongoing “History for Kids and Teens Too!” project, the cable channel runs commercial-free documentaries at 6 a.m. weekdays that it encourages middle and high schools to tape and use in class.

On Saturday mornings (with repeats on Sundays), moreover, the History Channel airs four series--three of them English-dubbed foreign animations that it says have not previously aired in North America--designed to deepen and sharpen youthful intellects by teaching them history in a way that’s entertaining. Each of these series has just ended its initial cycle of programs and will be rerun for another 26 weeks starting this weekend, after which the History Channel plans to replace them with comparable series for kids.

Fun without fable? The channel vouches for the historical accuracy of these four programs. They are:

* “Christopher Columbus,” 6-7 a.m. A Japanese/Canadian/Spanish co-production tracing the life of Columbus, culminating with his return from his historic voyage. The animated half-hour appears to be quite comprehensive. According to a self-description, some of the series depicts severe problems encountered by Columbus at sea--including the threat of rough waters and crew rebellion--and upon finally reaching land. No soft-soaping, apparently.

Yet the Columbus in an episode previewed for this column--in which he attempts to recruit crewmen just prior to his voyage--is a blond hunk who looks 20 years younger than the middle-aged Columbus was when he set sail. In fact, he could be the brother of Disney’s John Smith. Meanwhile, the series theme song touts Columbus’ discovery of a “new land,” which must have been news to the inhabitants who greeted him there.

* “Once Upon a Time . . . The Discoverers,” 7-7:30 a.m. A French series that celebrates the achievements of various civilizations and individuals from Galileo to Einstein.

* “Once Upon a Time . . . The Americas,” 7:30-8 a.m. Also French produced, this series calls itself the “definitive story of the American continent.” Minus historical trends and nuances, that is. Yet an episode previewed for this column, depicting the invasion and destruction of the Aztec empire by Spanish forces led by Hernan Cortes, merged good history with good storytelling for younger viewers. The conquering Spaniards here are ruthless, gold-lusting, evangelizing imperialists who regard the Aztecs as pagans. Although brutal themselves, the Aztecs have an advanced civilization. However, their great military might is neutralized when their emperor, Montezuma, curiously acquiesces to the white men in the belief that their arrival fulfilled a prophesy of the gods. Although substantial, the episode’s gore is not gratuitous. The cartoon is violent; so is the history.

* “Year by Year for Kids,” 8-9 a.m. This is the History Channel’s own show, with adults Timberly Whitfield and Bruce Koken hosting newsreel-driven retrospectives of specific years. “Welcome to 1936,” says Koken in one episode whose ensuing hopscotching of topics dwells longest on Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s widespread purges.

The effectiveness of this latter format--does it teach kids context and interrelationships among historical events while stringing together facts and news highlights?--is iffy. Yet it’s anything but dry, and the very notion of TV potentially turning on kids to history is exhilarating.

As for Grant’s tomb, meanwhile, we’re still exhuming that answer and hope to have it in a future column.