I am interested in what sorts of required history education exists in different countries. If I was a kid in your country going to a state school, and was of average intelligence, what would my experience be and what would I learn about? What places? What periods of time? Does your country separate kids into different schools (like the "Gymnasium") for professional routes vs other schools for kids who aren't as smart? What is emphasized more in your history experiences--skills or content knowledge?

I'm not interested in any sort of debate or flag waving on who does what better or whose kids are stupider--I'm just trying to understand how other systems work and what historical topics are taught. I teach world history and I am particularly interested in the extent to which European countries study other parts of the world as part of a required curriculum (especially amidst EU growth and the desire to maintain national identity).

In the US it is difficult to say because every state does it differently and schools in general have quite a bit of freedom in how they approach it and what classes they offer. From state to state, school to school, and teacher to teacher some are horrible and some are very good. Generally though, in the US history courses are part of a larger social sciences department. Almost universally there is a required separate US history, a required World History or Western Civilization course (depending on the school or state), and Government or Civics class is also typically required. Typically the last history class one takes is when they are 16-17 (Junior) when they they are a Senior (17-18) they typically take a Government course.

I teach World History and I will follow this post with a summary of the history of the concept of world history for anyone interested.