Little girl laments education system's failure after finding her class doesn't know who Napolean was

Editor's note: This article was originally published on March 17, 2023. It has since been updated.

While some of us loved to study history in school, many found the subject rather boring. Even though it teaches us about the significant impact past events still have on us, several children are not a fan of history. A little girl found this fact very surprising as she discovered that her classmates didn't know about European history.

A video clip posted by @bmmck1 on TikTok shows a girl being picked up from school by her mother. The mother presumably asked her about her day, but at some point during the girl's response, the mother took out her phone and began recording to capture all the details.

The girl says, "So I was talking to people, and I said, 'I bet Napoleon would be a Slytherin in Hogwarts because he has lots of ambition.'" While she seemingly anticipated receiving some understanding nods from her friends, she was met with looks of confusion instead. She added, "The kids look at me and say, 'We don’t know who Napoleon is.'"

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the latter years of the French Revolution and its associated wars. He was born in Corsica in 1769 and received military training at a young age. He quickly rose through the ranks of the French military and became a general by the age of 24.

In 1799, he overthrew the French Directory and established himself as the First Consul of France. He later became Emperor of the French in 1804 and ruled until 1815. Napoleon is known for his military campaigns, legal reforms and his impact on European politics and society during his reign.

Although most adults are probably aware of the French personality, it's rather unusual and somewhat amusing for an elementary school student to have knowledge of this. The caption of the video seems to hint at this by mentioning, "When your Dad is a nerd," indicating that the girl's father must have shared all this information with her. The girl says towards the end of the video that the "education system has greatly failed them."

The video now has almost 3 million views and thousands of comments from TikTok users weighing in on Napolean's Hogwarts house. User @darthstiorra commented, "She’s right though. Napoleon Bonaparte is [definitely] a Slytherin." Some even said that the little girl needs to know that even most adults don't know about Napolean.

TikTok user @empress_jen commented, "You need to tell her that what she's experiencing doesn't get better. Most adults don't know who Napoleon was." Another TikTok user @tokaroni said, "Tell me you read above the reading level for your age without telling me. She's so sharp mama, great work."

"The look of concern she expressed when you said maybe they will learn it has me dying!" noted another user, @jaynejensen. @joeyminnick commented, "Yup that kid is right, education is nothing after like 7th grade, the rest is just how to deal with others."