A few years back, I was dismayed and horribly discouraged when I read that more than 70% of Americans could name all three of the Three Stooges but that barely 20% could name all three of the branches of our Federal government. That troubling fact led me to realize that, to an alarming extent, we have entered an era of civic unawareness.
A fundamental lack of civic knowledge and understanding can be found in every corner of our society -- from the inner city street corner to the country club lounge, among liberals and conservatives, young and old. Recent research at Cincinnati's Xavier University found that over one third of native-born American citizens could not pass the history and civics exam administered to immigrants who are seeking U.S. citizenship (a sample of such immigrants, by the way, scored in the high 90s!).
During this Memorial, a good number of us will be talking about the current state of the war in Afghanistan and the lingering aftermath of the war in Iraq. We'll talk about those who died in the war, about the wisdom of those conflicts, and the ways in which they have been conducted. And no one should question the bravery and sacrifice demonstrated by our fighting men and women as they have carried out their duties on our behalf.
What better time then to discuss the need for a debate about the importance of teaching civics?
Civic education is vital in preparing students -- future voters -- for the responsibilities and obligations of democratic citizenship. Young people should be taught how to think critically and to stand up in protest when ignorance prevails. Sadly, however, in too many instances, our schools have been failing in this civic duty.
"Guardian of Democracy: The Civic Mission of Schools," released last fall by the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, brought attention to the dismal level of civic knowledge in our country. In the 1950s and 60s, schools were required to teach three civics courses. Many now offer only one course, and it is often optional. The result? Less than a third of young people can identify the three branches of government; one-third can't name any. Most high school seniors can't even explain how citizen participation benefits democracy.
Thankfully, the report doesn't stop with sounding the alarm. Instead, it prescribes real workable solutions to improve civic learning in grades K though 12. It recommends teachers bring civics to life by integrating it into all subjects and all grades. Instead of memorizing isolated facts, students should be forced to think analytically through simulated real life scenarios.
A similar report, "A Crucible Moment," released more recently by the U.S. Department of Education argues that civics should be reinvigorated among colleges and universities, as well. In order to succeed in today's economy, one must be able to examine problems, engage others and work well in teams to come up with practical solutions for our country's crises.
A strong civic education is not about memorizing the battles of the American Revolution or reciting the names of every one of our forty-four Presidents. It is about instilling in our children an understanding of their rights and duties as citizens. It is about teaching young people to ask the hard questions and demand sometimes complicated answers. And on an occasion such as Memorial Day, it is about honoring those who fulfilled one of the greatest civic duties of all.
The state of Jeffersonian enlightenment in the realm of civic responsibility and the promotion of a healthy democracy is deplorable. The country is full of jingoists and poser patriots, passionate to defend what they do not understand - and are therefore easily mislead.
We have been encouraged to value wealth over community, and the accumulation of wealth over patriotism. Citizenship has ceased to be a code of honor and is now reduced to only a legal status.
"Asserting that democracy is not inherited at birth but rather learned in school, O'Connor founded the educational nonprofit group iCivics in 2009 to secure America's governance and prepare the next generation of citizens and leaders."
http://articles.cnn.com/2012-05-02/us/us_california-sandra-day-oconnor-civics_1_civics-education-justice-sandra-day-o-connor-young-people
http://www.icivics.org/
"Jefferson believed the elementary school was more important than the university in the plan because, as he said, it was "safer to have the whole people respectfully enlightened than a few in a high state of science and many in ignorance as in Europe" (as cited in Peterson, 1960, p. 241). He had six objectives for primary education to bring about this enlightenment and which highlighted what he hoped would make every person into a productive and informed voter:
• "To give every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business;
• To enable him to calculate for himself, and to express and preserve his ideas, his contracts, and accounts, in writing;
• To improve, by reading, his morals and faculties;
• To understand his duties to his neighbors and country, and to discharge with competence the functions confided to him by either;
• To know his rights; to exercize with order and justice those he retains; to choose with discretion the fiduciary of those he delegates; and to notice their conduct with diligence, with candor, and judgment;
• And, in general, to observe with intelligence and faithfulness all the social relations under which he shall be placed."
• that democracy cannot long exist without enlightenment.
• that it cannot function without wise and honest officials.
• that talent and virtue, needed in a free society, should be educated regardless of wealth, birth or other accidental condition.
• that the children of the poor must be thus educated at common expense."
http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/winter96/jefferson.html
The United States was founded on the premise that the people could rule themselves without theocracy or aristocracy. Government of, by, and for the masses - int the rich and powerful. It is called The Great Experiment, and its success depends on a well-educated electorate.
Think about it for a moment: Why should anyone bother to learn about our glorious democratic system when it doesn't pass the laugh test and hasn't for generations now. Ordinary people don't need to know a blasted thing about civic affairs because they have zero influence. Both political parties have been captured lock, stock and barrel by special interests -- mainly deep-pocketed corporate interests and a handful of psychopath billionaires -- and the rest of us are left outside.
Our system of semi-honest elective democracy, party-ridden as it is, has become the world's most effective instrument to thwart democracy yet devised. It is truly astounding in its ability to keep the masses tame and entertained while literally robbing them of house and home and their once formidable ability to innovate, thrive, spread wealth and compassion and stride confidently into the future.
That's all gone now. And not because the American people lost their civic awareness but because their elites decided 40 years ago that they could make a little more money by dismantling the middle class and the country they loved, thus rendering any kind of civic education a cruel joke.
But the citizens/voters do not care. All they care about is their ideology and getting as much as possible from the government trough.
Censorship is evil.
No, the goal of education today is to create a "diverse", "feel good" group of kids who never suffer the consequences of poor performance (at least academically...in really important areas like football performance still matters) nor experience the rewards of exceptional accomplishments (seems to be modeled after the current state of the teaching profession what with their "tenure" and all). Americans pay more for education than all but one other country in the world...as their kids fall further and futher behind the rest of the world academically.
If we actually start teaching these kids about the dynamics of civics and democracy and the exceptionalism of our founding fathers they might just rebel against what public education has become in America. They might re-prioritize the goals of education to focus on really important subjects instead of cosmetic feelgood measures that qualify no one for a decent job.
I don't know if the humanities or the social sciences are what you call feelgood degrees, but they're arguably more likely to incur a sense of social and political awareness than business or engineering.
But we can't have that because there is always somebody offended. It's not just civics that is suffering but also civility - the ability to argue and debate with personalizing. That's because meaningful discussions don't take place in schools.
Imagine any of the following being discussed:
- Was Roe v Wade a well reasoned and based on precedent decision?
- What are the limits of the 2nd amendment (private ownership of artillery?)?
- What are the arguments against evolution and what are the responses to those arguments?
- How should healthcare be paid for? Equality? Resource distribution?
- Gay marriage?
and probably a dozen more.
Each of those would produce countless teachable moments about our constitution and how our government works.
But, if I were a teacher, I wouldn't dare broach any of those unless I had tenure, the support of the school board, and a good lawyer.
Instead we teach Dred Scott and Plessy. Sure, they are important historically but thye put kids to sleep.
Most schools don't even teach Tinker out of fear of giving
Not knowing the three branches of our government is bad enough; but is it any worse than knowing what the three branches are, but having no understanding of their respective roles and responsibilities, distinguishing them one from the other?
We can't even intelligently and respectfully debate with one another anymore. Without independent knowledge of the issues, any discussion, especially where there is disagreement, is reduced to talking points and media spin and ultimately, name-calling.
The dumbing down of our country is something that we all must be held accountable for - the media, our government, both parties, and the people themselves - for we have all, in our own way, and some more than others, contributed to this phenomenon; and sadly, we will all suffer the consequences of our ignorance. But the biggest cost will be paid by our children ...
We are rapidly becoming a nation of what Vaclav Havel called idiot specialists--people who only know about their own field but do not know about much beyond it or even how to think about other things.
It's amazing to me that not even half of the american population that's eligable to vote, voted in the midterm elections.
Timescarecdifferentbthan the 60's. Maybe time has come to require a simple civics test in order to vote. Can't we expect at least as much competence to voteas drive a car?