Elana Berkowitz and Mark Pike, OffTheBus correspondents, follow the youth beat this week while traveling through Iowa. Know of people they should interview? Events they should attend? Email us at campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute just released a new study on "American civic literacy" in higher education polling for the Top 10 Things College Students "Unlearn" About American History. The ISI surveyed 14,000 undergraduates and based their list on comparing what a student "unlearns" on a particular question between their freshman and senior years. The list includes: President Washington's foreign policy, the Monroe Doctrine, Jamestown Settlement, War of 1812 and so on.
If you think this seems like a "gotcha" game that is a more sophisticated version of FOX's "Who is Smarter than a 5th Grader?" you're not too far off base. However, the study claims that it has direct impact on current civic engagement of that most sought after and simultaneously reviled voter demographic - young people.
Dr. Richard Brake, director of ISI's Lehrman American Studies Center, says "These students are ... expected to go to the polls on Election Day to make informed decisions about the future leadership of this country--how can they exercise judgment and wisdom without basic knowledge of American history, government, economics and foreign policy?"
I certainly wouldn't deny that understanding the birth of American political, civic and economic life should be a prerequisite for any thoughtful citizen interested in understanding the origins of our current system. However, the notion that these particular factoids are the kinds of things young voters need to know to participate in an election seems absurd. A nuanced understanding of, say, the history of the civil rights movement or how a bill becomes law or what the specific policy proposals of each candidate are would seem to serve students better. These kind of surveys and doomsday articles about the sorry state of student historical understanding seem to crop up every once in a while. While their findings should be quite worrisome for education advocates and the general public, using it as an excuse to slap one's forehead about the plight of the young voter seems like a red herring.
Jaci Wilkinson is an articulate high school senior who supports Edwards because of his economic policies but attended a recent Clinton campaign event with her aunt and uncle, who support Clinton and Obama respectively. This will be Wilkinson's first caucus and, as she put it, "I am so so excited." She seemed game when I proposed that she undergo some civics test questions to see if she was up to snuff. After giving thoughtfully correct answers on the Jamestown and Monroe Doctrine questions, she bristled at the very exercise. "I think this stuff might be useful but young people who are going to vote need to know more about the environment, civil rights issues, global opinion on America, and Middle East geography."