The excessive discord among American political factions, and the rejection of traditional American values by a sizeable minority, may be fueled by the stunning inadequacy of the public education system, particularly in the teaching of civics and history. A fatal lack of knowledge about the meaning of the unique U.S. Constitutional form of government and the growing absence of historical memory warps the national dialogue.
Leftists and conservatives alike have worried about this issue. But what is to blame?
A Forbes article by George Leef reports that “A good many educators take seriously the idea that teaching is a political activity and accordingly feel justified in using their classrooms as platforms for spreading their social, economic, and philosophical beliefs. They want to act as “change agents” who will improve the world…Most of those educators have been imbued with a leftist cast of mind – hostile to capitalism, private property, and anything that stands in the way of their utopian visions of a just society brought about through government power. Instances like the recent ones at UC Santa Barbara (where a professor physically attacked a student who was peacefully protesting abortion) and Eastern Connecticut (where a writing professor went off on a rant about how evil Republicans are) are pretty common.”
Jonathon Cole, writing in The Atlantic, notes that “While there surely are many varied causes for the current American political situation, one among those is the relative ignorance of basic American history…and what some refer to as “civics” among a large sector of our population. It is testimony to the failure of the country’s education system that a high percentage of the voting-age population is simply ignorant of basic facts—knowledge that is necessary to act reasonably and rationally in the political process. This void isn’t limited to those with little education or those without significant professional achievements. It is telling, for example, that in 2009, 89 percent of those who took a test on civic knowledge expressed confidence they could pass it; in fact, 83 percent would have failed.”
The American Bar Association has long worried about this issue. In 2011, Mark Hansen, writing in the ABA Journal stressed that “Parents traditionally worry about what their children are learning in school, but it’s what those students are not learning that’s even more unsettling.”
Supportive Behaviour While Talking About ED Your partner shall likely notice issues that you are utilizing the addictive pharmaceutical medications, the naturopathic spehttp://valsonindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/VIL-DIV-2009-2010_final.xls online viagrats know the withdraw process that will simultaneously replace the anti-depressant medication with natural alternatives. This accurate identical capsule is also available as a branded discount viagra sale valsonindia.com. This helps to maintain an erection. female cialis Kamagra is introduced in two forms: Kamagra wholesale viagra tablets and oral jelly. Educational professionals are aware of the challenge. Chester Finn, writing for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute on Excellence in Education worries about the failure of civics education.
The Education Commission of the United States conducted a comprehensive survey on the teaching of civics. Finn states that “We’ve known for a while—thanks to the National Assessment and other measures—that American primary-secondary students aren’t learning a heckuva lot of civics… NAEP assessed civics in 2006 and found that fewer than a quarter of high school seniors could supply a satisfactory answer to a question about the means by which citizens can change laws. uCenter surveyed American adults in 2014 and found that only 36 percent could name the three branches of the U.S. government…”
A 2017 study by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that “Many Americans are poorly informed about basic constitutional provisions, according to a new national survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center…More than a third of those surveyed (37 percent) can’t name any of the rights guaranteed under the First Amendment; Only a quarter of Americans (26 percent) can name all three branches of government. ‘Protecting the rights guaranteed by the Constitution presupposes that we know what they are. The fact that many don’t is worrisome,’ said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania…”
That research is echoed by The Brookings Institute: that asks “…do America’s young people have the tools they need to assess candidates for public office and influence the policy process? The statistics say no. According to a new book edited by David Feith, young Americans know little about the Bill of Rights, the democratic process, or the civil rights movement. Three of every four high school seniors aren’t proficient in civics, nine of ten aren’t proficient in U.S. history, and the problem is aggravated by a lack of civic education at the university level.”
The Report Concludes Tuesday, May 29.
Photo: Smithsonian Institute