I recently stumbled upon this:
1954 8th Grade Civics Test - Could You Pass?
And I found it awfully interesting. In the 1950's, the nation's 13 and 14 year olds were expected to know the entire Bill of Rights, all the Supreme Court Justices, the cabinet positions and their current occupants, and all other types of government related questions. While this presents an unique view into the past, it also serves as a sad reminder of how little our society knows today.
According to a study conducted by Findlaw.com, in a post I found here "57 percent of Americans can't name any current U.S. Supreme Court justices...only 43 percent of American adults can name at least one justice who is currently serving on the nation's highest court."
And we wonder why our elected officials so often fail to perform satisfactorily. American's seemingly take so little interest in our government, it makes perfect sense that we would elect all sorts of shady characters into public office.
It almost seems like what we need is another red scare/cold war, which was the impetus behind the increased education of governmental workings during the '50s. Back then, being patriotic meant that you could name the Supreme Court Justices, and describe the Presidential requirements, whereas today patriotism means drinking American beer and waving the flag in the face of anyone you meet. What will it take to return to educational system that actually prepares student's for productive, active citizenship? Well, it may be the case that nothing will be done, and when we realize what happened, it will already be too late...
Joking aside, I do believe that this is a serious problem, and it was a good sign to see the enthusiasm about democracy that Barack Obama brought out among the younger generation last fall. Hopefully this increased activism will continue, and it will spur our society back to understanding the importance of civics class and the value of a solid understanding of our governmental system. After all, it is today's children that are tomorrow's voters, and we owe it to them to appropriately prepare them to do the best they can do.
57 minutes ago
4 comments:
I agree completely. Our founders recognized that an educated electorate was essential to the healthy functioning of our democracy. Sadly, we seem to have lost sight of that as funding for education tends to be one of the first things cut in times of economic downturn.
Well said vjack. It certainly is sad that in times of economic hardship, some of the most important things are the first to go. But in some sense, this is the darker side of democracy and capitalism: For certain parties, it is better for them to have a dumbed down, inactive citizen base rather than an intelligent, involved one. It is easy for those in power to believe that once they get there, they are invulnerable. As responsible citizens, it is our duty to keep politicians in check in order to make sure they don't lose sight of the things that are important for all of society, not just their wallets or egos.
Okay, in defense of my generation (and because my mom works in educational testing and has seen old tests like this before):
1) We have MORE Cabinet positions now. That doesn't mean people shouldn't know some (or in my case, remember the names of four and the physical appearance and some policy traits/actions of others).
2) We have MORE access to information. Sure, the average American today might not know all those things. But we have Google.
3) Our lives are way more complicated.
Dude - your comments are super-restrictive! I can't even arrow up to edit a typo. Grr! (Love ya but hate your comment restrictions.)
Those are just points AJ, and I agree with all three. However, just because we have constant access to Google doesn't mean we should come to completely rely on it.
I know I know, I apologize for the comment system. That is why I took your advice and upgraded to the Intense Debate version, and its much better!!
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