Civics Education Across America Civics education is empowering, timely, important, and unfortunately, lacking. As a required curriculum for high school graduation, civics education is considered to be an essential aspect to teenagers’ education, but that doesn’t stop teachers from failing to inform young people of their role in our political society. Author Chester E. Finn Jr. wrote “The Failure of Civics Education” which highlights the importance of teaching civil education early in a person’s life. Erika Christakis wrote “The War on Public Schools” which discusses the lack of attention that public schools have and touches on the subject of civics education within public schools. Both authors give efficient arguments and statistics that support …show more content…
Finn Jr. begins by claiming high school students are not learning much civics. According to the Education Commission of the States, taking high school civics is a graduation requirement. Fewer than one-fourth of high school seniors could supply a sufficient answer to a question regarding the role citizens have in changing laws. There is a continuing awareness to the unsolved problem of lack of civics education. The failure of educating students on civics was brought to our attention in a recent survey conducted by John Villasenor. Villasenor polled a number of students to gauge their understanding of the First Amendment, one of the most basic and fundamental aspects of civics education. On the other hand, Finn. Jr. brings attention to the opposing view of civics education. Civics curricula can overemphasize citizens’ rights at the expense of their responsibilities. Villasenor concluded that many college students are unaware of their rights that come with the First Amendment. Colleges must clean up their acts, but this won’t be very easy given the faculty members’ wimpishness and campus leaders’ behaviors. Parents, community groups, churches and coaches all share this responsibility. Fifty states today believe they are teaching civics, but truly aren’t. This is a serious issue. In addition to this intense issue, public schools are facing a dilemma as well …show more content…
The second article introduces the significance of their issue by quoting two authority figures, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, who agree with her stance on the issue with our school system. Article one describes the importance of civics education in the college setting. On the other hand, article two focuses mainly on civics education in a public-school setting, going along with the article’s main issue. Article one describes the neglect of civics education outside of school. Finn Jr. talks about the role parents, teachers, and coaches have in civics education as well. Article two mentions neglect of civics education, but stays centered on the neglect of public schools all together. Christakis mentions how the neglect of public schools makes it hard to defend the need for public schools at all. In article one, the solution for the issue discussed is for colleges to clean up their act. Finn Jr. puts the responsibility on college leaders and faculty. In contrast, the second article proposes the solution of renewing our commitment to the idea that public schools are a worthy investment to young
On the national civics assessment, “two-thirds of 12th graders scored below ‘proficient’…and only 9 percent could list two ways a democracy benefits from citizen participation” (O’Connor and Romer 4). The information provided clarifies just how little students know about democracy. Without education on the subject, they are unaware as to how their government contribution is beneficial and why it is needed in the first place. The students, because of their lack of understanding, therefore choose to not take part in their government and fail to carry out their duties as a citizen. The authors provide more research that shows “the better people understand our history and system of government, the more likely they are to vote and participate in the civic life” (O’Connor and Romer 8).
...adults compared to older adults were less likely to respond that voting was extremely important for good citizenship (133). He concludes that it is too late for the generation of young adults that do not feel voting is an important civic responsibility, however, that it is not too late to convince them that politics matter by showing them that they are giving their opportunity to make important decisions that may impact their lives to others who have different ideas. One may agree with Wattenberg’s idea that habits follow people throughout their lives instead of changing as they cycle in life. His personal accounts are an impactful way to illustrate the importance of building a sense of duty at a young age and carrying that responsibility throughout one’s life.
Labaree discusses how the United State’s education is in a school syndrome, as people in America want schools to teach society’s ideals as well as let people express their individuality. These two demands are polar opposites that cannot be achieved. As the focus goes towards balancing these in hopes of improving society as a whole, the bettering of actual student learning is put on pause. Labaree talks about the beginning of education reform, in the 19th century, being the most successful in developing society; however, as education reform continued throughout time, its effectiveness wore off. He then addresses how the desire for education reform is more about improving society than it is about learning. He finishes his argument by providing possible solutions to fixing this problem, but states that fixing this problem will never happen because no one is willing to give up both demands. Overall, Labaree goes in wonderful detail explaining the problems of education reform. What made me choose this article was that he addressed the desire that people have on school systems in promoting both society normality and individuality. This correlates well with my topic in whether public school systems promote conformist ideals or individuality.
An article from the Los Angeles Times showed that the majority of Californians give California schools “a grade of C or below” and half think that the quality of schools will continue to decline (Watanabe). While the economic downturn affected the public school system in a negative way, it was not the sole root of its problems. It just simply exacerbated existing issues. Because of widespread discontent with the public school system, many different solutions to reform the mainstream public school system have been brought up in public discourse.... ...
It is our civic right and duty to actively participate in governmental affairs. This recent election really highlighted the divide in opinion regarding the importance of governmental participation. “To many, our democratic system seems so broken that they have simply lost faith that their participation could really matter,” West writes in his essay entitled The Deep Democratic Tradition in America. Young people feel unimportant and irrelevant, which explains the lack in turnout from young voters ages 18-29. However, it wasn’t just young voters that didn’t turnout. Millions of eligible voters didn’t show up for the 2016 elections. A democracy without active participants is a democracy bound for
How the judicial branch rules in cases relating to the 1st and how they relate that to all the rights of public school students. This includes anything from flag burning to not saluting the flag to practicing religion in school. The main point of this paper is to focus on the fact that schools have a greater ability to restrict speech than government.
Schools are the basic foundation of knowledge, which is imparted to children. They give a chance for children to gain knowledge in various fields such as humanity, literature, history, mathematics and science. By obtaining knowledge, they are in a better position to know the world around them. A school is a society where faith and other values are developed. Schools also play an important role in a democratic social set up. Students of today are the citizens of tomorrow. Schools are the backbone of a society, where children interact with other children and develop certain social skills. Education in schools opens doors to various opportunities that would not be possible if it had not been for the knowledge one gained at school. However, in the articles, “Idiot Nation” by Michael Moore and “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto, the authors express their concerns about the degrading quality of education. There are many problems the education system is facing today, and several of them are having negative effects on the quality of the education that the students are receiving which are highlighted aptly by the effective use of rhetorical strategies by Moore and Gatto.
At the beginning of each day in many public and private schools around the country, students stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. In fact, 35 states have passed laws mandating that the Pledge be recited on a daily basis. This issue has been a source of controversy for years. On one side of the argument exists families and educators who believe in the citizenship and patriotism that reciting the Pledge brings (Chiodo, 2011). On the opposing side, families and educators argue the possible threat to an individual’s First Amendment freedoms.
Something I have always known since I was a little kid is that the educational system in this country is a complete fraud. American schools claim to live by the ideal of No Child Left Behind, but millions of students get cast aside each and every year. In schools these days, it is obvious which students are the elite—those that are raised up and motivated to go to college—and the ordinary student— those that are somewhat ignored throughout their schooling and are lucky if they even earn a GED. As a recent graduate of high school, and a product of this country’s educational system, I have had the opportunity to develop my own opinions regarding the myth of education in our society. Based upon my observations going through the school system, and the various arguments posed by several authors in “Rereading America”, I strongly believe that schooling in this society caters solely to students in the elite category while ostracizing students that do not live up to the elitist ideal.
Education is one of the cornerstones and pillars to the establishment and preservation of democracy. In history, countless scores of philosophers and political thinkers believed that only an educated citizenry can take on the quintessential task of upholding democracy. Thomas Jefferson, the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, stated that “an informed citizenry is the only true repository of the public will.” A renowned defender of public education, Jefferson proposed plans for an education system that included grammar schools in his presidency. As a result of these relentless policies for education, the United States expanded on the concept of public instruction through the establishment and upkeep of a practical education system. The United States continued this tradition and established a reputation as one of the best education in the world. Currently, this is no longer valid as other countries such as Finland, China, and South Korea are competing for the dominant position through rigorous reforms that aim to boost student performances (“Best Education”). Meanwhile, the American system is inefficient, inhibited by political obstacles and gridlock while Finland, the top ranked country in terms of schooling, is continuing to improve. According to the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) examinations that tested pupils across a variety of subjects such as reading, mathematics, and science of 2009, Finland’s students were ranked among the top (“PISA 2009”). The American students were ranked below average for industrialized countries in the world, revealing the reality of the educational crisis in the country. Finland’s education system, compared to the Americans, offers major differences that greatly ...
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the American educational system has undergone much transition in response to our changing society. Though there have been many problems raised throughout the years in regard to what our school systems should be teaching our children, there have also been many developments.
High school and college dropout rates are at an all time high. Secondary school students are told throughout high school that if they don’t go to college then they will never be successful. Going to college doesn’t always make a difference because many career choices such as teachers and lawyers are highly contested and result in either no job or low salary. Low pay deters teacher’s motivation and they tend to work part time jobs to supplement their income. Public schools standards are comparable to a kangaroo court’s procedure; private schools are known for better teachers, environment, and test grades. The major problems in the public school system include the lack of funding, lack of resources, and lack of standards.
The recent decline in young people’s participation in political and civic activities has resulted in a revival within the field of civic education. Formal education institutions are not the only ones concerned about youth engagement, however. A number of community agencies and nonprofits are active at the local level throughout the country. They are working to engage young people through a variety of methods, few of which have been researched to determine their effectiveness. One such community e...
Green, Donald. "Youth Voting” THE CENTER FOR INFORMATION & RESEARCH ON CIVIC LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT. Tufts University, 2012. Web. 02 Oct 2013. .
A time approaches in every person’s life when they must come to learn new things. Speaking on behalf of all those who have attended school at some point in their life, I must say that most do not like it for its educational significance. Today’s youth undervalue the worth of America’s public school system to the point of shame. Hard-working, underpaid teachers and professors prepare to educate these ingrates as their living, and it’s exasperating for the students to not even care. I must be fair though and call attention to the fact that not everyone shares this loathe for education and schooling.