The Gramscian march: student ignorance of basic elements of US government
It’s depressing but not the least surprising to learn that our students are abysmally ignorant of civics, so ignorant that few could pass a basic citizenship test. A political science professor at Suffolk Community College in New York administered one, and this was the result:
On the first day of class, I give my students a citizenship exam asking very basic questions about our founding and our system of governance. Some of the questions include:
Who is the Speaker of the House?
Which branch of government has the power to declare war?
Who is considered the father of the Constitution?
How many Supreme Court Justices are there?
What safeguard is in place to prevent one branch of government from becoming much more powerful than the other branches?
All of the following are guaranteed rights under the First Amendment, except?The overwhelming majority of students fail the exam. After twelve years of administering this exam, only 348 students have passed out of 2,176. A shameful indictment of our K-12 education system.
Even worse, the passing rate has dropped compared to when I first began giving the exam and has been stagnant over the last five years.
I actually think most students would fail a test even easier than that one. And I think most adults would fail that one as well.
I didn’t read the Constitution in grammar or high school, and yet I was taught many of its elements in civics class (not in history class). But only the most basic ones, such as the Bill of Rights. And I don’t think the 10th Amendment was emphasized at all, for example; I seem to recall that the concept of “states’ rights” was mainly associated with Southern states trying to perpetuate segregation, and therefore was labeled bad. The general principle behind federalism and the limitation of the powers of the federal government got lost in the shuffle – and perhaps even back then the loss was intentional.
Nevertheless, what I think is also very important is that we were taught to revere the US rather than to hate it. We were taught there had been problems in this country – slavery being an obvious one – but that the general thrust of our purpose and history had been and still was a good one.
We were taught that there were certain overarching principles that were almost sacred and without which that “goodness” would fall away. Freedom of speech was a major one; the rule of law and equality under the law was another. That latter principle was why the civil rights movements was so important and why something like lynching was such a a terrible terrible thing. We were taught that it was not okay to cut a great road though the law to get after the devil, as in “A Man For All Seasons” – although without reference to the play about More.
Very little of that seems to be operating in education today, and hasn’t for a long time.
[NOTE: See almost any post of mine about Allan Bloom for more context on how long this has been going on.]
Seen many of these little videos though wonder how much selection they do, 1 ot of 5? Or 10?
But am sure with all the articles I have read on blogs it’s Marxist Seminaries to teach radicals and Critical Race Theory not actually social studies I had as a kid on government.
How many candidates for (D) presidential nomination can answer those? Or how many states there are? Or what language they speak in Austria?
Our institutions, top to bottom, have been hollowed out by the termites of socialism / communism and short term ‘what’s in it for me?’ thinking.
Too many Americans (not only young students) are ignorant of many important matters, including civics, but also history, science, and, perhaps worst of all, geography. Jimmy Kimmel is certainly a “woke” moron (and no longer amusing), but one can find on YouTube a very entertaining video (“Can You Name a Country?”) from his show of several years ago, in which passersby are asked to identify nations on a map. The results are even more horrifying than one might have imagined, although it is certainly possible that the clip was selectively edited and manipulated for comic effect. Perhaps the worst part of the ignorance, amongst the youthful, related to civics concerns the illegitimate and unconstitutional notion of “hate speech”.
Neo,
Maybe add “Please read the whole thing” to this post. The second part of the professor’s testing process is even more interesting — handing out part of the Russian Constitution as the US Constitution, with “Russia” being replaced with “the United States” and other terms adjusted accordingly — and the students don’t catch it! Wow.
He then goes on to explain his purposes in the assignments, beyond checking for knowledge of our Constitution. Namely, that the students just went ahead and did the second assignment on the assumption that the handout must be the US Constitution because the professor said so, even though some may have sensed that something was wrong. I.e., follow and voice your gut instincts notwithstanding that I am the supposed authority figure.
I had an education similar to yours. I think it was in 10th grade social studies that we had to memorize the Preamble to the Constitution. I remember discussing the list of powers of Congress, including the Necessary and Proper Clause. I don’t remember much else — like you, certainly not a discussion of the 10th Amendment (or the 9th). I think that most people, to the extent that they think about it at all, would say that the federal government is omnipotent — i.e., that Congress can validly enact laws on any subject it wants.
There was a similar survey done with politicians – if I recall if was mostly local and state level, not federal level – and it was shocking to me that one of the question was to name the three branches of government that most got wrong.
Many included “the military” as one of the branches of the government.
What? These people who were elected to pass laws to control our lives couldn’t answer such a basic “just how does the government work?” question. That I find very scary.
Neo, it is possible that it was here on your Blog that I first read about that survey. I did a quick look but didn’t see it though.
And while the Jay Leno clips etc are done for comic effect; surveys/tests such as the one done by this professor are more aligned with reality and are scary because if people don’t know what it is that we have they will so easily let it be taken away. And it won’t be until it is too late to realize what they have lost.
Tiny flash of hope: My eighth grade granddaughter had been taught about the Quartering Acts–thought they were really stupid and annoying–on the way to explaining the kind of odd Third Amendment. Presume some other good stuff went on in that class.
Forget about whether your country is objectively good or not.
Forget about whether you even support public schools.
If public education in any country is not inculcating love for the nation, it’s obviously been taken over by people who want to use it for other ends than it was originally intended.
I had civics in 3rd or 4th grade. Possibly both grade levels. It wasn’t awesome, but we did cover the basics reasonably well and I remembered most of it.
I had this conversation with my accountant and friend about financial literacy for kids. I made the point that they all should be exposed to the basics before they graduate from high school. He surprised me by saying that he thought they should be exposed to it in the 2nd or 3rd grade. His point was that in his experience they are probably picking up bad habits from their parents before they even get out of grade school.
There’s not a not a strong correlation between the two topics, but even so. Get ’em while they are young, I say.
I wonder how many people aren’t even at the schoolhouse rock level of civics?
We all took civics in high school (Phoenix public schools, late 60s). We read the Constitution. I remember reading the Federalist Papers. All the questions in this quiz were covered.
A great many teachers have ‘education’ degrees, which might be of some use if they taught comparative approaches to teaching math or reading or grammar; if they taught lesson planning; if they taught educational testing; if they had lecturing drills; if they had a course on learning disabilities; if they included credits for internships and stipended apprenticeships. Nowadays, education degree programs incorporate little of that.
Full-bore subject training need not be a part of the preparation of elementary teachers, but some portion of the elementary school teaching corps should have a certificate in American history, geography, and civics and some portion a general science certificate.
“The overwhelming majority of students fail the exam. The pass rate for the test is 70%. Out of the approximately 175 students, only 11 of them were able to pass the exam.” Professor of Political Science, Nicholas Giordano
This is a dangerous situation, one beyond dispute. That said, the Left is busily imposing a grim personal reality upon those with the least resources to adjust to it. There will be a revolt.
“The WEF Confirms Climate Lockdowns”
https://www.centerforthepreservationofhumanity.com/news/the-wef-confirms-climate-lockdowns
“World Economic Forum and UN Sign Strategic Partnership Framework”
One thing to remember: these are community college students. Median secondary school performance among them was one might wager somewhere around the 45th percentile of their cohort.
Note, the text of the federal constitution with amendments runs to about 7,500 words, or about 13 typed pages, perhaps 15 pages with interstitial spacing between headings and text and between paragraphs. Couple of evenings worth of homework in that class…
Most people, I think, just don’t care. We have a very “me” centric culture. Forgive me but I’m cynical as hell at this point. Are there any metrics on how people responded in the past?
I attended conservative Catholic schools from 6-12th grade in the 60s. I couldn’t have answered the questions above well. I might have done better in Florida public schools where they had a course called “Americanism vs Communism.”
When I became political, from the left, in the 80s, I had a lot of catching up to do. As far as I’m concerned, I’m still catching up.
Today I was not sure who was the “Father of the Constitution.” My guess was James Madison, and I was right, but it was a guess.
Nevertheless, what I think is also very important is that we were taught to revere the US rather than to hate it. We were taught there had been problems in this country – slavery being an obvious one – but that the general thrust of our purpose and history had been and still was a good one.
–neo
Agreed.
However, it seemed to me I was taught to idolize America above all else without question and it kinda went into the BS hopper of stuff I was supposed to nod along to, like the perfection of the Catholic Church or the indisputable evil of marijuana.
I felt like adults, near and far, were constantly lying to me, and I couldn’t figure it out beyond I would have to figure it out for myself.
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When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school
It’s a wonder I can think at all
And though my lack of education hasn’t hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall
#KODACHROME Paul Simon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HA9eOv7LGw
So what do you teach the young?
I complain, but I’m older than that now.
To some extent the young must start with a simplified “Santa Claus” world to understand. Training wheels.
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[In “Bios & Mythos”] Campbell invokes what was to become one of his favorite images for the function of myth: that of the marsupial pouch, the second womb. Here, more than elsewhere in his work, Campbell emphasizes myth as an intermediary aid that the individual can outgrow.
https://www.jcf.org/works/quote/human-adulthood-is-not-achieved-until-the-twenties/
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That’s what’s at stake today.
Who will provide which myths for the young to outgrow?
@Huxley: “Who will provide which myths for the young to outgrow?”
And the corollary “is will they outgrow the (flawed) myths?”
Will they be able to face reality and accept responsibility (for fixing what they find), which I assert is required for us to return to the path of liberty. I doubt few here disagree with that.
From your link: ” … In deference to Róheim, who defined myth as a mechanism for satisfying the universal human desire to return to the infant’s safety with its mother…” Is this Freudian psycho babble or real belief among current therapists, et al.? [I have never taken a formal course in psychology.] Presumably most of us went through the adolescent stage of moving away from parental control to self independence, away from infantilism, etc. Most achieve this responsible separation by age 18 to 25 or so. It may occur gradually and not all at once, and may be thwarted by bad parenting or educational abuse. Is that the ” pouch or “second womb” stage being referenced above?
Essentially, aren’t myths “explanations” to get around ignorance of reality, whether paleolithic, Egyptian, Greek, or 21st century [AGW]? Even an ugly truth is more beautiful than an artful lie, per Ode to a Grecian Urn. I agree there are age appropriate limitations that should be respected: no or limited sexual topics before 8 or 9; maybe even avoiding deep history and civics before 8 or 9 except for a mild form of social indoctrination. Some of the principles and ideas are rather abstract and the child needs some experience of the world to truly comprehend them, as do all too many adults. Prodigies can handle math or music, etc. at younger ages, but may need sheltering in other areas.
I think we are in basic agreement, but I felt the need to respond.
In my day you took a Constitution course in eighth grade and if you failed the test you didn’t graduate to ninth grade (freshmen year in high school). You were held back until you passed the test. It was a rule that was strictly enforced. The Constitution course was taught in “social studies” class in which you were also taught history, civics, and geography. It was a good system.
Also every morning at the start of the school day we stood beside our desks, placed a hand over our hearts, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance” — the “under God” version.
Most of the young people that I talk to, admittedly few, have little grasp of the doctrine of separation of powers, or checks and balances. The concept of states rights is viewed universally as bad. That is the limit to their understanding of federalism. They are unaware that cities and states declaring themselves immigration sanctuaries is a prime example of federalism.
I believe that the only way to prevent a hot civil war is a wholesale return to federalism, and an extension of the concept to even the smallest political unit. Right down to city councils and local school boards.
We reviewed the Constitution in 8th grade social studies and I know the answer to all the questions on the quiz. It’s not that hard, you just have to want to know them.
If you know American history and follow the news, you probably pick up most of what civics classes teach, but most people don’t do either, let alone both.
One reason for reading a lot of American history was thinking the country was great and good. If the schools and the general culture teach you that your country is something to be ashamed of, you probably won’t bother with either history or civics. If you’re taught that the Constitution was the product of old White male slaveowners, you probably won’t want to learn much more about it than that.
IrishOtter49:
And I’m so old I remember reciting the pledge without the “under God” because it hadn’t been added yet, and then I remember when they added it. I was very very little, but I still remember.
R2L:
Thanks for the response.
I don’t get too Freudian or Campbellian. I take Campbell’s point that myths of some sort, including Santa Claus, are part of the human experience because whatever the Truth may be, it’s probably bigger than us poor humans can handle, especially as children. We need some way to grow big enough to assimilate more truth.
I complain that I felt lied to when I was young, including all that Yankee-Doodle-Dandy stuff, that it seemed adults told me more for their benefit than mine.
Yet I agree with neo, that it’s important to have some reverence for one’s country, especially a country as great as America.
I’m not sure how to handle reverence and warts at the same time. The solution today is to forget reverence and get into the warts.
But emphasizing the warts is another set of lies told to benefit a different set of adults.