Independence Day - Our Uninformed Citizenry, And High Schoolers, Too

Christams Lady

On this patriotic holiday of parades, picnics, and fireworks displays, how many of us really know what we´re celebrating (besides a day off from work, that is)? Let´s see...

  1. When was the Declaration of Independence signed?
  2. Who was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence?
  3. What are the first words of the Declaration of Independence?
  4. Where was the first American capitol located?

Correct answers come later; for now consider the findings of a recent Intercollegiate Studies Institute survey which asked 2,508 randomly chosen citizens 33 basic history, government, and economics questions that high schoolers and new citizens should be able to answer.

The results: The average score was 49%, with college educators faring little better with 55%. Twice as many were familiar with American Idol´s Paula Abdul than knew the source of the phrase, "Government of the people, by the people, for the people." Do you know?

While many of us can´t even seem to name our current vice-president, naturalized citizens certainly can--and then some. They have to in order to pass the naturalization test. For instance, do you know . . .

  1. When the Constitution was written?
  2. The number of amendments in the Constitution?
  3. The number of U.S. Senators?
  4. How often U.S. Senators are elected? How about U.S. Representatives?
  5. Why some states have more Representatives than others?

Actor Richard Dreyfuss is certainly worried about our collective civics ignorance, saying, "The teaching of civics presently in the United States is dismal and startling. It used to be, when I was a kid, that there were classes in civics and you learned not only the checks and balances, but the hows and whys and wherefores. And you learned what was the reasoning behind the creation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights ..."

The goal of his Dreyfuss Initiative is to get K-12 civics classes back in our schools again in order, he says, "to give our children real-world knowledge and hopefully wisdom about how to run this complex governance system. That´s it. That´s enough." And we need it, too.

The Goldwater Institute recently pulled ten questions from the citizenship test and found that only 3.5% of the 1,350 Arizona public high schoolers surveyed could correctly answer enough questions to pass the whole thing. Charter and private school students did only somewhat better with 7% and 14%, respectively. No bragging rights anywhere.

For instance, only 29.5% of the students knew that the Constitution is America´s supreme law; 9.4% correctly said there are nine Supreme Court justices; and 25.3% were aware that Thomas Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence. Worse yet: only 26.5% knew that George Washington was our first president!

Seems it´s time we all become better acquainted with American history-and talking it up at home, instead of just relying on schools to get the civics job done. To refresh memories, dust off those old history texts and sit down with such informative reads as David McCullough´s 1776. Bring the kids along to libraries and bookstores; they´re brimming with historically relevant titles for all ages. And, don´t forget that America´s story is waiting for you and your family in such places as Valley Forge National Historical Park, Philadelphia´s many historic sites, and Gettysburg, to name just a few.

Without question, an informed citizenry is essential if America is to maintain its standing in the world, so make an Independence Day pledge to rediscover and share this country´s history and government with your children and friends. Dreyfuss is right on when he declares, "I believe that America is a miracle, and I think that there is nothing easier in the world than for us to lose this miracle and to be reduced to words on paper."

Answers:

  1. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776.
  2. John Hancock was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence
  3. The first words are, "When in the course of human events . . ."
  4. Philadelphia was America´s first capitol.

The phrase, "Government of the people . . ." is in Lincoln´s Gettysburg Address.

  1. The Constitution was written in 1787.
  2. There are 27 Constitutional amendments
  3. There are 100 U.S. Senators, 2 from each state.
  4. U.S. Senators are elected every 6 years; U.S. Representatives every 2 years.
  5. The number of Representatives is determined by each state´s population

Carol is a learning specialist who worked with middle school children and their parents at the Methacton School District in Pennsylvania for more than 25 years and now supervises student teachers at Gwynedd-Mercy College.

Along with the booklet, 149 Parenting School-Wise Tips: Intermediate Grades & Up, and numerous articles in such publications as Teaching Pre-K-8 and Curious Parents, she has authored three successful learning guidebooks: Getting School-Wise: A Student Guidebook, Other-Wise and School-Wise: A Parent Guidebook, and ESL Activities for Every Month of the School Year.

For more information, go to http://www.schoolwisebooks.com or contact Carol at carol@schoolwisebooks.com.