Can You Pass A U.S. Citizenship Test?
Update: The citizenship test is so simply one would think any American should be able to pass it. However, I am constantly amazed at the ignorance of people. Back when Jay Leno was on TV, he would do a segment called "Jay Walking," where he would go out on the street and ask people the simplest American history questions or current events question or geography question or ask then to identify by name a picture of the Vice President or some other well-know public figure. It is amazing how many people could not answer the question. When O'Riley was on Fox, he had a similar segment called "Watters' World," in which the reporter would ask people on the street very basic questions that one would think everyone would know the answer to, but most did not.
These segments of Watters' World and Jay Walking were funny. However, I always suspected that these were not representative. I suspected that these segments edited out the knowledgeable people, because if people knew the answers it would not be entertaining.
Today I got a fund raising letter from Intercollegiate Studies Institute which argued that liberal college professors prevent our founding principles from being passed to the next generation. It referenced an ISI survey of 2,500 undergraduate students and said, "incredibly, 51 percent could not name the three branches of government." That is astounding! Think about it. These are college students who probably think they are smart and who probably vote, and yet they can not name the three branches of government.
With this kind of ignorance, I fear for our country. We must work to turn this around. Citizens should demand that civics be taught in schools and that students have a certain basic level of civic literacy before they graduate. Parents who can afford it need to send their children to good private schools. Even if one can send their own child to a private school or even if one has no children, we all have a interest in having an educated citizenry. People need to get involved. Education is too important to be left up to educators. Conservatives and even good liberals who believe people should have a basic level of civic literacy should run for school boards. The field of education, like the field of journalism, has been dominated by liberals for a very long time. More conservatives need to be encouraged to become teachers. We should support with our charitable giving those organizations like Intercollegiate Studies Institute and the 917 Society and others that are trying to change things. If we cannot turn this around, we may be part of the last free generation.
These segments of Watters' World and Jay Walking were funny. However, I always suspected that these were not representative. I suspected that these segments edited out the knowledgeable people, because if people knew the answers it would not be entertaining.
Today I got a fund raising letter from Intercollegiate Studies Institute which argued that liberal college professors prevent our founding principles from being passed to the next generation. It referenced an ISI survey of 2,500 undergraduate students and said, "incredibly, 51 percent could not name the three branches of government." That is astounding! Think about it. These are college students who probably think they are smart and who probably vote, and yet they can not name the three branches of government.
With this kind of ignorance, I fear for our country. We must work to turn this around. Citizens should demand that civics be taught in schools and that students have a certain basic level of civic literacy before they graduate. Parents who can afford it need to send their children to good private schools. Even if one can send their own child to a private school or even if one has no children, we all have a interest in having an educated citizenry. People need to get involved. Education is too important to be left up to educators. Conservatives and even good liberals who believe people should have a basic level of civic literacy should run for school boards. The field of education, like the field of journalism, has been dominated by liberals for a very long time. More conservatives need to be encouraged to become teachers. We should support with our charitable giving those organizations like Intercollegiate Studies Institute and the 917 Society and others that are trying to change things. If we cannot turn this around, we may be part of the last free generation.
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