Why isn't Civics taught in school anymore?
- Thread starter Levibooty
- Start date
yep. The public confusion about the 2000 election was a huge indictment of our education system.
I do wonder what % of the American public could name more than two of the first 10 Amendments
I do wonder what % of the American public could name more than two of the first 10 Amendments
Sheeeot. I can name all ten... in order.
1st Amendment
2nd Amendment
3rd Amendment
4th Amendment
5th Amendment
6th Amendment
7th Amendment
8th Amendment
9th Amendment
10th Amendment
Son takes Gov't as a freshman at Lafayette and they go over stuff like that. Problem is, most kids are idiots and they won't remember what they learned when the time comes to need the knowledge.
Tell your son his distinct lack of teaching ability has led us all to believe civics/government is no longer taught in our schools. /OP
Well AP government isn't a required class.
Civics and basic finance/Econ class should be required to graduate. Even if it's one semester of each it would be better.
Common Sense Finance should be taught one semester during your Sr year of HS. If anyone here is a principal in Jefferson or Oldham and can find me a spot, I will quit Monday.
I agree. You ever do anything with JA? What about just getting a job as a high school accounting or business teacher and morphing the curriculum into what you envision?
My kids HS requires all seniors to take a Govt/Econ their senior year. Not as much civics and personal finance as I'd like but better than nothing.
When I went to school it was a full year class in the eighth grade with a rather thick text book. From what I can gather it is not taught anymore as a stand alone class. According to this article Civics is a required course in only 8 states currently:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion...s-but-right/uZ7CAOtKwrpLDZXOxi06BI/story.html
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion...s-but-right/uZ7CAOtKwrpLDZXOxi06BI/story.html
"But you can't pull much wool,
If you're good in school."
B Franklin
If you're good in school."
B Franklin
Civics was a required year long class when I was in high school. Most took it their freshman year. A few years later, the curriculum was moved to 7th grade. We also had to do a year of US history and world history.
Economics and basic finance would be a requirement. I always thought these subjects were mostly just common sense though.
Economics and basic finance would be a requirement. I always thought these subjects were mostly just common sense though.
Not having some sort of personal finance course is even worse. We'd fix half the problems in the nation if people understood debt and saving.
I disagree with people saying our problems are caused by people at the bottom of the ladder who do not know finance. I think they do know one important fact, a demeaning job that pays so little the job expenses exceeds the pay is not an opportunity.
I think we just had a great example of major problems on a global scale of people who know finance better than anybody and reside at the top of the ladder. I also think those people demanding their bonuses before they worked at finding a solution to the near collapse of the worlds economy showed little concern for any country they reside in especially the USA. I also still remember Leona Helmsly saying: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes."
To me it is a bit revealing that with all the magazines, TV shows, newsletters, clubs, advertisement, mailings, e-mails, robo-calls, schools, classes, even online degrees, economic professors, someone could think that a lack of opportunity for economic enlightenment is a need going unmet. Interest, yes, opportunity, no. This especially when far, far too many citizens don't know the difference between a democracy and a plutocracy, who their representative is, what his job is, how he got the job, or what their role was in giving him his job.
Afterall I can't equate anything in economics or finance with something we were taught as kids and my parents at least thought was of great importance to this country, something called --- civic pride and not to be confused with national pride---certainly greed doesn't no matter how John Stossel tries to put the lipstick on that pig.
At the top and the bottom there is a huge lack of civic pride and the fact that our leaders are mostly at the top, they with the most opportunity, resources, and education, they are the ones who are failing miserably to lead. If you think I'm wrong take a good look at that clown show we are being treated to for the president of our country. Seriously if that is how they conducted themselves at a job interview they would be on the other end of the ladder. We need leaders with civic pride more than the bloviators whose main message is self-promotion we have now.
I think we just had a great example of major problems on a global scale of people who know finance better than anybody and reside at the top of the ladder. I also think those people demanding their bonuses before they worked at finding a solution to the near collapse of the worlds economy showed little concern for any country they reside in especially the USA. I also still remember Leona Helmsly saying: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes."
To me it is a bit revealing that with all the magazines, TV shows, newsletters, clubs, advertisement, mailings, e-mails, robo-calls, schools, classes, even online degrees, economic professors, someone could think that a lack of opportunity for economic enlightenment is a need going unmet. Interest, yes, opportunity, no. This especially when far, far too many citizens don't know the difference between a democracy and a plutocracy, who their representative is, what his job is, how he got the job, or what their role was in giving him his job.
Afterall I can't equate anything in economics or finance with something we were taught as kids and my parents at least thought was of great importance to this country, something called --- civic pride and not to be confused with national pride---certainly greed doesn't no matter how John Stossel tries to put the lipstick on that pig.
At the top and the bottom there is a huge lack of civic pride and the fact that our leaders are mostly at the top, they with the most opportunity, resources, and education, they are the ones who are failing miserably to lead. If you think I'm wrong take a good look at that clown show we are being treated to for the president of our country. Seriously if that is how they conducted themselves at a job interview they would be on the other end of the ladder. We need leaders with civic pride more than the bloviators whose main message is self-promotion we have now.
Every school hour spent teaching civics is another hour NOT spent on math and science. I thought the biggest concern was how we are well behind the rest of the western world in those critical areas?
So you're thinking civic pride, service, and leadership has nothing to do with funding education? Do you think civic pride has no bearing on good schools? Absolutely we need better schools that teach STEM better but that doesn't happen in a vacuum and a better functioning government could provide that. Heck even engineers, scientists, and doctors vote.
I find it sad and ironic how people who talk about the Pledge of Allegiance with pride can't grasp why a knowledge of civics goes hand-in-hand with that sentiment.
I had it (Civics and Ethics) as a required class in the 6th grade at River Valley Middle School in 1985. One of the very best classes I ever took. AP government is glorified US history and not even slightly comparable to Civics (curriculum). History is history. Civics is instruction on working knowledge of laws, rights, expectations and civil duties as an American citizen- something greatly lacking in today's society.
As to why no more civics? Easier to control ignorance. An empty rifle poses little threat while maintaining the appearance of a dangerous weapon.
The rest of the world also studies civics in their respective countries. Meanwhile, we have citizens who still believe the "Bailout" money doesn't matter to them b/c it's "Not my money." Math can't fix that level of engineered ignorance.
Government was a required senior level class when I was in school. Not sure if we had the AP version of the class. I took one AP classs a sophomore, failed the AP exam, then I stopped taking AP classes (and withdrew fro dual-enrollment classes) because I had to pay for my books and there was also a fee when I could go to college for free (my mom worked at a local college so I could get free tuition here and numerous other colleges that had an agreement worked out). Turned out the college classes I could have taken as AP classes were fairly easy. Got As ine ery single one of them and I slept through every class for the two history courses I took. Would have just showed up on days when we had tests or quizzes, but attendance was factored in to a grade. Then the ******* professor told me on the last day of class if I am just going to sleep through it I won't count attendance as part of your grade. Well why the **** didn't you tell me that in September instead of waiting until May when the only thing left was the final exam?
I could do a few off the top of my head
Speech/Religion/Assembly
Militia/Guns
Fair Trial and Tiral by jury (or is that two separate amendments?)
Search and Seizure, which I assume probably covers having to get warrants
"Please the 5th" don't have to perjure yourself
I'd have to look up the rest.
Required freshman year class in Pulaski County when I was in HS 7 years ago. I even remember "taking" the citizenship test as a part of that class.
Damn, time sure does fly.
Damn, time sure does fly.
It is required in some form in Kentucky. In general, a combined government and econ class is taught at the freshman level (though this varies by school) with the option to take AP Gov or a law class in the upper years. I teach 2 of these 3 subjects.
There's a push in many states (bill pending in Kentucky) to require the citizenship exam to graduate.
There's a push in many states (bill pending in Kentucky) to require the citizenship exam to graduate.
True but they rarely focus on civics but much more on govt and law from what I see from my kids school and my friends kids schools.
I'd love to see a combined civics/personal finance course for all students. Sure it would be an easy A for lots of kids but still information they should know. More of a how-to class than academically oriented.
I'm a HS Social Studies teacher in Warren County and we don't offer just a straight Gov/Civics course at my school. I teach freshmen geography but we lumped all of it together with civics and economics. So while the class is technically "geography" I teach a lot more than that. I was only able to work in a 3 week civics/gov unit each semester and believe me, I could've done a lot more. Other high schools in WC might teach it as one class but I'm not sure, this is just how we do it where I work. As a social studies teacher I'm biased in my belief that it should be a requirement but my subject as a whole has been pushed aside in an effort to increase math and science scores.
Ours is similar. I'm a government/law/political science person though so I teach far more US government, econ, and world issues than I do regular geography. We do a lot of current events, a lot of discussion, etc. For the past 4 years I've done more geography but I decided to change it up a bit this year.
There's talk of splitting ours into a pure geography class for freshmen and a government class for seniors but we'll see if it ever happens. We require 4 social studies credits for graduation (rare!).
Most people in this country, regardless of age, can't even seem to understand how our most basic rights, such as freedom of speech work. They don't understand who we have the freedom from because every time someone gets fired from their private employer for saying something controversial people complain, "What happened to freedom of speech?!"
I don't think this is because of a lack of civics courses. I think to some degree people are lazy in their education of these things. They believe them to be important, but also just assume that they know what is meant and how they applied. To a large degree, I don't think it is an issue that can or would be solved by one class/semester in high school. I think it would have to be a series of classes that get more advanced. Unfortunately, that takes away from your core classes of science, math and english, so a change won't be happening anytime soon.
I don't think this is because of a lack of civics courses. I think to some degree people are lazy in their education of these things. They believe them to be important, but also just assume that they know what is meant and how they applied. To a large degree, I don't think it is an issue that can or would be solved by one class/semester in high school. I think it would have to be a series of classes that get more advanced. Unfortunately, that takes away from your core classes of science, math and english, so a change won't be happening anytime soon.
Always LMAO at people who complain about free speech violations when things are deleted or censored on a message board too.
Saw a guy with a Civic today that had remote start installed. Not surprisingly, he was coming out of Dollar General.
I can name them all, jamo.
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall not make idols.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet.