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-- American Schools Unfair to .... America

American Schools Unfair to .... America

quote:

Report says schools are unfair to America Tuesday, September 9, 2003 Posted: 12:05 PM EDT (1605 GMT) FIGHTING APATHY Over the past 30 years, the percentage of people under 25 who vote has dropped 15 percentage points, the report says. It cites other signs of apathy and low patriotism, such as when children touring Washington said they knew Memorial Day as "the day the pools open." It's important that students understand not only our flaws and failings, but also the degree to which the United States was really the first modern democracy, and the degree to which it has inspired democrats around the world. -- Larry Diamond, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's schools are telling an unbalanced story of their own country, offering students plenty about America's failings but not enough about its values and freedoms, says a report drawing support across the ideological spectrum. Without a change of approach, schools will continue to turn out large numbers of students who are disengaged in society and unappreciative of democracy, the report contends. Produced by the nonpartisan Albert Shanker Institute, "Education for Democracy" is the latest effort to try to strengthen the nation's underwhelming grasp of civics and history. Authors hope it will lead to curriculum changes and, in the short term, stir debate about today's social studies classes as people reflect on the terrorist attacks of two years ago. Wide range of support Beyond its provocative findings, the report is notable for the range of people and groups supporting it, from Republicans and Democrats to labor unions and conservative think tanks. Those who have signed on include former President Clinton; Jeane Kirkpatrick, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and U.N. ambassador during the first administration of Ronald Reagan; and David McCullough, the historian and author. Dozens of scholars, professors, labor leaders and representatives of school groups have backed it, too. "It really shows the depth of concern across the country about the status of our civil society," said one signatory, Lee Hamilton, president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a former Democratic congressman from Indiana. "How low voter participation can you have and still have a democracy?" Too many classroom lessons and text books contribute to a sense of historical indifference by focusing on America's darker moments, the report says. In a push to give a warts-and-all account of the struggles of democracy, schools have turned the nation's sins into the essence of the story instead of just a part of it, the new report says. "Vietnam, Watergate, impeachment hearings, the rottenness of campaign finance, rising cynicism about politicians in general -- we've gone excessively in our society ... toward cynicism," said Larry Diamond, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. "It's a call for balance; it's not a call for purging from the history books honest criticism of our failings." "People have been so anxious to be self-critical, probably with good intentions," said Sandra Feldman, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the nation's second largest union of teachers. "But we feel that's just gone too far over in that direction. "We definitely have had terrible problems as a nation, but we also have a society that is totally different than that of a totalitarian society. Children need to understand and value what has been built here," said Feldman, also president of the institute, which is endowed by the AFT. Report: History, civics lost Reg Weaver, president of the largest education union, the National Education Association, has also endorsed the report. So have leaders of the National School Boards Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The report accompanies an earlier institute-sponsored study on civics standards, one that contends history and civics are often lost in the emphasis on reading and math. The report says: "We do not ask for propaganda, for crash courses in the right attitudes or for knee-jerk patriotic drill. We do not want to capsulize democracy's arguments into slogans, or pious texts, or bright debaters' points." But it takes aim at a lack of teaching about non-democratic societies, saying that comparison could show the "genius" of America's system. Sanitized accounts of real-life horrors elsewhere lead to the "half-education" of children, the report says. The report calls for a stronger history and social studies curriculum, starting in elementary school and continuing through all years of schooling. It also suggests a bigger push for morality in education lessons. "The basic ideas of liberty, equality, and justice, of civil, political and economic rights and obligations, are all assertions of right and wrong, of moral values," the report says. "The authors of the American testament had no trouble distinguishing moral education from religious instruction, and neither should we." http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/0...y.ap/index.html

I thought this report was somewhat interesting especially coming from an institution that is politically non-partisan. Personally I'm ampalled by the democratic malaise that has more or less affected the youth of the country. Everybody likes to bitch and complain about the direction within which the country is heading yet nobody wants to take the 1 hour it takes to go to the polls and have an actual impact. Rather sad really.

So people are disillusioned with the political process and the candidates put up for election into government, and the explanation is that the children aren't being brainwashed enough with patriotic zeal? Surely if there's disillusionment there it'd make more sense to fix the problems than stop teaching about US political failures? Why don't they start teaching everything that's wrong with the process - every failure in the history of US politics - and then say, "yep and the only way you can change it is by getting off your arse and voting?".

Beleive me, though, from my vantage point as an outsider, if there's one thing America doesn't need to be taught more of it's how to be patriotic.

quote:

Originally posted by Renegade So people are disillusioned with the political process and the candidates put up for election into government, and the explanation is that the children aren't being brainwashed enough with patriotic zeal? Surely if there's disillusionment there it'd make more sense to fix the problems than stop teaching about US political failures? Why don't they start teaching everything that's wrong with the process - every failure in the history of US politics - and then say, "yep and the only way you can change it is by getting off your arse and voting?". Beleive me, though, from my vantage point as an outsider, if there's one thing America doesn't need to be taught more of it's how to be patriotic.

I think you're missing the point of the article. The goal is not to blindly mislead students and drown them with patriotism. The goal is to provide a more balanced coverage of events, the good and the bad (did you miss the entire second half of the article?). By educating students in the benefits and success of their civic rights hopefully we pass on a sense of civic responsibility such that the direction of the country is more representated by the wishes of the American people. And through this WE affect change. One single group cannot override the checks and the balances of the entire system to accomplish all sorts of changes in order to remedy what they perceive as "political failures". There is a proper method of accomplishing that and that begins with the people voting for represantives who carry out the changes they want in a legal manner.

quote:

Originally posted by Renegade Beleive me, though, from my vantage point as an outsider, if there's one thing America doesn't need to be taught more of it's how to be patriotic.

I think what you are scared of is not a larger number of "patriotic" Americans, it is a larger number of Jingoistic Americans. Being a "patriot" does not mean going around and beating everyone else over the head with how much better you are than them


As to the article and occrider's point:

This is just one of a number of disturbing trends in the American eductaion system. And it is NOT something that will be solved by more laws like the (horrible in my opinion) No Child Left Behind law.

For the record, I am one of those who chooses not to vote. I do not do it out of apathy or disillusionment, I do it as my form of abstension. When I do not like any of the choices I am offered I choose not to take a "side". I will most likely vote in the coming 2004 election for a couple of reasons, the greatest of which being that I want to get the chimp sent back to his personal zoo in Texas. I just hope that the other party I do not like can field a candidate that I find even marginally acceptable.

George Washington warned his contemporarys of the dangers of political parties. I tend to think that he was correct. Especially when it comes to a two party political system.

MrS

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Originally posted by MrSquirrel For the record, I am one of those who chooses not to vote. I do not do it out of apathy or disillusionment, I do it as my form of abstension. When I do not like any of the choices I am offered I choose not to take a "side". I will most likely vote in the coming 2004 election for a couple of reasons, the greatest of which being that I want to get the chimp sent back to his personal zoo in Texas. I just hope that the other party I do not like can field a candidate that I find even marginally acceptable. George Washington warned his contemporarys of the dangers of political parties. I tend to think that he was correct. Especially when it comes to a two party political system. MrS

You can choose to vote in the primaries as well to determine which candidate you like best too ya know. Or you can vote green/libertarian/independant.

You accomplish nothing by not voting.

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Originally posted by occrider You can choose to vote in the primaries as well to determine which candidate you like best too ya know. Or you can vote green/libertarian/independant. You accomplish nothing by not voting.

I don't like EITHER party so I would never vote in a primary. My personal choice again.

I did not say I accomplished anything by not voting...just that I am exercising my legal right to abstain. I was in college the last 2 major election cycles and had just moved in 2002 so I had other things to "worry about"

Not an excuse, just a fact.

I will consider voting in the future. All I can promise.

MrS

quote:

Originally posted by MrSquirrel I don't like EITHER party so I would never vote in a primary. My personal choice again.

primaries are a good time to vote against a candidate that you really despise. bush isn't going to be challenged by any other republicans this round, so vote in the democratic primary. vote for the candidate that you think will do the least amount of damage given the available choices. or if your only goal is to get bush out of the white house, vote for the candidate that you think stands the best chance of accomplishing that in hopes that that candidate will win the democratic nomination and face bush in the general election.

i don't like either party either, but thats no reason to pass up an opportunity to participate in the process. even if i choose to vote third party again this time in the general election, i'll still vote in the democratic primary.


richard

quote:

Originally posted by MrSquirrel I don't like EITHER party so I would never vote in a primary. My personal choice again.

But there ARE other parties. There are a crapload of candidates who are from the green/libertarian party and just plain independants. If you think that none of these candidates stand a chance in winning the election and are therefore not worth the wasted effort of a vote than NOTHING changes. The system remains a two party system and everybody bitches about how they're sick of both republicans and democrats. However, only 51% of voters actually voted in the last election. If only say 20% of those non-voters were disillusioned citizens sick of the two party system but actually came out to vote for their favorite third party candidate, then that alone would make a SIGNIFICANT impact in media reporting and increase voter awareness of these third parties. Eventually this popularity could erode the historical prominence of only two parties. However, much like I stated before, we suffer from a democratic malaise whereby those disillusioned with the system, have the power to actually change the system, and yet apathetically believe that their "individualism" will accomplish nothing in a process that is deemed a grandeoise waste of their time.

It is your duty to make your voice heard no matter how small it is.

I gather from this thread that you don't have the option to vote blank in the U.S.?

Here in Sweden we have the option to vote blank in cases were we don't like approve of any of the candidates. Giving us a chance to get such a message across and at the same time eliminate any sensible reason for not voting.

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