Recently, I have discovered that many college freshman have no clue about The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, yet, these young adults are on the edge of voting. Many are uninterested in Social questions such as Welfare, Health, etc.. most have no clue as to how the Government works! I was disheartened to hear some state they didn't know about The Patriot Act, Homeland Security(oh, their parents discuss it). They say 'no' to taxes, but have no idea why. They say 'yes' to a change, but have no idea 'why'. Not one that I spoke with said the above courses were even offered in the schools---or they weren't aware of them(I took Political Science as an elective in my Jr. and Sr. High School years in the mid-70's)Please note this is a generalized question, not directed to a particular region or state.
2007-10-02 04:49:20 · 9 answers · asked by Elaine 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Other - Politics & Government
It was a requirement in the state of Pennsylvania in the mid 90s when I attended public school. Also part of the requirement were US history (2 years) and World geography/politics.
Granted the Bill of Rights and the process of how a bill becomes law should be common knowledge. Generally, the requirements for becoming a US citizen should be known to those who gain it automatically and then some.
The specifics of Homeland Security and the Patriot Act are more recent in origin. A court in Oregon just handed down a decision today that declared parts of the Patriot Act unconstitutional. It takes awhile for these things to make their way into high school textbooks, plus, some schools have books 3-5 years old or more with the way we fund.
We still had the Schoolhouse Rock how a Bill becomes law in the 80s, but not much has been done about that since then. Will we have a hip hop group do a similar group of songs? (I cringe at the thought of a hip hop remake of "3 is a magic number").
Because your students are the future leaders of their communities, you may have a point in proposing to the provost that a politics class become part of the core requirements for a BA seeing that it is no longer a requirement for some highschools.
It may be that they had the course and didn't pay attention. If they continue the habit, you do have the option to fail them.
2007-10-02 05:20:49 · answer #1 · answered by Discipulo legis, quis cogitat? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When I graduated in Washington State in the 90's, political science was mandatory the last two years of highschool- maybe that's changed by now, but I don't think so. I wholeheartedly agree with that, however, when I got to college and took some social sciences, I found them to be horribly dissappointing. Maybe it was a poor professor (at one point she angrily offered the fact that 50% of child abusers are male- um, so what are the other 50%?), but the whole "science" seemed to be an exercise in fighting stereotypes by creating broad generalizations about large groups of people. I wouldn't force anyone to put themselves through that particular experience.
2007-10-02 05:01:46 · answer #2 · answered by Beardog 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
2 years after I graduated High School, I picked up a book by Kenneth C. Davis called Don't Know Much About History. I was astounded to learn so many simple things that I felt shoudl have been taught in High School or before. That book alone fueled my fire to learn about History and Political Science and yes I think Political Science should be taught at the high school level at least as an elective honors class.
2007-10-02 04:56:53 · answer #3 · answered by labken1817 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't know about making 2 years mandatory, some kids just are not interested in either subject, if they are not interested, they wouldn't learn much. Political Science was offered in my school but, only one semester was required. I do agree with you, in that there are many in this country who have no idea of how our political system works. Some come to this site asking, what is the Constitution?!! Appalling!
2007-10-02 05:06:30 · answer #4 · answered by geegee 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would hope it would be mandatory far earlier in the education cycle...like around 7th or 8th grade. And promotion to the next grade be conditioned on mastering certain basic concepts.
Let's see... our entering college students are bad on civics, history, spelling, geography, math and science. Makes me wonder what the heck they HAVE learned in the previous 12 years they were in the system.
2007-10-02 04:59:06 · answer #5 · answered by nileslad 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Do you really think enforcing a school subject on people so apathetic is going to make them more aware and active? Because I don't. Politics is complicated stuff, and a lot of people want to jump on and cheerleader for 'their team' without knowing what's going on. A larger section of the population wants to bury its head in the sand and ignore politics outright. IMO, there is no helping these people because they don't want to be helped.
2007-10-02 04:55:29 · answer #6 · answered by Pfo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I say as long as you can guarantee that the teacher will not push his/her own political Ideas!
In my high school we did learn that stuff to an extent!
2007-10-02 04:55:12 · answer #7 · answered by tll 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I certainly think it should!!! We need to inform our young people about the system and how it works (NOT indoctrinate them into any particular point of view, however).
2007-10-02 05:05:48 · answer #8 · answered by ItsJustMe 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
that is a good idea.
2007-10-02 13:47:55 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋