Civics Lesson
I learned a couple of interesting things today from this article in the NY Times.
First of all, in order to become a naturalized citizen, candidates have to pass a test on US democratic ideals. Second of all, that test is now designed and administered by an agency in the Department of Homeland Security. Both facts gave me pause. At any rate, the test has just been redesigned. From the article:
The federal government rolled out a new citizenship test Thursday to replace an exam that critics say has encouraged prospective Americans simply to memorize facts, rather than fully understand the principles of a democracy.
Gone are these questions: “How many stripes are there in the flag?”; “What color are the stripes on the flag?”; “What do the stripes on the flag represent?”; and the obvious, “What are the colors of our flag?” The new exam rephrases the questions to focus on what the stripes represent, asking, “Why do we have 13 stripes on the flag?” or “Why does the flag have 13 stripes?” (The answer: Because the stripes represent the original 13 colonies).
“Our goal is to inspire immigrants to learn about the civic values of this nation so that after they take the oath of citizenship they will participate fully in our great democracy,” said Emilio Gonzalez, director of the Citizenship and Immigration Services, which has been working since 2000 to develop a new test. [Emphasis added]
As to first highlighted section, I found myself blinking a bit, given what the nation's educators have been going through in order to comply with "No Child Left Behind" program. In order to successfully teach to the standardized test, educators haven't had the time to teach the critical thinking skills students need to understand those facts and how they fit into the grand scheme of things.
But the second highlighted section really grabbed my attention, so I clicked on over to the actual test questions (and answers), which are located here. The test is actually pretty interesting. Here's a sampling:
1. Name one important idea found in the Declaration of Independence.
A: People are born with natural rights.
A: The power of government comes from the people.
A: The people can change their government if it hurts their natural rights.
A: All people are created equal.
2. What is the supreme law of the land?
A: The Constitution
3. What does the Constitution do?
A: It sets up the government.
A: It protects basic rights of Americans.
4. What does “We the People” mean in the Constitution?
A: The power of government comes from the people.
8. Name one right or freedom from the First Amendment.
A: Speech
A: Religion
A: Assembly
A: Press
A: Petition the government
9. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
A: Twenty-seven (27)
Those are some pretty solid questions when it comes to "civic values." Sadly, I suspect entirely too many native-born citizens couldn't pass this test. Maybe if this all works out, we could hire some of our new citizens to teach the rest of us about our civic values. Perhaps these classes could be taught in the middle schools and high schools. We could even call them "Civics Classes" and require them as a requirement for graduation. Of course, these classes would cost money and take time away from the mandates for passing the standardized tests as required under No Child Left Behind, but it might very well be worth it.
First of all, in order to become a naturalized citizen, candidates have to pass a test on US democratic ideals. Second of all, that test is now designed and administered by an agency in the Department of Homeland Security. Both facts gave me pause. At any rate, the test has just been redesigned. From the article:
The federal government rolled out a new citizenship test Thursday to replace an exam that critics say has encouraged prospective Americans simply to memorize facts, rather than fully understand the principles of a democracy.
Gone are these questions: “How many stripes are there in the flag?”; “What color are the stripes on the flag?”; “What do the stripes on the flag represent?”; and the obvious, “What are the colors of our flag?” The new exam rephrases the questions to focus on what the stripes represent, asking, “Why do we have 13 stripes on the flag?” or “Why does the flag have 13 stripes?” (The answer: Because the stripes represent the original 13 colonies).
“Our goal is to inspire immigrants to learn about the civic values of this nation so that after they take the oath of citizenship they will participate fully in our great democracy,” said Emilio Gonzalez, director of the Citizenship and Immigration Services, which has been working since 2000 to develop a new test. [Emphasis added]
As to first highlighted section, I found myself blinking a bit, given what the nation's educators have been going through in order to comply with "No Child Left Behind" program. In order to successfully teach to the standardized test, educators haven't had the time to teach the critical thinking skills students need to understand those facts and how they fit into the grand scheme of things.
But the second highlighted section really grabbed my attention, so I clicked on over to the actual test questions (and answers), which are located here. The test is actually pretty interesting. Here's a sampling:
1. Name one important idea found in the Declaration of Independence.
A: People are born with natural rights.
A: The power of government comes from the people.
A: The people can change their government if it hurts their natural rights.
A: All people are created equal.
2. What is the supreme law of the land?
A: The Constitution
3. What does the Constitution do?
A: It sets up the government.
A: It protects basic rights of Americans.
4. What does “We the People” mean in the Constitution?
A: The power of government comes from the people.
8. Name one right or freedom from the First Amendment.
A: Speech
A: Religion
A: Assembly
A: Press
A: Petition the government
9. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
A: Twenty-seven (27)
Those are some pretty solid questions when it comes to "civic values." Sadly, I suspect entirely too many native-born citizens couldn't pass this test. Maybe if this all works out, we could hire some of our new citizens to teach the rest of us about our civic values. Perhaps these classes could be taught in the middle schools and high schools. We could even call them "Civics Classes" and require them as a requirement for graduation. Of course, these classes would cost money and take time away from the mandates for passing the standardized tests as required under No Child Left Behind, but it might very well be worth it.
Labels: Democracy
posted by Diane at 8:05 AM
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