Should there be a required civics class & national civics test for high school s

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   tsmogposted 7 years ago

   Should there be a required civics class & national civics test for high school students?

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   Ericdierkerposted 7 years ago

   Nope. The problem is with the "national" test. Probably not a great idea to compare a Winslow Arizona kid to a Kennebunkport kid. But worse would be the feds getting even further into dictating education in little communities.

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      tsmogposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      National test maybe is the wrong word. A standardize test? Maybe they are the same. I was thinking about the test to become a citizen and wondered our education system.

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      Ericdierkerposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I am blown away that there is even a path to high school graduation that does not include several classes in this area.
      Wow! It is for sure every year around here.

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   kj forceposted 7 years ago

   I feel yes...Civics is a subject that touches every person’s life. It teaches the value of being an active citizen in the community.
   It teaches the importance of taking part in politics and helping to choose
   the leaders of local, state and national government. It teaches how laws
   shape society and how they protect individuals. It teaches how the rights
   granted by government come with responsibilities not to abuse those rights.
   In 2016 many students in the US graduated as under achievers, lacking civics , so therefore educational system are considerin re-instating the subject as a requirement.
   great question....

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      tsmogposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Maybe they do teach it today KJ. I really don't know. I have a hunch maybe more will participate of least by voting realizing the importance.

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   Au faitposted 7 years ago

   Some people don't know what civics class teaches, & so some will imagine it is brainwashing.
   
   Civics teaches how our government was formed (a little history) & how it is supposed to work (not always the way it actually does work). How our government is supposed to work should be the same in every state since I am now speaking of our United States government. It is also sometimes referred to as the Federal Government.
   
   True that every state has its own government and how a state works may vary from one state to another. Generally a Civics class is divided between teaching about the Federal government & the state government.
   
   I have had 3 Civics classes.  A full year in the 8th, 9th, and 13th grades.  Yes, a full 2 semesters at university.  I am a person who usually gets A's and did in all my Civics classes. In fact, I never received a B until I got to university & I believe I was a junior when it finally happened. So I know about & understand our government pretty well.
   
   No one can be a good citizen without knowing & hopefully understanding how our state (the state one lives in) & Federal governments work. Knowing, & ideally understanding how our governments work, is to me as important as knowing the value of money.
   
   If you don't know the value of your money then you will not know if clerks are charging you correctly/making change correctly when you pay for merchandise (food, clothing, & other necessities). It's the same way with government. If you don't understand how it works at both your state & Federal levels, it will be as easy for politicians to play you like a fiddle as it would be for them to steal candy from a baby. Yup, it's that simple -- and don't imagine for a second that some of them won't do it -- regardless of party. 
   
   Sadly, dishonest politicians come in all stripes -- but uninformed citizens will not know if they're honest or not if they don't know how the government is supposed to work. They will of course imagine themselves pillars of intelligence & judge their politicians by what they DO know (which would usually fit on the point of a thin pin), but they will be wrong most of the time. Generally the less people know about how their government is supposed to work, the more they believe they know.
   
   Civics should be taught, & more than once so it will stick. A test on the Federal level isn't necessary, & since each state differs somewhat, a Fed test makes no sense. The usual classroom tests should suffice.

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      tsmogposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you. I remember history classes, but not civics. Maybe they were combined. I wish today I would have taken a political science class in college.

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      Au faitposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      The first year classes at university in political science are the same as civics, so maybe the reason you aren't finding what you're looking for is because you're looking under the wrong name for the class. PS is part of the core requirements at UNT.

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   Venkatachari Mposted 7 years ago

   A great question and an important one.
   Should there be a Civics Class for High School Students?
   Yes, definitely. We used to have such compulsory classes during my elementary schooling. After that, it was only a selective subject in High Schools. The elementary classes taught very general points like social awareness and responsibilities and regarding good conduct.

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      tsmogposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting Venkatachari. I looked about on the net for civics classes worldwide. I couldn't find anything. But, I learned some nations it is within a social studies class that is required. Maybe that is here too.

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      Venkatachari Mposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Tim, we had a separate civics period those days in the 1960s. It was one period, weekly. It is true that it has been a part of social studies. But, it was divided into history, geography, and civics.

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   tamarawilhiteposted 7 years ago

   No. When the progressive left is in charge, it means you have to parrot far left political views or (as some colleges are doing) actively advocate for the liberal political position to get the certifications. When the political right is in charge, it turns into a nationalist loyalty test. Both cases violate someone's rights and hold the first educational credential someone can earn hostage as proof of ideological conformity.

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      Au faitposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      That's BS. No matter how you frame it, remaining ignorant is NEVER a good choice. Have you ever attended university? A political science class? How about Civics class in elementary, middle, or high school?

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      Ericdierkerposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Tamara this is not correct. Meet with an elementary school group. Tamara this is "the sky is falling" stuff. What makes the news is not reflective of 90% reality. We thrive in diversity of skin and thought.  Our neighborhoods ooze with pride of self

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      tamarawilhiteposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I have a Bachelor's in engineering. Check your biases.

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