Posted by
Sean on Monday, July 10, 2006 9:47:28 PM
Last week was the 230th anniversary of our nation’s birth. We are often reminded that citizenship has changed a lot since 1776. Every week Jay Leno does a segment called "Jaywalking" on the Tonight Show. The idea is to go into the streets of Los Angeles and ask people questions. Every so often he asks questions about current events and United States history. Most of the people answer with absurd responses. It is rather funny to see what some of the people think the answers are. However, recently I thought about it and came to the conclusion that while it is funny, it is also kind of sad. What are people learning today? I think that school administrators focus too much time on making sure math and English are taught correctly, and not enough time on subjects like current events and issues, history, and geography. In a recent survey of 510 young adults, only 67% could find Louisiana on a map and half or fewer could locate New York or Ohio. Has our country lost interest in itself? When immigrants become citizens, they are required to pass a test about the country; perhaps that same test should be required for all high school students expecting to graduate. I believe that the United States government should promote more education and involvement in "American education." After all, if a society doesn’t care about its government, how can the government be expected to care about society?
--lhsrail09