"For the Jan. 6 anniversary, I kept thinking about schools - how we spent 50 years killing civics

[elleng]

and general ed. to create worker drones, that viral moment about Pa. kids on "the McDonald's track"
We stopped teaching...and 1/6 happened. My new column "

https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/january-6-anniversary-civics-education-in-america-20220102.html?

[pfitz59]

1. I don't think we ever really "taught" kids

I learned to read and write at home. Going to the library to get a book is one of my earliest memories. Learning starts at home and expands with personal curiosity. School can give one tools and skills, up to the individual to use them.

[elleng]

2. I was taught 'civics' in public schools,

in New York state; it was called Social Studies. Fortunately was able to follow up with my parents.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. I had a "civics" workbook in 7th grade. It was full of basic...

stuff for an educated citizenry.

In high school, we were segregated into A, B, and C groups depending on our test scores. C students were the burger track.

It seems to have worked, but I haven't tracked everyone. Free CUNY tuition also seems to have worked very well when we had it until it was decided everyone needed a college education.

[elleng]

5. We weren't tracked;

we all had the same curriculum, and the same teachers.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. I was taught a shell of civics in 7th grade,

e.g, the three branches of government.

Tragically, I only really learned and understood government (municipal, county, state, and federal) when I was in law school.

I don't mean intricate workings for officeholders and their staff. I just mean basic stuff.

[hlthe2b]

7. Those applying to a lot of medical, dental, and veterinary schools used to have this as requirement.

--a full Semester in college. I remember taking it with a few others trying to get the requirement in during a specially scheduled summer session--everyone just trying to squeak out the requirement before applying in the Fall. I actually enjoyed it, though I'd had some exposure all the way from primary to high school.

I believe EVERYONE should have had that course, whether in college or high school. My guess is that it is no longer required for medical, veterinary, or other professional post-grad education programs either today. Sad, because one can never ensure a fully rounded education that includes the arts and great literature-- given the need for science, physics, and mathematics preparation for those pursuing medicine-- but making sure they understand our nations' constitution and Branches of Government really should occur.

[rampartc]

8. sputnik

the usa needed scientists and engineers in order to compete in the space race. unfortunately, educated juveniles tend to think for themselves which resulted in the unrest of the 1960s. that will never again be allowed.

[sop]

9. Public school systems abandoned the ideal of social mobility in favor of a permanent caste system

when the more well-to-do began segregating themselves from "the other."

[jaxexpat]

11. You may well have something there. My mother taught elementary school.

She quit when, in her words, "the system gave up on the students". A self-entitled "crust" of know-it-alls seems to run every community's school district. It's unfortunate for these communities that "conservative" fiscal practices have essentially tasked these cabals to gut the education system in the guise of "budgetary concerns". It is my hypothesis that any region's population held in detention facilities is directly proportional to the number of people living in gated communities.

What is freedom? First, we must understand the "prison of one's own mind".

[stillspkg]

10. Priorities

We had Civics in Junior High in Wisconsin. Great teacher. I learned not only the process, but how long it takes for a bill to become law, if ever. Thanks for the reminder. I wish we could get behind making Civics a priority- maybe not Junior Hi, but certainly High School.
Other countries, especially Europeans know more about our government than most Americans. (USA).

Making Civics a requirement was a great move. Then again, all girls were required to take “Senior Survey” our Senior year to learn how to cook and sew.
Did other schools have that policy??

[sop]

12. We're asking too much of America's underfunded educational system and not enough of our

for profit Corporate Fourth Estate. For decades our monopolized corporate media, an industry originally granted constitutional protections so it could create a well-informed electorate necessary for a properly functioning democracy, has instead devoted itself to misinforming and radicalizing the population. No educational system can counteract so much propaganda.