The very fact that people refer to the United States as a democracy as opposed to what it really is, a constitutional federal republic, highlights an urgent need to withhold high school diplomas from kids who cannot pass a basic government and civics test, or better yet, the test they give to people who want to become citizens in our country. I don't know where the disconnect occurred, but back when I was in school in the sixties and seventies, the government and civics class was a bitch for a lot of kids. They had to read important documents, memorize the opening to the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, and the first part of the Gettysburg Address. Teachers didn't cater to those who struggled, it was a requirement, period. I can remember rehearsing it with my dad before I had to recite it in class. Before he divorced my mom, I remember every Fourth of July he would gather the kids [and any guests we had] in the backyard and read the Declaration of Independence - and this was coming from someone who emigrated from Germany in the 1920's.
The very fact that people refer to the United States as a democracy as opposed to what it really is, a constitutional federal republic, highlights an urgent need to withhold high school diplomas from kids who cannot pass a basic government and civics test, or better yet, the test they give to people who want to become citizens in our country. I don't know where the disconnect occurred, but back when I was in school in the sixties and seventies, the government and civics class was a bitch for a lot of kids. They had to read important documents, memorize the opening to the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, and the first part of the Gettysburg Address. Teachers didn't cater to those who struggled, it was a requirement, period. I can remember rehearsing it with my dad before I had to recite it in class. Before he divorced my mom, I remember every Fourth of July he would gather the kids [and any guests we had] in the backyard and read the Declaration of Independence - and this was coming from someone who emigrated from Germany in the 1920's.