President's Day

[Gerald Lively]

Not the usual President's Day column
Saturday, February 18, 2012

By Daniel Burnett

Let's skip the sad fact that Presidents' Day is focused on car sales and mattress discounts and get to the painful truth: Too many Americans — even college seniors — don't know about the individuals who led our nation and shaped our world.

Even at our nation's founding, our leaders knew the importance of civic education. President George Washington once said, "A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?"

So how are we doing?

Probably worse than the British army at the end of the American Revolution, it turns out. Only 34 percent of college seniors from elite institutions could identify Washington as the general at the Battle of Yorktown, according to a survey by the Center for Survey Research and Analysis. More than a quarter couldn't name John Adams as the second president. And only 23 percent of students could name James Madison as the "Father of the Constitution."

It may not be necessary for students to memorize that James K. Polk was No. 11 or that James Buchanan preceded Abraham Lincoln — to be honest, neither are likely to come up in casual conversation. But to graduate from college without a basic grasp of our history leaves us poorly prepared to face America's many challenges, not to mention the fact that it is a tragic slap in the face of the men and women who formed America, and defended her since.

It's not just the founders who remain strangers to many of today's students. Only 53 percent identified Theodore Roosevelt as president when America acquired the Panama Canal. Worse, just 22 percent could identify the phrase "Government of the people, by the people, for the people" as part of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

What is happening at our colleges?

It's called a serious case of academic irresponsibility. Students and families are paying more and more — tuitions have more than quadrupled in the past 25 years — yet colleges are failing to provide our students with the educational foundation they deserve and our country needs.

A nationwide study of more than 1,000 colleges and universities, "What Will They Learn?" (www.whatwilltheylearn.com) found that 80 percent of our colleges don't require students to take even a single foundational course in American history. About 85 percent don't require students to study foreign language. And despite the state of the global economy, an unbelievable 95 percent of colleges don't require even a basic economics course. Without a strong educational foundation, how can the leaders of tomorrow set the course for our future?

Too many of today's graduates are far more likely to be familiar with Snooki than Socrates. Lady Macbeth has receded into near oblivion as Lady Gaga takes center stage. And a very disappointing Google search will find more than 400 million hits for performer Nicki Minaj — more than 10 times the number of hits for Thomas Jefferson.

Employers are noticing these skewed priorities. Fully 87 percent of employers believe our colleges must raise the quality of students' educations in order for the United States to remain competitive globally, according to the Association of American Colleges and Universities. This all comes at a time when the Pew Research Center says young adults are suffering larger income losses than any other group and that they're less likely to be employed than at any time since World War II.

But don't ask college seniors about World War II either. Though so many can describe the Occupy Wall Street movement in impassioned detail, many aren't so knowledgeable about Hitler's occupation of Europe or the threat to freedom our armies defeated.

It's time our colleges and universities got their priorities straight. They're simply not doing an adequate job of preparing the people Washington called "the future guardians of the liberties of the country" when 40 percent of college seniors can't identify the Constitution as establishing the division of powers between the states and federal government.

President Washington, we're letting you down.

— Daniel Burnett is the press secretary at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a higher education nonprofit agency committed to academic excellence.

[cassandra]

Thank you for that column Gerald, very sad, and scary to read. I'm afraid that it is nearly that bad in the Netherlands, and Britain. I suppose we have to look at which people, or which organisations or institutions or profeting the most of this situation.

[Poppylicious]

But shouldn't students entering college/uni know this stuff already?  Once you enter higher education you're usually studying just one or two subjects in detail and to get a place at uni you should (in theory) have shown an ability and skill in a wide range of academia ... basic information like this should be taught as part of a well-rounded and well-balanced education which is available to all at an earlier age (in school).  Ergo, it's the fault of the education system as a whole, from pre-school upwards. 

And just to be fair, it is the same in the UK. I can't tell you all about British history, although I could have a good guess at some things, but my mum could tell you lots because her education was so different to mine.  She was taught facts by rote (1940s/50s) and I wasn't (1980s).  She knows what happened and when it happened, and I know how to put myself into the shoes of somebody who experienced it ...

 

[willowtreewren]

But shouldn't students entering college/uni know this stuff already?  Once you enter higher education you're usually studying just one or two subjects in detail and to get a place at uni you should (in theory) have shown an ability and skill in a wide range of academia ... basic information like this should be taught as part of a well-rounded and well-balanced education which is available to all at an earlier age (in school).  Ergo, it's the fault of the education system as a whole, from pre-school upwards. 

My thoughts exactly, Poppy. You have to start young and keep the flame of a passion for learning alive. Kids need to be inspired and want to learn. So much of the mindless busy work that they have to slog through dulls their interest and teaches them that "learning" is boring.

By the time they get to college it is more about "getting through" the system than soaking up the opportunities.

Oops! I think I stepped up on my soap box.

 

Aleta

[glitter]

I am a student right now at the community college level. I will admit about half of the classes I have taken- I have barely had to think to pass. I have had one Humanities, and one Medical Term teachers that I had to really put forth great effort everyday to pass. And in fairness, a couple of teachers that did love their subject and tried to make it stick, but they were the minorty.  I am in a couple of classes right now that all I have to do is show up and participate in class discussions. One test at the end and one paper. Really it is not good, when I have a Math teacher that doesn't care and only 'teaches' to pass the final, it makes the next class really hard. I transfer to UCF soon, what if I am behind before I start?