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"It is lost if it is not understood"
Fred Hiatt's latest column in The Washington Post takes us to the Georgetown University Law Center where Supreme Court Justice David Souter spoke last week, painting a rather bleak picture of the future of our democracy. In his address, Souter lamented the widespread ignorance among Americans about the basic principles of American government. The implications for the American experiment that began more than two centuries ago are dire: The republic which the Founding Fathers created "is being lost," deplored the Justice. "It is lost if it is not understood."
To remedy civic illiteracy, Souter, who will soon be retiring from the Court, wants to focus on reeducating the citizen body. He appears to be focusing on K- 12, which is necessary indeed. But an equally important appeal should go out to our institutions of higher learning. Of course, this is an appeal ACTA has been making to colleges and universities for some time. If they ensured students were exposed to American government and history in general education, we would not find ourselves in need of such far-reaching reeducation. In our last report on core curricula (which will soon be updated), we found that only 7 of the 50 top schools surveyed require American government or history. The same point can also be made when it comes to the teaching of history per se. KC Johnson and others have shown how the history field has, in recent years, nearly eliminated certain sub- fields such as constitutional and diplomatic history.
The situation is serious, the problem transcends partisan differences and the course of action is clear. Trustees must ensure that the next generation of leaders and citizens understand the basic principles of American government and the broad outlines of the country's history. Instituting an American history or government requirement is a simple and inexpensive way to start. The bottom line: What is not taught, cannot be understood.
Posted by Anne D. Neal on May 26, 2009 at May 26, 2009 06:01 PM
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