American Eighth Graders Flunk Civics and History: Experts Warn of Future of Easily Manipulated Adults
The Nation's Report Card has just been released, and the results are in: American eighth graders' knowledge of civics and history is at an all-time low. In other words, we're raising a generation of kids who are about as informed as a bag of rocks.
Experts are sounding the alarm bells, warning that these kids are going to grow up to be easily manipulated by social media and political liars. And let's face it, if anyone knows how to manipulate people, it's politicians and social media.
The report shows that only 22% of eighth graders scored at or above basic proficiency levels for civics. That means that over three-quarters of students are basically clueless when it comes to understanding how our government works. They don't know the Constitution from a can of beans, and they couldn't tell you what the Bill of Rights is if their lives depended on it.
But wait, it gets worse. Girls performed worse than boys, and whites had steeper declines than blacks and Hispanics. Charter school students performed far worse than students in traditional public schools, while Catholic school students' performance was flat. In other words, we're all screwed.
The steepest decline in civics was in the Midwest. This is alarming because when ignorance of such basics prevails, kids are more vulnerable to manipulation by nefarious individuals. Think Steve Bannon hawking lies about the 2020 presidential election being stolen or Alex Jones claiming that a school mass shooting was a hoax.
And if you thought civics was bad, just wait until you hear about history. Only 14% of students scored at or above proficient. That means that 86% of kids don't know their history from their elbow.
Politicians and conservative networks are working overtime to convince parents that children should not be taught the full, unvarnished history of slavery and how it continues to impact the Black experience today. Students need to know the historical foundations of the First Amendment and why the separation of church and state is essential.
But let's be real here, today's students are reading less and testing lower on reading abilities. The chances of them sitting down to read a newspaper or knowing how to distinguish between a credible news source and a bogus one are about as likely as a snowball surviving in hell.
Civics and history are the foundations of an informed and engaged public. And right now, those foundations are crumbling faster than a stale cookie. It's time for schools to invest more in these areas and for parents to demand that their children be taught the truth about America's past and present. Otherwise, we risk raising a generation of ignorant citizens who are easily led astray.
So if you see an eighth grader today, give them a hug. They're going to need it when they grow up to be easily manipulated adults.
CURMUDGUCATION: Can We Fix Civics and History Education https://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2023/05/can-we-fix-civics-and-history-education.html
Test scores for 8th-grade students decline in US history and civics following prior declines in math and reading, report says | CNN https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/04/us/nations-report-card-us-history-civics/index.html