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Ramparts? What are Ramparts?
By lindamuralidharan on 2017-06-22 03:28:45
Or the Fifth Amendment? Or habeas corpus? [caption id="attachment_10028" align="alignright" width="176"]
Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Md.[/caption] Or a state assembly? I certainly am aware of anecdotal
experiences that I have had or seen in the media that indicate Americans are shockingly uninformed about many very basic
aspects of civic life in a democracy. Additionally some of the TV shows have sent interviewers into the streets to ask people
basic questions, like the name of the state governor, at least one person serving on the United States Supreme Court, what
are the three branches of government and similar. Quite a number of people approached either don't know and don't hazard a
guess, and others sometimes come up with far fetched answers. Like: "who is Joe Biden." Answer: "Er, uh, one of the
coaches in the college championship playoffs?" I believe there are increasing numbers of adults who do not know the words
to the National Anthem. I am nota flag waver. Although we have much that is good in the USA, we are shameful in how
we conduct our foreign policy. We pretend we are defending this land, this country, when we are actually committing acts of
aggression against huge numbers of civilians who have never tried to attack the US. And, in reality, their governments
haven't either. That said, I still prefer knowledge to the old bury my head in the sand approach. There is the history to be
understood from the developments leading to the American Revolutionary War to how the national anthem came to be
written. In my own life I have often lived near places where American history unfolded. Those, such as I, born and raised
in Upstate New York, know much about Dutch vs. English settlements, the interplay of the British and the French and the
American Indians, the role Lake Champlain and the Saratoga Battle Field played in the Revolutionary War. Now here in
Hawaii I learn more about how the aggressive US Christian missionaries and their business associates colonized Hawaii, and
how the Territory of Hawaii became a state. "O'er the ramparts we watched"... Who knows the words to the Star Spangled
Banner? I may be a little atypical in terms of my geography and my being more or less a history buff and political junkie.
However, there is now some significant evidence that we as a whole, as a society, have been short changing our very
selves. It is dreadful that children are not given considerable education in our history and in civics. It is downright
dangerous that we have decided to raise more and more citizens who do not have the basic tools to contribute to a healthy
and thriving democracy. [caption id="attachment_10029" align="alignright" width="600"]
- Fort McHenry, location of
battle that inspired the Star Spangled Banner[/caption] The opposite, of course, is a poorly run state at the very least and a
slide toward tyranny at the worst. Much has been made in the media of parents and teachers questioning the value of so
much emphasis on just reading and writing and math and testing that resulted from the directives of the national legislation
referred to as the No Child Left Behind bill. I have had a vague understanding that in many places the kids have been
cheated of the fuller type of education that involves music and athletics (not necessarily the competitive, interscholastic
variety) and art and drama and vocational classes ( woodworking, automotive, mechanical classes). I guess I just couldn't
picture there not being any significant civics or social studies classes either since my grandchildren had at least a smattering
of these and since my daughter actually taught social studies in an affluent school district in another state. [caption
id="attachment_10030" align="alignleft" width="341"]
Foundations[/caption] Recently I read an article in Mother Jones magazine that opened my eyes and created a whole new
layer of consternation. Over a period of decades, roughly 30 years, the teaching of social studies in typical American public
schools has been drastically cut. There are exceptional districts and, as with much of teaching, some individual teachers
take it upon themselves to go the extra mile and prepare particularly effective civics projects. Thus you will sometimes hear
of groups of school kids going to visit a city council meeting or perhaps writing letters...usually well researched ahead of
time....on a special topic to a legislator or legislators. [caption id="attachment_ 10031" align="alignright" width="262"]
CIVICS ——~ LESSON
"Here's the thing about rights.
They're not supposed to be voted on.
That's Why'they call them rights.”
Rachel Maddow quote[/caption] The overall facts, however, are harsh. According
to Kristina Rizga in the January/February 20017 issue of Mother Jones, much has changed since the 1960's. In that period
and before it was not unusual for high schools to offer a number of civics classes with an emphasis on strengthening public
participation in the democratic process of governance and in using one's government resources to solve local problems. I
believe that there were more widespread requirements to take history classes before graduation as well, and my
classes...back in the day...were indeed a combination of history, geography, and government. Something that we used to call
"social studies". A little educational history here. In my parents' day and before, public schools generally taught two
separate subjects, geography and history. Then a movement in the forties (of the last century) came along and the two were
combined in "modern" curricula and available textbooks. My own father sold social studies text books for a living...so I
grew up naturally thinking that that was the natural order of things that always had been and always would be. [caption
id="attachment_ 10032" align="alignnone" width="341"] ' typical 1920's
classroom[/caption] Gradually public school system decision makers pushed out a lot of programs that were not easily
measured by standardized tests.....with a new emphasis on reading and math. (The fact that reading social studies texts and
resource material is a fantastic way to develop reading skills and advanced vocabularies in English seems to get overlooked
by the proponents of this philosophy). [caption id="attachment_ 10033" align="alignleft" width="320"]
ab Shop class....back when...[/caption] There are conspiracy theorists on left
and right....you remember the right saying that former President Obama was more or less smuggled into this country from
Kenya where he had been born....and saying that the devastating massacre at the school in Newtown never happened. On
the left I know serious people who believe the reduction in social studies is a plan by the elites...particularly the right wing
ones....to inhibit the abilities of Americans to think critically and thus oppose our plutocrats. Another view....often supported
over the years and now stated in a book called Someone Has to Fail by David Labaree from Stanford University.....is that
public education is supported by the decision makers (and funders) to the extent that it provides a ready and hopefully
relatively cheap work force. Certainly many of the more recent arguments for the emphasis on math has been so the US can
compete for high tech jobs on the national and international scene. Education for a particular skill...whether as a physician
or as a computer programmer....is not always the same as educating a well rounded person, one with good critical skills and
an appreciation for broader concerns. In any case, all federal financial support for social studies was cut in 2011. And in
recent years, and even before 2011, as state legislatures became more affected by right wing Republican thinking,
educational budgets have been slashed. Local school districts of all kinds and more so for the poorer and more rural districts
have cut staff, increased staff size and cut out much of the traditional curricula as discussed above. Under the No Child Left
Behind plan from the George W. Bush administration children were tested and schools with test scores that were too low
often were penalized in various ways. Local educators then emphasized class time spent drilling on the subjects most tested
and then counted in the ratings....namely English, math, and and reading. At least one recent poll found that one in six
American citizens sees nothing wrong with letting the Army rule. I realize that there has been a recent over glorification of
all things military (never mind the veterans killing people, attacking Congress people, the absence of any meaningful war,
and the various military scandals including the many officers and others selling information to an Asian shipping magnate in
exchange for booze and women and fancy vacations). This public relations blitz does make some people misunderstand the
role of the military. However, I think that actual teaching of the premises upon which this nation was founded and the
various concepts enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution would have reached more
people with the understanding that civilian control of the military is of the absolute essence in order to protect our freedoms.
I think the antidote to misinformation is better information. Mechanisms for developing more social studies lessons are
Make BES our own
may F > $l
available. [caption id="attachment_ 10034" align="alignleft" width="236"] One modern
social studies project...kids make their own globe[/caption] I think many people would better grasp the dangers of over
militarization, the ever expanding military budget at the expensive of schools and health care and parks and so on if they had
well thought out social studies appropriate grade levels through K-12 educational years. It has been suggested....I have no
documentation....that many of the immigrants who have just been naturalized after studying for the required citizenship
exams know more about how our democracy works than huge numbers of people born here. Have you ever been to a school
board meeting? Have you ever been to a candidates’ forum for people running for election to a school board? Have you
ever run for school board?
