Last night I posted a screed about what I thought was an over-emphasis on science and technology in our schools and the problems that resulted from that. I decried the failure to teach civics or social sciences or ethics.
Ok, ready? Within one hour after I posted that, I’m reading an article by Danielle Allen, the James Bryant Conant University Professor and Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University that appeared in the July/August issue of Foreign Affairs. I never met Dr. Allen, but I like her very much. Here is a portion of her article:
In the 1950s, most high schools offered students three separate civics courses; today, they usually offer only one, and 15 percent of the students don’t even get that. Eleven states have no civics education requirements whatsoever. The federal government spends $54 per student per year on the STEM fields. The figure for civics education: five cents. No wonder then, that in 2018, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a set of exams administered by the U.S. Department of Education, found that only 24 percent of eighth graders were proficient in civics.
Foreign Affairs, by the way, is a wonderful periodical, with thoughtful articles by experts. It is non ideological and covers foreign policy issues in depth. It is a pleasure to read.
NOTE TO READERS: Google changed the configuration of the blog program I use for no good reason I can ascertain. I don’t even know how to reply to comments readers make, and I have already posted a draft as well as what I meant to post. I’ll be bringing in my IT person (my cousin Debbie) to sort all of this out. Be patient.
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