Do you know that many people in the USA do not know who their public officials are? About 25% of the country cannot even tell you who the vice president is. I know their lack of knowledge was limited but I was unaware it was that many people. It doesn't take a political science major to know your representatives. Maybe Americans need to get online for some high school basics.
It seems that many Americans do not know much about the history of their country also. On test given to Americans on history, geography, and civics their test scores were very low. As a matter of fact, they fall far below many of the advanced nations of the world. Roughly 7% of Americans could not find our country on a world map which is really sad. I asked myself the question why? I think one of the reasons is that schools in this country especially high schools are a big social event. They have the football team, the basketball team and many other activities that really don't have anything to do with learning. I am not against having such activities in the school but when they become more important than the reason for being there then it becomes a problem.
Kids going to school nowadays have to have the latest pair of shoes or popular jeans that are in fashion. Then there is the high school prom. This used to be an event that was relatively simple, held at the high school, you wore your best clothes and had a good time. Nowadays, it should be held in some fancy hotel, the kids show up in rented limousine and have lavish parties afterwards.
Like I said, it has become a great social event not a place to learn but a place to show off the latest fashions. The kids nowadays can sing the latest rap song but lack the basic skills to read or write well!
It seems that many Americans do not know much about the history of their country also. On test given to Americans on history, geography, and civics their test scores were very low. As a matter of fact, they fall far below many of the advanced nations of the world. Roughly 7% of Americans could not find our country on a world map which is really sad. I asked myself the question why? I think one of the reasons is that schools in this country especially high schools are a big social event. They have the football team, the basketball team and many other activities that really don't have anything to do with learning. I am not against having such activities in the school but when they become more important than the reason for being there then it becomes a problem.
Kids going to school nowadays have to have the latest pair of shoes or popular jeans that are in fashion. Then there is the high school prom. This used to be an event that was relatively simple, held at the high school, you wore your best clothes and had a good time. Nowadays, it should be held in some fancy hotel, the kids show up in rented limousine and have lavish parties afterwards.
Like I said, it has become a great social event not a place to learn but a place to show off the latest fashions. The kids nowadays can sing the latest rap song but lack the basic skills to read or write well!