Joe Henderson
There is nothing amiss with the argument by Gov. Ron DeSantis that Florida students should have a working knowledge of civics before leaving high school. Multiple studies and surveys show an appalling number of graduates know little or nothing about the basics of citizenship and government.
But I would point out that Florida schools already have a strong emphasis on civics education. Education Week noted, “The Sunshine State is often lauded for its cohesive push for civics education.”
Just to advance out of middle school, students are required to pass a civics class that includes an end-of-course exam that counts for 30% of their grade.
That has been in place since 2010.
High school students have to pass a course in U.S. history, and state college students must show civics proficiency.
And it’s also worth noting that in the 2018 statewide elections, about 37% of voters ages 18-to-29 cast a ballot, a 15% increase from 2014. Parkland, the environment and pay inequity were big motivators.
We remember how young people marched on Tallahassee to demand changes in gun laws. They wanted to be part of the system. That’s when then-state Rep. Elizabeth Porter basically told them to keep quiet.
“We’ve been told that we need to listen to the children and do what the children ask,” she said on the statehouse floor. “Are there any children on this floor? Are there any children making laws?
“Do we allow the children to tell us that we should pass a law that says ’no homework’? Or you finish high school at the age of 12 just because they want it so? No.”
And she completed her, ahem, “civics lesson” by saying, “The adults make the laws because we have the age, we have the wisdom and we have the experience.”
I wonder how instructors would frame that question on a test?
Still, DeSantis wants to increase the stakes. He wants to require all high school seniors to take a civics exam similar to the citizenship exam taken by naturalized citizens.
Well, OK. As I said, it benefits us all when more people know how things work.
Who will design the test, though? Who will teach the classes?
Which textbooks will students use?
These are just a few of the issues that jumped out, and I’m sure I can come up with a few more. If Florida students already study as much civics as they do, why does the Governor believe they don’t retain more knowledge?
Is Florida’s system of teaching civics really broken?
Or is this just another populist issue designed to grab a headline? Or, worse, take another jab at public schools?
That’s where we came in. If DeSantis wants to emphasize civics as part of public education, fine. Just don’t imply that Florida hasn’t already been doing that for a while.
6 comments
John Kociuba
December 11, 2019 at 10:43 pm
Dear Citizens~
Re: Joe Henderson Propaganda
Everything Joe Henderson said was pure bullshit! Why? He’s a Communist sympathizer spreading lies for “Social Justice” commie program!
Are kida being taught about Jewish, Black, Hispanic, Foreign White Communists?
Whar about Communist agents like Jay Lovestone? Uri Benzmenov? Heroes like William J. Donovan or James Jesus Angleton? No!
What about Communist created groups like ADL, NAACP, SEIU, AFL-CIO, UEAALDF, UEW, SPLC, Moms Demand Action, PERF, all groups funded, created, by Clandestine Communist Operatives or their alcolytes. No!
What about books? Battle Ground Berlin? The Naked Communist? Masters of Deceit? Black Book of Communism? I Married A Communist? The Rise of David Levinsky? No!
Your kids don’t know whether to sh#t, fart, f#ck or fight! Your kids are azzvackwards and upside down!
The Federal Government Destroyed Education Because Uninformed Citizenry Can Be Manipulated!
jon
December 12, 2019 at 5:46 pm
amen
John Kociuba
December 11, 2019 at 11:02 pm
Dear Citizens ~
Re: United States Constitution
It is ILLEGAL to be a Satanist, Wahhabist, Communist, Socialist in the United States! Period! Why? It us Insurrection against the Constitution by very definition and not 1 word WITHSTANDING!
Insurrection against the Social Contract whether verbal or physical is ILLEGAL! Insurrection against Agents/actors who administer our Government in bad faith whether verbal or physical is LEGAL!
THE CONSTITUTION IS GRANDFATHERED IN TO ALL FUTURE AMERICAN GENERATIONS! YES! OUR RIGHTS WERE GIVEN TO US BY GOD! ALL AGENTS/ACTORS SWEAR OATH TO PROTECT OUR CONSTITUTION FROM ALL ENEMIES FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC!
YES! IF THESE TEMPORARY STEWARDS DISHONOR GODS LAW YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO OVERTHROW THEM! This is why Communism promotes Anti Christian Propaganda!
Furthermore States are violating Article 4, Sec. 3, 4 with impunity! Yes. The United States Senate Judiciary #1 charter is to find “activist judges (9th Circuit) and DEFROCK THEM! Well, has the Senate Judiciary ever defrock a judge? No.
Moreover Michael Bloomberg has billions in revenue and speaks openly about overthrowing your 2nd Amendment Rights! That’s SEDITION! That’s ILLEGAL! Where’s the USDOJ?
In Conclusion: The citizens must dissolve Homeland Insecurity,TSA, State Fusion Centers, Patriot Act, 1964 Uncivil Rights Act, 1965 Unconstitutional Immigration Act, because these Institutions and laws are being Manipulated to overthrow the SOCIAL CONTRACT.
gary
December 12, 2019 at 5:47 pm
amen!
Denmark
December 12, 2019 at 7:17 am
Joe Henderson is both right and wrong in his comments. First, the Florida Legislature in 2017 was very clear about what Civic Literacy is: a knowledge of both government and history. That is why, at the college level, students have the option of meeting the requirement by taking one or the other. The problem, of course, is that they should be taking both. There is proposed legislation out there that would change the “or” to an “and.”
There are problems with using the Citizenship Test to meet a high school civics requirement. First of all, it is about fifth grade level, with questions such as “Name the governor of your state” or “Name a state that borders Canada.” It is 100 short answer questions, created by the U.S. Immigration Service, and the questions AND answers are online, as the Joint Administrative Procedures Conmmittee of the legislature noted in a letter to the Department of Education when DOE proposed using the test to meet the civics requirement at the college level. DOE backed off, but the Board of Governors did contract with the Lou Frey Institute to create a new test which kept more than half of the questions from the Citizenship Test for use at the university level. BOG adopted it, despite the fact that the Frey Institute recognized that its own work was not suitable for a college-level requirement and tried to talk BOG out of it.
However, if you believe the Tampa Bay Times (a stretch I know) Gov. DeSantis and Richard Corcoran are not planning to use the Citizenship Test to meet a civics requirement; they are planning to use it to demonstrate just how ignorant Florida’s high school students are in both knowledge of government and history. I teach history. At the beginning of every semester my students take the Citizenship Test. It gives me an idea of how much work I have to do. As long as it is limited to that purpose, it can be useful.
I won’t say anything about Joe’s gratuitous attack of Rep. Porter, except to say “You go, girl!”
Jerome Smythe
December 12, 2019 at 8:15 am
I enjoyed reading your comment. It was well thought out.
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