The American educational system has lost its way. Schools from k-through-12 seem to spend more time teaching gender theory and crt than they do the basics. The good old days of “reading, writing, and arithmetic” are a thing of the past. So, who is to blame, and what do we do?
If 2024 GOP Presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has his way, he has some interesting ideas. Ramaswamy, the “America First” GOP candidate, entrepreneur, and self-made millionaire from Cincinnati, Ohio, wants to require all US students to pass the same civics test we give immigrants to become United States citizens.
Not a big ask, considering the actual citizens of America should know basic civics. Unfortunately, most don’t. Since the educational system puts such a low priority on civics and American history in favor of social issues and theories, young people are woefully ignorant of how our country works and how it is constructed.
Ramaswamy took to Twitter to offer his suggestion: “Every high school student should be required to pass the *same* 128-question civics test required of legal immigrants to become citizens. The fact that this is controversial in America is a damning indictment of our Republic’s health. See test questions below & try it yourself.”
Every high school student should be required to pass the *same* 128-question civics test required of legal immigrants to become citizens. The fact that this is controversial in America is a damning indictment of our Republic’s health. See test questions below & try it yourself. pic.twitter.com/Hgqdv7FsYT
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) June 23, 2023
As you can see in the Tweet, it is basic stuff that most of us of a certain age were taught in middle and high school. It isn’t reinventing the wheel but just understanding how and why it works. The test included such brain busters as: “What is the supreme law of the land? How are changes made to the U.S. Constitution?” These are questions someone not born in the United States must know, yet most of our own young people under the age of 40 have no clue.
Reception on social media was mixed. Nicholas Giordano, who published a paper on campus reform, chimed in with the obvious: “Agreed. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority cannot. Every semester, I give my students the citizenship exam & 86% of them fail. I then do a constitutional exercise, & they cannot distinguish the #American #Constitution from the Russian constitution.”
Simply put, if our own students do not know the difference between our constitution and Russia’s, we have failed them as Americans. Perhaps that is why we see such a disrespect for the country and a sharp decline in patriotism of any sort.
Another pundit, conservative journalist James Girdusky took it a step further: “Legal immigrants have to pass like 10 of these questions out of 128… and they can take them in their own foreign language. Why don’t we make the test to become an American harder?”
While that certainly is one idea, the point Ramaswamy is making appears to be lost on Girdusky. Immigrants should know the workings of our system to an extent, but our own natural citizens should be taught the workings of our Constitutional Republic.
Naturally, the leftist propaganda publication The Huffington Post, still suffering from a permanent case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, took the opportunity to mention their favorite president: “Donald Trump would almost certainly fail this test.” hard-hitting journalism as always from the HuffPost.
Vivek Ramaswamy is a long shot for the White House, but GOP hopefuls should take note. His America-first platform would make for an interesting running mate in 2024.
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