Information about Building a Grass Roots Effort and why we need one - from The Truth Newspaper - issue 10

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- A new report on U.S. history and civics education in America's public schools finds that students are not being taught enough about the positive aspects of America's founding principles.

The Albert Shanker Institute report entitled "Education for Democracy" was written to bring about changes in social studies curriculum being taught in public schools to more accurately portray the United States within a proper historical context.

The report shows that school textbooks have a "strong negative bias" regarding the history of America. The authors of the report researched countless school textbooks used by public school teachers and found that many of them were filled with more political propaganda rather than an actual account of what happened.

"We're not conveying to young people forcefully enough the American heritage, the American way of life," remarked Lee Hamilton, former Democrat Congressman from Indiana and current president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "This report puts a strong emphasis on the inadequacy of our civic knowledge and our civic engagement."

The report also studied voting patterns among young adults over the past 30 years. Over that time, the number of people under the age of 25 who vote in U.S. elections has fallen by 15 percent.

One interesting story in the report is about how a group of students visiting Washington, D.C. were asked about Memorial Day and what happens on that day. Their answer was that it is "the day the pools open."

But Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, says the breakdown in interest from the younger generation may have more to do with the negative subject matter being taught about America than anything else.

"Vietnam, Watergate, impeachment hearings, the rottenness of campaign finance, rising cynicism about politicians in general -- we've gone excessively in our society ... toward cynicism," he concluded.

Diamond believes students should be taught about how the United States has been the world's example for freedom.

"It's important that students understand not only our flaws and failings, but also the degree to which the United States was really the first modern democracy and the degree to which it has inspired democracies around the world," Diamond explained.

There has been support for this report from both sides of the political spectrum, including signatories from former President Bill Clinton, former U.N. ambassador under President Ronald Reagan Jeanne Kirkpatrick, religious conservative historian David McCullough, and former Democrat politician Bill Bradley, among others.

Sandra Feldman, president of the American Federation of Teachers as well as the Shanker Institute, says there are stark differences between the United States and other countries that American children need to learn.

"We definitely have had terrible problems as a nation, but we also have a society that is totally different than that of a totalitarian society," she said. "Children need to understand and value what has been built here."

This latest report from the Shanker Institute coincides with an earlier study entitled "Educating Democracy, State Standards to Ensure a Civic Core" that found reading and math have been so strongly emphasized by public schools that history and civics instruction have suffered measurably.

However, Peggy Altoff from the National Council for Social Studies believes that a good social studies teacher with the knowledge and experience to properly teach their students can overcome the problems associated with textbooks.

Altoff says it is preposterous to believe students are receiving a purposefully one-sided civics education by any social studies teacher in America.

"I can't imagine anyone intentionally emphasizing the negative in curriculum for children," Altoff stated. "As professional social studies educators, we are trained to recognize our responsibility to present a balanced view."

The report finds that most social studies courses fail to teach students about what makes a democratic society different from other forms of government. The report concludes that there should be a larger focus placed on history and social studies teachings and that morality should be taught as part of the curriculum.

Congress is already considering legislation that would provide a greater focus on civics teaching in public schools.

The "American History and Civics Education Act of 2003," or S. 504, was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and it would create academies and a national alliance for teachers and students learning American history and civics. The bill has 37 co-sponsors and is currently under consideration in the Senate Subcommittee on Select Education.

The U.S. House version of the bill was submitted by Rep. Roger F. Wicker (R-MS) and has 220 co-sponsors. It is currently being considered by the House Subcommittee on Education Reform.

A U.S. history and civics education conference is scheduled to take place next weekend between the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate and the group Alliance for Representative Democracy.