Monday, January 31, 2005

One result of dumbed-down education

This should scare you:
One in three U.S. high school students say the press ought to be more restricted, and even more say the government should approve newspaper stories before readers see them, according to a survey being released today.

The survey of 112,003 students finds that 36% believe newspapers should get "government approval" of stories before publishing; 51% say they should be able to publish freely; 13% have no opinion.

Asked whether the press enjoys "too much freedom," not enough or about the right amount, 32% say "too much," and 37% say it has the right amount. Ten percent say it has too little.

The survey of First Amendment rights was commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and conducted last spring by the University of Connecticut. It also questioned 327 principals and 7,889 teachers.

That's appalling, but I suppose it shouldn't be surprizing. Civics education has been downplayed for decades in the US and the results are coming home to roost. Instead of being taught about the Constitution and Bill of Rights, kids these days are subjected to indoctrination about diversity and self-esteem. I was graduated from high school in 1986 and remember how Voter Preparation was regarded as a blow-off class.

One has to wonder if this isn't intended. The state-run schools are producing graduates who are increasingly eager to turn over to the state their freedoms.

It sure is frustrating, especially since I have two little ones at home.

(Thanks for GeekWithA45 for the pointer.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

When I was a young lad, I played the silver ball...oops sorry wrong life. When I was a young lad every history book I can remember had the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independance at the back of the book. Now, a teacher is forbidden to hand out copies of the above documents or any part there of.

What do you expect after letting the Democrat Party take over the schools back in the 1960s via the Teachers Union (aka Protection Racket)?

Geoff
Who remembers some of his teachers. Not others.