With the Indiana legislature moving along on such critical education issues as standardized school testing and management of the state school board, it is important that we not forget what should be another serious subject: requiring potential high school graduates to be knowledgeable in civics.
The problem faced by Indiana schools is that students are heavily tested in language arts and mathematics. They are required to study those subjects, leaving little time for citizenship studies. Consequently, some lawmakers are talking about placing a new emphasis on civics. No question, too many of our high school students lose interest in government studies. They just don’t have enough time in the day.
As a result, some lawmakers are pushing the bill that would require students to correctly answer 60 out of 100 questions on a U.S. citizenship test to receive a diploma.
According to the Associated Press, Arizona in January became the first state to pass the requirement.
We have pointed out here in the past that at times it seems immigrants studying to become U.S. citizens know more about our government than we do. And that is a shame.
We bring it up today because the legislature will soon begin its stretch run. They should not become too busy to forget the importance of civics.
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