strigori Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Every single question on this 'civics test' is trivia quiz material. Some of it you could say is important, some isn't. I guess I wonder what the point of these civics exams is. I have a hunch. The irony would be the people who most support a test like this would be the least likely to be able to actually pass it. Link to comment
huKSer Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 100%, though the 'Father of our Country' is a rather subjective and philosophical question, and not really a factual one, per se. Wilt Chamberlin? Didn't he have like 200 kids? Link to comment
HUSKER 37 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I've never driven a Civic, but I've driven two Accords and a Prelude.. Link to comment
Dbqgolfer Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 If i'm reading the explanation of the test correctly, this is the test that the US Citizen and Immigration Service already administers, and the initiative is to require the test for high school graduation. Seems reasonable to me. Link to comment
HUSKER 37 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I'm embarrassed to be from AZ if only 5% of kids can pass a test like this. You learn a lot of this in kindergarten. So has my Son (Schooled only in AZ) ...and bragged to me a couple of weeks ago for being the only one that got a perfect score in his Honors Math Placement test recently)...I only got 90% on this test There needs to be more Math and Science questions...Who cares it's April 15th and not the 16th? or how many Justices are in the supremes? I thought it was Dianna Ross, Mary Wilson and some Ballard chick...I knew there were probably two Senators for each state, but no clue how long they are able to serve..Guess I should be deported. Link to comment
HUSKER 37 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 If i'm reading the explanation of the test correctly, this is the test that the US Citizen and Immigration Service already administers, and the initiative is to require the test for high school graduation. Seems reasonable to me. Is Civics a required course? I don't remember ever taking one Link to comment
Dbqgolfer Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 If i'm reading the explanation of the test correctly, this is the test that the US Citizen and Immigration Service already administers, and the initiative is to require the test for high school graduation. Seems reasonable to me. Is Civics a required course? I don't remember ever taking one I remember taking one. The requirement probably varies from state to state, and states that don't require one, it probably varies from school district to school district. I personally don't think it is a bad idea to require one. Link to comment
HUSKER 37 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 If i'm reading the explanation of the test correctly, this is the test that the US Citizen and Immigration Service already administers, and the initiative is to require the test for high school graduation. Seems reasonable to me. Is Civics a required course? I don't remember ever taking one I remember taking one. The requirement probably varies from state to state, and states that don't require one, it probably varies from school district to school district. I personally don't think it is a bad idea to require one. There's just so many cutbacks these days...My Son had to give up Band to be able to take Phys Ed and a Computer class when he started "Middle School" because he could only take two electives.. Civics just seems like a "fluff course" that serves no purpose. Link to comment
Dbqgolfer Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 If i'm reading the explanation of the test correctly, this is the test that the US Citizen and Immigration Service already administers, and the initiative is to require the test for high school graduation. Seems reasonable to me. Is Civics a required course? I don't remember ever taking one I remember taking one. The requirement probably varies from state to state, and states that don't require one, it probably varies from school district to school district. I personally don't think it is a bad idea to require one. There's just so many cutbacks these days...My Son had to give up Band to be able to take Phys Ed and a Computer class when he started "Middle School" because he could only take two electives.. Civics just seems like a "fluff course" that serves no purpose. I would argue it's less of a "fluff course" than band and phys ed; and I say that as a supporter of band and phys ed. Link to comment
zoogs Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I wouldn't mind a civics requirement that involved people understanding what government was there for, etc. A test that requires memorizing a few facts and year numbers and so on doesn't do that, though. Link to comment
HUSKER 37 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 If i'm reading the explanation of the test correctly, this is the test that the US Citizen and Immigration Service already administers, and the initiative is to require the test for high school graduation. Seems reasonable to me. Is Civics a required course? I don't remember ever taking one I remember taking one. The requirement probably varies from state to state, and states that don't require one, it probably varies from school district to school district. I personally don't think it is a bad idea to require one. There's just so many cutbacks these days...My Son had to give up Band to be able to take Phys Ed and a Computer class when he started "Middle School" because he could only take two electives.. Civics just seems like a "fluff course" that serves no purpose. I would argue it's less of a "fluff course" than band and phys ed; and I say that as a supporter of band and phys ed. I suppose you could call them all fluffy, But the only benefit I see in Civics courses is an easy way to raise your GPA Link to comment
knapplc Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I think kids need an education in the structure & purpose of government. Sadly, because most parents refuse to (or don't have the intelligence to) educate their children, I support schools doing this. I actually think what this test asks is not remotely the *minimum* we should be instructing students on. At the LEAST we should be teaching kids: 1. The basic structures of all levels of government to which they will have to answer, including local police procedures & city/county laws, on up to the Federal level. 2. The powers of the three branches of government, how they interact, and HOW THEY CAN BE ABUSED. 3. How to vote, why to vote, when to vote, and what to think about when voting. Every effort should be expended to make this a non-partisan effort, with dire penalties for those who transgress those boundaries. 4. CRITICAL THINKING should be a year-long, mandatory course for every student regardless of grade point average. Tie it to civics, fine. It would encompass every facet of their lives from sports to finance to romance, but it would be critically important in politics. 5. Civic responsibility. Students should have it impressed upon them that not voting is killing this country, that every time a person doesn't vote it's a victory for bad government, and that it is not only a freedom and a right, but a responsibility that they vote. They can choose not to, but they are helping to make this country worse every time they don't vote. There's more, but this would be a start. It's a pipe dream - by and large, Americans are too mentally lazy to push for these basic education points. But one can dream. 1 Link to comment
tschu Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I mean this is already a big part of pretty much every history/government required curriculum ever Link to comment
Dbqgolfer Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I think kids need an education in the structure & purpose of government. Sadly, because most parents refuse to (or don't have the intelligence to) educate their children, I support schools doing this. I actually think what this test asks is not remotely the *minimum* we should be instructing students on. At the LEAST we should be teaching kids: 1. The basic structures of all levels of government to which they will have to answer, including local police procedures & city/county laws, on up to the Federal level. 2. The powers of the three branches of government, how they interact, and HOW THEY CAN BE ABUSED. 3. How to vote, why to vote, when to vote, and what to think about when voting. Every effort should be expended to make this a non-partisan effort, with dire penalties for those who transgress those boundaries. 4. CRITICAL THINKING should be a year-long, mandatory course for every student regardless of grade point average. Tie it to civics, fine. It would encompass every facet of their lives from sports to finance to romance, but it would be critically important in politics. 5. Civic responsibility. Students should have it impressed upon them that not voting is killing this country, that every time a person doesn't vote it's a victory for bad government, and that it is not only a freedom and a right, but a responsibility that they vote. They can choose not to, but they are helping to make this country worse every time they don't vote. There's more, but this would be a start. It's a pipe dream - by and large, Americans are too mentally lazy to push for these basic education points. But one can dream. I agree. The only thing I would add to #5 is that it is a duty to be an informed voter. But, that should probably go without saying. Link to comment
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