Education policy: Obama administration failing the test on civic
education
By Les Francis
Special to the Mercury News
Posted: 06/06/2013 12:01:00 PM PDT
Updated: 06/06/2013 06:01:16 PM PDT
Speaking recently about citizenship to the graduating class of Ohio State University,
President Barack Obama was typically eloquent and persuasive when he said, "I
suspect that those of you who pursue more education, or climb the corporate ladder, or
enter the arts or science or journalism, you will still choose a cause that you care about
in your life and will fight like heck to realize your vision.
"There is a word for this. It's citizenship. And we don't always talk about this idea much
these days -- citizenship -- let alone celebrate it. ... And the result is that we sometimes
forget the larger bonds we share as one American family. ... We are bound to one
another by a set of ideals and laws and commitments and a deep devotion to this
country that we love."
In 1980, another politician was caught on tape declaring "In (this) business, money talks
and b--- s--- walks!" Sadly, convicted congressional felon Ozzie Myers' pithy
observation applies to the Obama administration in one critical respect, and that is in
the area of civic learning and its relationship to democracy's need for an informed and
engaged citizenry.
The president does speak about the need to take American citizenship seriously, and
he occasionally argues for the acquisition of the skills required to make such citizenship
both responsible and effective. Education Secretary Arne Duncan also talks about
increasing and improving civic education. But months into their second term, there is a
yawning gap between rhetoric and results.
Time and again, those of us in the civic education arena have urged the administration
to invest a modest amount, less than $30 million annually, into a competitive grants
program to improve and enhance civic learning in our schools, especially those with
large numbers of at-risk youth.
We have urged Duncan to add a third "C word" to his standard rap about ensuring that
high school graduates are career- and college-ready. Why not, we ask, add "citizenship"
to the list? Time and again, we are treated to understanding nods, but nothing happens.
With the notable exception of Education Undersecretary Martha Kanter, who has been
tireless in her efforts, almost everyone else with influence or power in the administration
has been, as my late father-in-law would have put it, "All B.S. and no prizes."
And it has become worse, not better.
Recently, the agency that administers the National Assessment of Educational
Progress, the only reliable national measurement of how well our schools are
performing in various academic subjects, announced the indefinite postponement of the
2014 fourth- and 12th-grade tests in American history, geography and civics, blaming
sequestration for the decision; they are going ahead with the eighth-grade exams, but
that is a totally inadequate gesture.
The amount "saved" by this decision: a paltry $6.8 million. So the federal government,
which has been virtually AWOL on civic education for the past four years, has retreated
even further. It is disgraceful and dangerous. We've seen highway bridges collapse due
to inattention, and our entire political system is similarly at risk.
So, while the president gives speeches and evidence mounts that Americans are
unprepared for their role as citizens, Ozzie Myers will have reason to smile. For the rest
of us, it is no laughing matter.
Les Francis chairs the Federal Policy Task Force of the Campaign for the Civic Mission of
Schools. He was a top aide to former Rep. Norman Y. Mineta and President Jimmy Carter. He
wrote this for this newspaper.