Unpatriotic Students

In US History class, Wendell Brooks is teaching from the Bill of Rights. “And so these values, values of freedom, the values of responsibility, values of a common good – all of the things that make for a working democratic society, I think are important,” he says.

He says they’re more important than some students understand. Instead, what many kids learn and remember, he says, are the mistakes and controversies in American history.

“I’d have to say the bombing in Hiroshima,” says 16-year-old Ashley.

“I definitely think slavery,” says 16-year-old Katie.

“Well, the biggest mistake that I can tell through my life has definitely been going to Iraq,” says 16-year-old Aram.

A new report from the non-profit and non-partisan Al Shanker Institute, a Washington, D.C. think tank, says teens today don’t know very much about government or politics or American History. They say schools should be doing more to teach those things.

It’s a common complaint, but some experts say the criticism is misplaced.

“There is too much bashing of young people,” says Sam Wineburg, a cognitive psychologist and professor at the Stanford University School of Education. “There is an obsession in this country of every single generation of adults to look at its youth and say these people are shamelessly ignorant of the past. Well the truth is we’ve been saying that since 1917.”

He says that’s the first time there was a report similar to the recent one from the Shanker Institute. Through the years adults have always been disappointed with the level of historical knowledge in children. Many adults think it’s unpatriotic, and the Shanker institute worries about a generation of cynical citizens disinterested in government.

But Wineburg says it’s a mistake to expect kids to be proud of their American heritage based entirely on what they study in school. Textbooks cannot, and should not teach patriotism, he says.

“And it’s a great deal of hypocrisy to believe that simply by asking kids to read and to memorize textbooks they will somehow have a grander narrative of American history than ever before,” Wineburg says. “It’s not the way that their parents or their grandparents became historical.”

Instead, he says, children learn about American values and freedoms at home. Through 18 years celebrating the Fourth of July, watching presidents be elected and discussing current events at the kitchen table.

American adults fear that today’s youth are not as knowledgeable or patriotic as past generations. Many studies have shown that civic knowledge among American students seems to be on the decline. On the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress civics assessment, 75 percent of the nation’s students performed at basic or below-basic levels.

• At the fourth grade level, 74 percent of students knew that in the U.S. laws must be applied evenly but only 15 percent were able to name two services that the government pays for with taxes.
• At the eighth grade level, 81 percent of students were able to identify Martin Luther King, Jr., as someone who was concerned about the injustice of segregation laws. Yet, only six percent were able to describe two ways that countries benefit from having a constitution.
• At the twelfth grade level, 90 percent of students understood that Social Security is an issue of primary concern to the elderly, yet only nine percent of the students could list two ways that a democratic society benefits from the active participation of its citizens.

How can parents instill the values of good citizenship in their children? The Heritage Foundation, a non-profit group in Washington, DC, developed the following list for parents so they can lead by example.

• Vote regularly and in an informed manner. Provide transportation for an elderly neighbor.
• Talk to your children about what it means to be an American. Take time as a family to read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Add samples of American history to your children’s bedtime stories. Ask them to tell you something they have learned about America. Tell them what freedom means to you.
• Hold elected officials accountable after the election. If they don’t live up to their promises, then consider running yourself!
• Be informed. Read the newspapers every day.
• Get involved. Make your voice heard and your presence felt through professional organizations, political campaigns and civic groups.
• Pick an issue that affects your family and become an activist. Attend school board meetings.
• Get on mailing lists.
• Volunteer. Don’t rely on the government to do what you should be doing as a good citizen.
• Contribute. It is important to back up your commitment and your time with your financial support.

There are several other things families and schools can do to learn about patriotism and respectful allegiance to America. The Yuba County (Calif.) Office of Education recommends the following.

In homes:

• Parents can teach their children the words to the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.
• Parents can tell their children about relatives who have served in the armed forces.
• Talk to your children about what America means to you.

In classrooms:

• Say the Pledge of Allegiance each morning.
• Teachers should encourage their students to share why they think people should love America.
• Memorize the Preamble of the Constitution of 1787.

In high schools:

• Patriotism can be twisted to make people do things that they ordinarily would not do. Discuss the following question: What are the limits of a citizen’s patriotic duty?
• Discuss the relationship between political dissent and patriotism. Is it unpatriotic to dislike the President or the government’s policies?
• Discuss the benefits of the unifying tendency of patriotism to individuals and for the nation.