Three weeks ago, I commented on Rep. Gerald McCormick’s proposed House Bill 10, which would require Tennessee students to “pass” a civics test in order to graduate from high school.
While I agreed with McCormick in principle, I disagreed with him on the details. I still think his proposal is a good idea gone bad. However, I hate to carp at a good man with good intentions. Instead, I prefer to offer some thoughts on how to raise civics awareness and literacy among students, teachers, and the general public -- ways that transcend mere testing.
First, require students to score at least 75 percent on the test -- not a sorry 60 percent. And give them only two tries, not “as many as necessary” to pass the test.
Second, award students “constructive credit” toward the test if they earn an “A” in American government, economics, geography, American history, Tennessee history, or other civics-related classes. Students who achieve an “A” in five or more of the the courses above would not be required to take the civics test at all.
Third, recognize and reward deserving students who go “above and beyond” the classroom by participating in extracurricular, civics-related activities, such as student government, Senate and House pages, and so on.
Fourth, create Civics Bowls for elementary and high schools students. This would encourage healthy competition. It would also recognize and reward academic excellence. These events could start locally and progress to state and national competition. Given the proper school, community and media support, including sponsorship, scholarship awards, and publicity, these bowls could go a long way toward replacing civics ignorance and apathy with civics knowledge and enthusiasm.
If we are really serious about the problem of our students’ lamentable lack of civics literacy, we need to find more creative ways to resolve this problem. If we want to motivate our students to excel in academics, we need to demonstrate our own motivation by cultivating a culture that values civics literacy at least as much as, say, sports.
As with any worthwhile endeavor, motivation is the key to success in achieving civics literacy.
I share these thoughts with that in mind. I offer them especially to House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick and bill co-sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris. I extend them as well to other legislators and educators who value civics literacy as much as I do. After all, we fund what we value -- and we value what we fund. We also lead better by example than by exhortation.
Retired Army Col. Thomas B. Vaughn can be reached at tbvbwmi@blomand.net.