Homeless in Arizona

Brainwashing the kiddies with mandatory civics classes???

  I suspect these two articles are mostly about the government wishing to brain wash the kiddies and teaching them that the government is their master and that they better obey the government, along with paying their taxes.

Of course the kiddies will be also taught that they have "Constitutional Rights", constitutional rights that are broken every day by the police and flushed done the toilet by the same elected official who routinely pass unconstitutional laws.

F*ck this citizenship and civics classes for us serfs. We need all elected officials and government bureaucrats to pass a "constitution test" before they are allowed to hold office or work for the government.

Of course don't count on that anytime soon.

Lawmaker: Require Arizona students to pass citizenship test

Source

Lawmaker: Require Arizona students to pass citizenship test

Jackee Coe, The Republic | azcentral.com 9:09 p.m. MST September 17, 2014

All high-school students in Arizona would be required to pass the same 100-question civics test required for U.S. citizenship to graduate under a proposal from a state lawmaker.

State Rep. Steve Montenegro, R-Litchfield Park, announced the plan Wednesday that he said would ensure that all Arizona high-school graduates have a basic understanding of civics.

Montenegro is working with other state legislators and officials from the Civics Education Initiative, part of the Civics Proficiency Institute, to craft legislation for the requirement.

"Every single student in Arizona and across the United States of America should have basic knowledge and understanding of American government. Civics is just common sense. So, this Civics Education Initiative ... is a common-sense approach at achieving that goal," Montenegrosaid at a press conference with supporters of the proposal,including Rep. John Allen, R-Scottsdale, and Jay Lawrence, representative-elect for District 23.

Any legislation can't be formally introduced until the Legislature reconvenes in January.

Lucian Spataro, president and CEO of the Joe Foss Institute, another civics organization affiliated with the initiative, cited a study from the Pew Research Center that found that only about a third of Americans can name the three branches of government.

Other studies, he said, found that less than a quarter of high-school students in Arizona and Oklahoma passed the U.S. Citizenship Civics Test.

The initiative is intended to bring a renewed focus on civics in education, said Sam Stone, national campaign manager for the Civics Education Initiative.

"This a first step to increasing civics education in schools, renewing the importance and focus on civics," he said.

Backers said there shouldn't be additional costs associated with the requirement because it would use the existing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services test, which already is available for free online.

The legislation also would allow schools to determine how to administer the test. Students could take the test at any time in high school and as many times as necessary to pass.

Teachers already teach the history and government content covered in the test, Spataro said, so the legislation would not add to teachers' burden or take time away from teaching other subjects.

Spataro said education has shifted away from civics with the growing emphasis on math and science, a change he called a "very troubling problem."

"Civics, social studies and history are being boxed out of the classroom to some extent, and what we have is a very narrow curriculum right now focused on science, technology, engineering and math —which is really important stuff but not so important that you don't need to learn how to run the country or learn how the country operates," he said.

Montenegro said he immigrated to the U.S. when he was 5, and though he was too young at 12 years old to take the test when his family was going through the naturalization process, he helped his parents study.

The test is "not rocket science," he said, and covers basic questions of government — things that he said are crucial for people to know.

"If we as a people don't know where our fundamental rights come from, where that authority comes from, it's easier to be led astray, led away, misled," he said. "What we want is to help people engage in society."

Legislators announced a plan to require high-school students to pass a 100-question civics test to graduate

Backers of the proposal say studies have found that less than a quarter of Arizona high-school students pass the federal civics test

The plan would allow students to take the test as many times as necessary to pass

Arizona bombs civics, but we can change that

Source

Arizona bombs civics, but we can change that

Dennis DeConcini and Jon Kyl, AZ We See It 7:13 a.m. MST September 17, 2014

Former senators: Too many of us don't know basic facts about government. And it shows in voter turnout. But a basic test could change that. voters

Can you name the three branches of the United States government?

According to studies by Annenberg Public Policy Center, only about a third of Americans (38 percent) can name the three branches of government – the executive, legislative and judicial – much less say what each does.

What is the supreme law of the land?

Only 32 percent could correctly answer the U.S. Constitution, according to the Xavier Center for the Study of the American Dream. Hitting a little closer to home, a mere 32 percent in the study knew the number of senators in the U.S. Senate, and only 29 percent knew the length of a U.S. senator's term of office.

This lack of knowledge about basic American civics is deeply troubling. We see its ramifications through declining voter participation – especially among younger voters. According to the last census, only about 65 percent of adult Arizona citizens are registered to vote, and of those only 22 percent voted in Arizona's recent primary election.

That means less than 15 percent of adult Arizona citizens chose to vote in our last statewide election, significantly less than just four years ago.

The success of our republic depends on an informed and engaged citizenry. As Thomas Jefferson admonished, "Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government." But when so few of our fellow Americans know how our government works, and even fewer choose to vote, is the American experiment of "We the People" at risk?

Perhaps most disturbing are studies in Arizona and Oklahoma showing less than 5 percent of high-school students are capable of passing the U.S. Citizenship Civics Test, the same test of basic American history and civics that 91 percent of immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship pass.

Think of it: People from all over the world legally immigrating to the United States, many speaking different languages, are passing this basic American history and civics test – in English – while too few of our own students can.

For the sake of our next generation, we can and must do better. That's why we are pleased to join former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to be among the co-chairs of the Arizona effort to pass state legislation known as the Civics Education Initiative.

The Civics Education Initiative is simple. It will require as a condition for graduation that Arizona high-school students take and pass a test of 100 basic U.S. history and civics facts from the United States Citizenship Civics Test, the same test all new immigrants are required to pass before becoming U.S. citizens.

The proposed state legislation would allow students to take the test any time during their high-school careers and as many times as necessary to pass. By using this existing and well-established test and its study materials that are already available for free online, this legislation has next to no implementation costs.

In addition to our efforts here in Arizona, civic and business leaders in six other states are launching campaigns to pass the Civics Education Initiative in their states. This non-partisan effort is affiliated with the Joe Foss Institute, based right here in Scottsdale.

The goal is to pass the Civics Education Initiative legislation in all 50 states by Sept. 17, 2017, the 230th anniversary of our United States Constitution. We can't think of a better way to celebrate the anniversary of our Constitution than to ensure that every future high-school graduate knows its significance.

The Civics Education Initiative is a quantifiable first step to ensure all students are taught basic civics about how our government works, and who we are as a nation -- things every high-school graduate should know to be ready for active, engaged citizenship.

Please join us in helping ensure that we pass the Civics Education Initiative in Arizona; contact your legislator today and urge them to support this critical state legislation.

Dennis DeConcini and Jon Kyl are former U.S. senators from Arizona.

 
Homeless in Arizona

stinking title