8.04.2012

Thought Provoking Article: State seeks to boost student knowledge about government

Photo: Renato Ganoza/Creative Commons
Students Taking a Test by Renato Ganoza
Call me biased - but I believe social studies is an essential component to education. However, there has been a push to emphasize math and language arts through the emphasis on standardized tests. Even science has seen a greater push recently with STEM programs. This article, "State seeks to boost student knowledge about government," examines a push by some to re-emphasize social studies - unfortunately through further testing.

I do not believe testing should be the reason students learn material - instead again I believe the focus should be on helping students learn how to read, write, and think critically and independently. Check out the article "State seeks to boost student knowledge about government" here. Unfortunately states are too tied to tests to emphasize importance.

As the article states: "A third of Americans can't name any of the three branches of government. Fewer than half understand what separation of powers is, and twice as many can name a judge on American Idol than the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.Survey after survey has shown that Americans lack basic knowledge about how their government works. That's something Florida lawmakers hope to change."

No comments:

Post a Comment