Comments on: Why Florida Government Is So Weird

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 03:41:25 +0000

If I didn’t know better, I’s think they didn’t want to encourage people to know they had rights and there were limits on the power of governments.[/snark … if anyone doubted]

By: andante

andante — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 03:13:10 +0000

No civics classes required to graduate from high school in this area, either. American history, yes, but precious little.

In our upside-down universe, things like science, civics, the arts, foreign language, and physical education have to take a back seat to “Intelligent Design” and abstinence education.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 20:11:57 +0000

Steve, I don’t disagree that students may not learn the material, but if it’s going to be “public” education, it should at least pretend that it serves a “public” purpose. If you don’t require it, students assume it isn’t important.

Michael, I had to take state history, geography, American government, US history, and world history to get an “academic/college prep” diploma. I don’t think it hurt me and I even know where the countries we invade are located.

These damn tests are killing education. In New York you had a state-wide test in each subject that functioned as your final exam. That was a good program, because it was based on the state curriculum, not somebody’s concept of a generalized question. There were no surprises, because you covered the material in your classes as part of the regular coursework.

Lark, I think you meant how the government is supposed to work, right?

POP, I had a state rep who channeled the ghost of John Wayne, and a state senator who was committed to a mental institution by his mother while he was in office. That’s why I fly a lege hurricane flag when these people get together in Tallahassee. My current senator, Durrell Peadon, is a medical doctor who believes that everyone in the state should be carrying at least one gun wherever they are.

“Civics, we don’t need no stinking civics”

By: pissed off patricia

pissed off patricia — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 18:53:43 +0000

Well look who we have in our government down here? Would you expect any of them to know civics themselves ? They are for the most part a bunch of freakin’ morons. Ask one of them to define a civics class. I’m pretty sure a couple of them would hit the wall on that one.

By: larkohio

larkohio — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 15:54:41 +0000

Every American should know the history of our country, and how the government works.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 15:34:17 +0000

Welcome to the wonderful world of high-stakes testing. Back in my salad days, we had to take one American government class to graduate from junior high, and another to graduate from high school. And if I’d gone to a state university in Illinois for my bachelor’s as well, I’d have had to pass a third class (or at least a proficiency test) to get that degree. It’s still a bachelor’s requirement at state universities, but I’m not sure what the graduation requirements for high school are these days. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that government, like a lot of the other electives I took (some of which I enjoyed and some of which I merely endured), has since vanished from the curriculum because of some preznit’s puff policy or some education ninny’s dissertation research.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 05:41:38 +0000

Shouldn’t a native-born citizen know as much as a naturalized citizen?

Well, certainly. But the wee bit of evidence I remember seeing suggests that most of those who completed Civics courses as part of their graduation requirement still didn’t know much about history or how state and federal governements do/don’t work. Just as all that time spent on English and mathematics will not result in many who are even minimally competent in those subject areas.