Did you read this story in today's San Francisco Chronicle?
Seniors at UC Berkeley, the nation's premier public university, got an F in their basic knowledge of American history, government and politics in a new national survey, and students at Stanford University didn't do much better, getting a D.
Out of 50 schools surveyed, Cal ranked 49th and Stanford 31st in how well they are increasing student knowledge about American history and civics between the freshman and senior years.
Graphic courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle
It's not at all surprising to me. The majority of San Francisco's local community and civic affairs blogs cover mainly social events. There are many blogs for young people who have just arrived in San Francisco (within the past several years) and who are still thrilled to make all those special little "inside" discoveries the rest of us (who are long-time or lifetime San Franciscans) made years ago. These blogs chat endlessly about exciting new discoveries like good places to eat on a tight budget, great places to see the City high on a hill, the cheapest place to find designer clothes, and ad infinitum.
Few of those blogs cover anything important to the current life or future of the City. I have assumed we simply had a lack of serious social science students in the City. Maybe that is not the problem. The facts suggest it is true that most of our college and university students are simply under-educated before they arrive at our local college admission offices. We seem to have under-educated students who, for whatever reason, have failed to develop any interest in or understanding of the subjects that have the power to assure them that they and their eventual children will be able to live lives in peace.
This could be the reason why so few young bloggers address our City's social, civic and political issues. Maybe it is simply because the whole subject matter is above their comfort level to assess and discuss. Perhaps they simply have nothing to add ... because they have poor understanding of what's going on around them ... because they are getting F grades in American history, government and politics. They are failing in their responsibilities as adult Americans. This may be the generation that will lose our freedom.
If a generation fails to understand that freedom is not free, they are surely destined to be slaves. Our current flock of young college students are collective Bozos who are ripe for being sold a plot of Florida swamp land. They are naive lambs waiting to be slit from ear-to-ear by people from other areas and countries who grow up in environments less protected and naive, and, from a place where people place a higher value on a solid knowledge of history, government and politics.
When America is being led by half-educated people who have forgotten our history, have weak knowledge of how our government-of-the-people works, and who have poor understanding of our political system ... it will not be long before the United States of America collapses into defeat.
Students who lack these vital elements of their education are not deserving of their degrees and are not deserving of acceptance by the larger society as fully educated and competent American adults. They are an embarrassment to themselves, a humiliation to their schools and a danger to our nation.
The staff and trustees of the institutions should feel thoroughly humiliated and disgraced. You have failed. You have decimated our institutions, damaged the sanctity of higher education and you may be significantly instrumental in the decline and collapse of this nation. Your careers are pathetic.
Our students, our nation and our future DEMAND better than you seem able to provide.
The complete study may be read here
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