| Show School and Home by Dr Daryl J. J McCarty Executive Secretary Utah Education Association Classroom subjects During the first half of this decade teenagers in the United States showed a decline in their knowledge of govern govern- ment They also lost ground in their understanding understanding understanding un un- un- un of and willingness to participate in the political process And they mixed advances with declines in recognizing and valuing constitutional rights That information comes to us from the National Assessment of Educational Progress Anna Ochoa president of the National Council for the Social Studies says electives courses that may maybe betaken be betaken taken at the option of a student are being substituted for hard core government classes In schools SIZE SHE ItE REPORTED that in 1961 more than students were enrolled in civics courses while in 1973 the number had dropped to I tl think this ties in with a popular cry of of today Back Dack to the basics Of course schools have never left what many consider the reading basics-reading writing and arithmetic But Dut arent aren't classes in government basic Isn't snUt it bi asic if a for a youth to know the names of the Presidents of the United States the governor of our state and members of Utah's congressional delegation Isn't it basic for our children to know how our state legislature works How lIow our courts operate Isn't it basic for them to study the United States Constitution and to Understand understand un- un its provisions Parents can impress on their l student children the importance of COUI courses in government when these youngsters are making their class selections selection for the coming year And theres there's another thing parents can do Take a look a at all your childrens children's classes and consider their content Isn't it true that every one of them is basic in many ways r |
