Such is the title of Esther J.Cepeda’s commentary that appeared on October 9 in The Salt Lake Tribune; the timing couldn’t be better. As she wrote, “In our Internet-connected world where cute is king and issues of substance tend to be discussed only if there’s a catchy meme to share, people are far likelier to know that September 17 was National Apple Dumpling Day than that it marked the beginning of Constitution Week.”
And the piece just keeps getting better and better from there, including such facts as, on the NAEP, known as the nation’s report card, only 23% of tested 8th graders were at or above proficiency in civics. One reason finds the Fordham Institute: 60% of America’s largest school districts–teaching some 11 million students–have mission statements that do NOT mention civics, citizenship, or democracy–and the term “U.S. citizenship” appears on just one such statement…
Click here to read the entire piece.