Robert Heinlein once wrote that a crime in every time and place was to tell young people the truth. Be that as it may, I did notice in my 24 years of teaching at a for-profit "college" (now mercifully put to sleep) that few of the students understood either their rights at citizens or the purposes of government. In my science classes I w…
Robert Heinlein once wrote that a crime in every time and place was to tell young people the truth. Be that as it may, I did notice in my 24 years of teaching at a for-profit "college" (now mercifully put to sleep) that few of the students understood either their rights at citizens or the purposes of government. In my science classes I would slip in these topics, but if these folks (mostly younger, lower income, and some who were veterans) had ever been exposed to civics it didn't stick. If that was typical, and I've not seen much better substituting in urban high schools, it is hard to see how we can long have a functioning democracy.
In short, a lot of marginalized people in this country may feel powerless and have no sense of where they are in history. So what happens to them seems just episodic and out of their control. Voting is not a high priority as they are concerned with just getting by and unless really reached could believe it is useless anyway. While certainly some are trying to get ahead with good educations (and at the for-profit I’d take those aside and tell them where to really get it), that route is increasingly seen as being out of reach. If nothing else student debt is crushing the hopes of those who know how to think and have made it through the systems left for the have-nots. And that is precisely the point.
Robert Heinlein once wrote that a crime in every time and place was to tell young people the truth. Be that as it may, I did notice in my 24 years of teaching at a for-profit "college" (now mercifully put to sleep) that few of the students understood either their rights at citizens or the purposes of government. In my science classes I would slip in these topics, but if these folks (mostly younger, lower income, and some who were veterans) had ever been exposed to civics it didn't stick. If that was typical, and I've not seen much better substituting in urban high schools, it is hard to see how we can long have a functioning democracy.
In short, a lot of marginalized people in this country may feel powerless and have no sense of where they are in history. So what happens to them seems just episodic and out of their control. Voting is not a high priority as they are concerned with just getting by and unless really reached could believe it is useless anyway. While certainly some are trying to get ahead with good educations (and at the for-profit I’d take those aside and tell them where to really get it), that route is increasingly seen as being out of reach. If nothing else student debt is crushing the hopes of those who know how to think and have made it through the systems left for the have-nots. And that is precisely the point.