The ForumCivic Literacy
Civic Illiteracy a Growing Problem Among College Students
America’s colleges and universities have historically served as the embodiment of the fundamental principles which shape America.
Report
Alumni | General Education
Restoring America’s Legacy
September 1, 2002 by Anne D. Neal and Jerry L. Martin Download PDF
This eye-opening report reveals that despite growing public alarm about historical illiteracy and a Congressional Resolution calling for action, not a single one of America’s top 50 colleges and universities now requires the study of American history of its graduates. And in a continuing decline, only 10% of these same colleges require any study of history at all, a drop from 22% just two years prior. President Bush cited information in the report when he announced his national history and civics initiative in the Rose Garden on Constitution Day, September 17, 2002.
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Over the last 60 years, there has been unconscionable neglect of civics and American history at both the K-12 and university levels.
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Desperation and disillusionment with the political system run rampant among young Americans. Growing up in a nation characterized by political polarization and economic strife, Gen Z has been fed a hopeless narrative: problems are too big, and our votes are ineffective.
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Requiring U.S. history weighed for colleges
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"Losing America's memory"
Once upon a time in the bad old days you couldn’t graduate from most colleges and universities without taking a course in both American and European history. Nobody grumbled about it. We were prisoners of a system that honored Abraham Lincoln’s famous caution: “Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history.” In those bad old days such […]
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