 |
|
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon With its colorful cache of purples and oranges and reds, COLLARD GREEN SLAW is a marvelous mood booster --- not to mention just downright delish
April 18, 2014
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Clarifying one of the greatest philosophical conundrums in theology
John Ericson: Trying hard to be 'positive' but never succeeding? Blame Your Brain
The Kosher Gourmet by Julie Rothman Almondy, flourless torta del re (Italian king's cake), has royal roots, is simple to make, . . . but devour it because it's simply delicious
April 14, 2014
Rabbi Dr Naftali Brawer: Passover frees us from the tyranny of time
Eric Schulzke: First degree: How America really recovered from a murder epidemic
Georgia Lee: When love is not enough: Teaching your kids about the realities of adult relationships
Gordon Pape: How you can tell if your financial adviser is setting you up for potential ruin
Dana Dovey: Up to 500,000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver disease. New Treatment Has Over 90% Success Rate
Justin Caba: Eating Watermelon Can Help Control High Blood Pressure
April 11, 2014
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Silence is much more than golden
Susan Swann: How to value a child for who he is, not just what he does
Susan Scutti: A Simple Blood Test Might Soon Diagnose Cancer
Chris Weller: Have A Slow Metabolism? Let Science Speed It Up For You
April 9, 2014
Jonathan Tobin: Why Did Kerry Lie About Israeli Blame?
Samuel G. Freedman: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Jessica Ivins: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Matthew Mientka: How Beans, Peas, And Chickpeas Cleanse Bad Cholesterol and Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
April 8, 2014
Dana Dovey: Coffee Drinkers Rejoice! Your Cup Of Joe Can Prevent Death From Liver Disease
Chris Weller: Electric 'Thinking Cap' Puts Your Brain Power Into High Gear
April 4, 2014
Amy Peterson: A life of love: How to build lasting relationships with your children
John Ericson: Older Women: Save Your Heart, Prevent Stroke Don't Drink Diet
John Ericson: Why 50 million Americans will still have spring allergies after taking meds
Sarah Boesveld: Teacher keeps promise to mail thousands of former students letters written by their past selves
April 2, 2014
Dan Barry: Should South Carolina Jews be forced to maintain this chimney built by Germans serving the Nazis?
Frank Clayton: Get happy: 20 scientifically proven happiness activities
Susan Scutti: It's Genetic! Obesity and the 'Carb Breakdown' Gene
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Sept. 18, 2007
/ 6 Tishrei 5768
Cheating college students
By
Cal Thomas
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | "If you can read this, thank a teacher," says the bumper sticker on the car in front of me. But literacy is more than the ability to read a bumper sticker. It also includes the accumulation of basic knowledge combined with a way of thinking that allows an individual to lead a life that is personally productive and contributes to America's health and welfare.
For the second year in a row, America's elite universities and colleges have failed to rise above a "D plus" on tests of basic knowledge about civics and American history, maintains a study commissioned by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's (ISI). In 2005, ISI contracted with the University of Connecticut's Department of Public Policy (UConnDPP) to administer tests of basic historical and civic knowledge to 14,000 students at 50 top schools, including Yale, Harvard, Cornell, the University of Virginia, Brown and Duke. The survey found that students "were no better off than when they arrived in terms of acquiring the knowledge necessary for informed engagement in a democratic republic and global economy." Since an education at top colleges can cost as much as $40,000 a year, it would appear that those paying the bill are being cheated.
ISI's final report entitled "The Coming Crisis in Citizenship: Higher Education's Failure to Teach America's History and Institutions," presented four pivotal findings:
1. The average college senior knows very little about America's history, government, international relations and market economy. Their average score on the civic literacy test was 53.2 percent. "No class of seniors scored higher than 69 percent, or D plus."
2. Prestige doesn't pay off. "An Ivy League education contributes nothing to a student's civic learning. … There is no relationship between the cost of attending college and the mastery of America's history, politics, and economy."
3. Students don't learn what colleges don't teach. "Schools where students took or were required to take more courses related to America's history and institutions," says the ISI, "outperformed those schools where fewer courses were completed. The absence of required courses in American history, political science, philosophy and economics suggests a negative impact on students' civic literacy."
| FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO INFLUENTIAL NEWSLETTER |
| Every weekday NewsAndOpinion.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". HUNDREDS of columnists and cartoonists regularly appear. Sign up for the daily update. It's free. Just click here. |
|
America's most prestigious colleges had the worst scores. Many of the schools that typically rank the highest in popularity scored among the lowest in advancing civic knowledge. Generally, the ISI study found, the higher the ranking by U.S. News and World Report in its annual survey of institutions of higher education, the lower the rank in civic learning. "Even when controlling for numerous variables that influence learning, seniors at schools with reasonably strong core curricula — for example, Rhodes, Calvin and Wheaton — had double the gain in civic learning compared with those seniors at schools without a coherent core curriculum — for example, Brown, Cornell and Stanford."
4. Greater civic learning goes hand-in-hand with more active citizenship. "Students who demonstrated greater learning of America's history and its institutions were more engaged in citizenship activities such as voting, volunteer community service and political campaigns." The study found that "86 percent of the students at the four highest-ranked colleges had exercised their right to vote at least once. At Colorado State, ranked second overall, 90 percent of seniors had voted at least once. … Higher civic learning and greater civic involvement are closely associated."
Here are three of the test questions. Even partially informed people who believe American history is a better teacher than fascination and fixation on the latest news about Britney Spears and O.J. Simpson ought to be able to answer them correctly. The entire 60 multiple-choice questions can be found on ISI's Web site, www.isi.org.
1. Which battle brought the American Revolution to an end: (a) Saratoga, (b) Gettysburg, (c) the Alamo, (d) Yorktown, (e) New Orleans?
2. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) was significant because it: (a) ended the war in Korea, (b) Gave President Johnson the authority to expand the scope of the Vietnam War, (c) Was an attempt to take foreign policy power away from the president, (d) Allowed China to become a member of the United Nations, (e) Allowed for oil exploration in Southeast Asia.
3. Which of the following is the best measure of production or output of an economy (a) Gross Domestic Product, (b) Consumer Price Index, (c) Unemployment rate (d), Prime Rate (e) Exchange rate?
Everyone should take the test. No cheating and no, I'm not going to give you the answers. If you're interested enough to read this column, you ought to be smart enough to know them. If not, then you paid too much college tuition, or didn't take college seriously enough to get a real education.
In 1777, John Adams wrote to his son about the importance of education. He said it was necessary to teach the next generation about America's founding principles in order to preserve the freedom and independence so many of his fellow countrymen sacrificed to achieve. Only when we know and embrace those principles can we pass on to a new generation that which we inherited from the past. The ISI study reveals severe cracks in that foundation; cracks that need immediate attention and repair.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Cal Thomas is the author of, among others, The Wit and Wisdom of Cal Thomas Comment by clicking here.
Cal Thomas Archives
© 2006, Tribune Media Services, Inc.
|
|
Columnists
Toons
Lifestyles
|
