US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent...
Oh why am I not suprised?
Asked about the electoral college, 20 percent of elected officials incorrectly said it was established to "supervise the first televised presidential debates."
So, this archaic system of elections is even a mystery to the people who stand to benefit by it.
Among the questions asked of some 2,500 people who were randomly selected to take the test, including "self-identified elected officials," was one which asked respondents to "name two countries that were our enemies during World War II."
Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly identified Germany and Japan. Among the incorrect answers were Britain, China, Russia, Canada, Mexico and Spain.
This is where things become amazingly clear.
Education.
Education.
Education.
Ostensibly, these "elected officials" graduated high school, right? These same people who have greater contact with the international world than the average American apparently couldn't pass a basic (emphasis here on BASIC) highschool History or Civics/American Government class.
Delightful. And we wonder why the rest of the world thinks that the United States is filled with a bunch of privileged buffoons?
Of course, this may not be entirely thier fault. If the American society was one that valued an actual education, not just how fast someone can run or throw a ball or even how a face appears on the "big screen", we'd have a better education system.
When watching television, how often do you see an interviewee from a foreign country that doesn't speak better English than Americans?
Most Americans couldn't even ask "Where is the bathroom?" in another language.
Why aren't our young people being held to higher standards? Why aren't we holding the education system to higher standards. For that matter, why aren't their better national standards? Students in Alaska have a right to same quality of education a students in Florida.
Of course, I don't mean to pick on those "elected officials."
Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).
America is called the land of opportunity. We have a lot of opportunity for improvement.
Oh why am I not suprised?
Asked about the electoral college, 20 percent of elected officials incorrectly said it was established to "supervise the first televised presidential debates."
So, this archaic system of elections is even a mystery to the people who stand to benefit by it.
Among the questions asked of some 2,500 people who were randomly selected to take the test, including "self-identified elected officials," was one which asked respondents to "name two countries that were our enemies during World War II."
Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly identified Germany and Japan. Among the incorrect answers were Britain, China, Russia, Canada, Mexico and Spain.
This is where things become amazingly clear.
Education.
Education.
Education.
Ostensibly, these "elected officials" graduated high school, right? These same people who have greater contact with the international world than the average American apparently couldn't pass a basic (emphasis here on BASIC) highschool History or Civics/American Government class.
Delightful. And we wonder why the rest of the world thinks that the United States is filled with a bunch of privileged buffoons?
Of course, this may not be entirely thier fault. If the American society was one that valued an actual education, not just how fast someone can run or throw a ball or even how a face appears on the "big screen", we'd have a better education system.
When watching television, how often do you see an interviewee from a foreign country that doesn't speak better English than Americans?
Most Americans couldn't even ask "Where is the bathroom?" in another language.
Why aren't our young people being held to higher standards? Why aren't we holding the education system to higher standards. For that matter, why aren't their better national standards? Students in Alaska have a right to same quality of education a students in Florida.
Of course, I don't mean to pick on those "elected officials."
Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).
America is called the land of opportunity. We have a lot of opportunity for improvement.
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