Think back to your elementary and middle school years. What were the most dreadful days?
Oh yes, the days every few months when state-mandated standardized tests engulfed periods of your day that were better spent learning practical and applicable material. The days when your classroom teacher became a proctor and had to refrain from, you know, teaching.
Seemingly endless amounts of time and effort were spent on preparation and completion of these standardized tests, which, at early points in a child’s educational path, measured more on the success of the school district than the potential of the young pupil. Moreover, these tests focused mainly on subjects like mathematics, natural sciences, and reading comprehension. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had great instructors in those disciplines and all of these subjects are important to academic and social development, but what ever happened to civics and economics?
I’m not here to blame standardized education for every social problem in America, but let’s be honest about this issue. Why are so many young people clueless when it comes to learning basic facts about government and history? Let alone personal finance and consumer behavior?
Obviously the latter is meant for later on in high school but concerning the first issue, where is all the time and effort there?
Millennials like us belong to the most educated generation in human history. We have incredibly bright young chemists, biologists and future architects, so why is it that some of us at the college level cannot even name basic facts about our country’s history and government structure? Biases aside, the following video from Fox News’s Watter’s World examines students at Arizona State University to see if they can answer questions from the US Citizenship test.
Watter's World: U.S. Citizenship Test
As you can see, very poor correct answer percentage.
But it’s not just history and politics that many millennials tune out of these days. In addition, some young people lack basic understanding of the economy whether it be the law of supply and demand, the concept of inflation, or the fact that there is no such thing as a free lunch.
We’ll say things like, “make community college free!” or “raise the minimum wage!” though there is not usually then a definitive answer on how that is to happen or an understanding of the consequences. Money for free college and free this and free that has to come from somewhere. Often times, it comes from your tax dollars that get funneled through big government bureaucrats in Washington. Likewise, raising the minimum wage puts extra strain on small business employers who already deal with rising costs in goods, services, and a health-care system that chokes small businesses, who make up almost two-thirds of the economy. Then, the opposite results occur than what we desire: costs go up, hours go down, and businesses tank even if your wages increase. And with failing companies comes less supply, equal demand, and stagnant economic growth. Pretty soon the minimum wage would become the living wage, although it was never intended to be.
So where does this all fit into the educational outlook in America?
As you can see, economic and civic awareness is at the key of our daily lives. They affect our political process, our financial decision-making, and our social structure even if that is not seen on the surface.
Of course the STEM-based curriculums and the emphasis on standardized tests are not solely to blame for these ineptitudes in economics and civics. But the academic culture in America needs to change.
Sure, there are fantastic jobs out there in the sciences, in technology, and in engineering. However, in addition to preparing you for a career, school also needs to prepare you for life.
If we don’t understand basic economics and government, and we don’t know when tax day is for example, then how are we going to become productive citizens?
It’s time economics and civics were treated with as much importance as math and science.
