Dr. Pat Wright, State School Superintendent, judiciously withdrew a proposal that would have eliminated the third grade SOL history test when it became that groups from across the political spectrum were concerned about the message that would be implicitly sent by the removal of the exam.
A number of school superintendents across the state were hoping that tests not required by the federal government could be offered less frequently.
Reasonable enough, given all the testing mandates that they are under.
But the proposal to jettison a history exam struck a Virginia nerve.
Talk about bi-partisanship. I’ve never seen so many people argue on behalf of a test.
Kirk Cox, education groups, black history advocates, Colonial Williamsburg, Natve American associations.
In an era where we sometimes equate education solely with science and technology, it is was heartening to see just how many Virginians feel deeply that the study of history is crucial to our personal, political and cultural identity.
But civic education doesn’t seem to be faring as well.
The Politico notes that Tom Perriello did not renew the request for a federal earmark that had been annually put forward by Virgil Goode for Larry Sabato’s Center for Politics’ Youth Leadership Initiative.
Politico reports that while the Perriello staff believes that the program is valuable, it did not think it met the criteria the congressman had developed for supporting earmarks.
The story implies that Perriello might have an ulterior motive, one related either to Sabato’s prediction that Virgil Goode woud keep the seat or the fact that Cordel Faulk, a spokesperson for the Center, is considering a challenge to Periello in 2010.
Regardless of the motivation, I hope that civic education programs for young people can attract enough funding (private, foundation-based or governmental) to survive and flourish.
I’ve done some volunteering for the Youth Leadership Initiative and I’m always impressed- it involves kids in politics in a way that’s informative, exciting, and energizing.
These programs convey the spirit that Larry has brought to his entire career very well.
I’m very worried that politics is becoming a niche interest– like cooking, gardening, golf or home repair– and not a matter of common and general concern.
The study of history and the impetus to civic engagement should walk hand in hand.
I hope we don’t wind up choosing between the two.
As am I. If the schools don’t teach it, and the newspapers don’t cover it, how will our next generation learn about it?
Certainly the typical processes used by local governments militate against citizen involvement — meetings early in the process among insiders to determine what to do; then a couple of public hearings here or there to comply with the law, sometimes scheduled in the afternoon when many people are at work; notifications that meet only the bare minimum legal requirements; and the constant sense of people that their ideas are not heard and not appreciated. Special interests, lobbyists, attorneys and trade associations have ongoing relationships with our elected officials. Most citizens do not. And when they pursue that relationship — usually motivated by a crisis — they often perceive (correctly or incorrectly) that they have been given the cold shoulder. It is no wonder people stop pursuing a relationship with someone who they think treats them badly. Our elected officials need to bring politics into the daily fabric of citizens’ lives, not segregate politics from daily life and make it one more unpaid job that people are supposed to take on. Then again, sparsely attended meetings and citizen ignorance makes it a lot easier to “git er done” for special interests…