[Vision2020] Are You Smart Enough to Be a Citizen?

[Scott Dredge]

<How do curriculum writers choose content?>
I'd hope they'd pick a broad array of questions regarding the American system of government.

<If not all amendments are
    to be taught in a course, how are the chosen chosen or the omitted
    chosen for omission? >
There are 27 amendments.  Some are 
pretty straightforward, uncontentious, and rarely put forth as arguments
 used for bolstering or striking down laws.  I think they're OK for 
historical reference, but is the 13th amendment going to come into play 
in any federal, state, or local referendums?  If not, then why put focus
 on it?  And yet Amendments 1, 2, 4, 5, and 14 are going to be invoked 
in Supreme Court cases ad nauseum until the Republic is dissolved.

<Analogously, how do teachers choose what to
    include, and what to exclude, from a course, or an individual class,
    if that's all the time that is available for a particular topic?>
I'd hope they'd pick a broad array of the most common things that cover the subject matter.

<Do
    the choices depend on the ages and levels of the students?>
Yes.

<Do the
    choices depend on what was available elsewhere in the curriculum,
    and assumed to be the case for the choices at hand?>
Yes.

<Do the answers to the above generalize from constitutional
    amendments to more general subject matters, mathematics, for
    instance?>
Not mathematics in general, but where numbers are 
pertinent with the American system of government, these questions should
 be on the list of what might be asked.  How many senators are there in 
Congress?  How many members are in the House of representatives?  How 
many justices comprise the Supreme Court?  How many total electoral 
votes are available in the electoral college?  Etc.

Other subject matters such questions regarding some basic America history should be asked IMO.  Who was the 1st president of United States?  Name the 2 senators of your state.  Who is the current president and vice president?  I think it's fair game to ask to name the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

<Do these choices reflect what students should know, in some sense of
    that term?>
Yes for the student questions.

<Do the choices reflect what adults should know?>
Yes - this would be a broader choice of questions that would also include some of the same questions that would be asked of students. 

If
    there is a difference, how can the difference be succinctly
    described?
1) Adult 2) minor.  For minors, test as appropriate per grade level.

Is there a reason why minors need citizenship as opposed to just having a green card (which is virtually the same thing as citizenship when for minors), and then apply for citizenship when they become adults?

-Scott



Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2013 15:03:39 -0800
From: kmmos1 at frontier.com
To: suehovey at moscow.com
CC: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Are You Smart Enough to Be a Citizen?


  
    
  
  
    

    On 12/9/2013 11:31 PM, Sue Hovey wrote:

    
    
      
      

      
      An example, if you were writing a high stakes citizenship
        test and wanted applicants to know the elements of the 4 most
        critical amendments, which 4 would you choose?      For me, I
        think   1, 13, 14 and hummmmm 4 5 15 26 19 ? the ERA if we ever
        get it passed?  Let me think about that.
    
    

    How do curriculum writers choose content?  If not all amendments are
    to be taught in a course, how are the chosen chosen or the omitted
    chosen for omission?  Analogously, how do teachers choose what to
    include, and what to exclude, from a course, or an individual class,
    if that's all the time that is available for a particular topic?  Do
    the choices depend on the ages and levels of the students?  Do the
    choices depend on what was available elsewhere in the curriculum,
    and assumed to be the case for the choices at hand?

    

    Do the answers to the above generalize from constitutional
    amendments to more general subject matters, mathematics, for
    instance?

    

    Do these choices reflect what students should know, in some sense of
    that term?  Do the choices reflect what adults should know?  If
    there is a difference, how can the difference be succinctly
    described?

    

    

    Ken

  


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