America's Civics Education in Trouble

 

By Chloe Olsen, Class of 2021

Dinner is served, and the powers of the government are hungry. As politicians eagerly lift the lid from the silver platter, there lie your rights. All the worse, you, the server, did not look under the lid before you inadvertently surrendered your freedom to the mouths of tyrants. 

Many Americans are ignorant of what the Constitution means, or even what it says, for that matter. Over half of U.S. citizens have admitted to never laying eyes on the Constitution, the document that secures our rights and limits governmental powers. Americans either do not realize that the Constitution is the electric fence between tyranny and liberty, or they misinterpret usurpations of rights as harmless acts. 

When the government attempts to abuse its power, it is not always obvious. Rather, abuse of power and violation of rights are often under the nose, masked as a necessity for the “common good.” For this reason, many citizens fall prey to subtle attacks of freedom, unable to recognize tyranny for what it truly is. Here emerges the urgency of a proper civics education. Our country’s lack of civics education has raised generations of Americans who do not know the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment or even what the three branches of government are. If we come to understand the Constitution and the way our government functions, however, we will be armed to defend our rights.

Providence seniors take Mr. Rottman’s U.S. Government course, which includes an in-depth study of the Constitution. Considering the seniors have not yet taken economics or even completed their U.S. Government class, the contrast between the knowledge of these high school students and average Americans is jarring. Providence seniors were asked a series of questions regarding the Constitution, and the results were compared to those of American polls. 

When Americans were asked, “Which five rights are guaranteed by the First Amendment?” a mere 3% could list all five, while nearly 71% of Providence seniors answered correctly. In answering another question, 79% of seniors knew that the Senate confirms Supreme Court nominees while only 30% of Americans answered correctly. The percentage of seniors’ accuracy in answering these constitutional-knowledge questions was markedly higher than the average American for each of six factual questions. 

When asked more subjective questions, the stark contrast of results continued; 36% of Providence seniors believe that the minimum wage should be reduced or eliminated, while only 5% of Americans agree (and this is before those seniors have experienced their AP microeconomics course). When looking at the topic of minimum wage, Americans tend to view it as an equality or general welfare issue rather than a freedom issue. That said, a comprehensive knowledge of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution would clarify whether or not federal minimum wage laws are constitutional and squash misunderstandings. 

As seen by the comparison of constitutional quiz results, proper civics education is imperative to the basic and necessary knowledge of rights. The Declaration of Independence states that the function of government is to secure our rights. Public comprehension of the Constitution is remarkably poor, and civics engagement is at an all-time low. Providence combats these dangers to our republic by preparing students to be both informed and engaged citizens. By the time they graduate high school, Providence students likely have a greater understanding of the constitution than 99% of Americans. 

Bereft of civic knowledge, Americans will be ill-equipped to defend our unique system.  Attacking the erosion of Americans’ rights at its roots requires sufficient education on the Constitution for Americans of all ages. The more we are unable to identify the powers governments have and the rights you have, the more we hand the ability to violate those rights to the government on a silver platter. Once our rights are seized by the unrelenting jaws of politicians, it is difficult to restore them or prevent more from being devoured. 

Let not the discovery of our rights occur as we read their names in an obituary. Providence equips students to understand their freedoms, so that they can guard these rights against disguised threats—before it’s too late. 

COVID, Learning, and Liberty

COVID, Learning, and Liberty

Bend the curve. Social distancing. A few months ago, these might have referenced grading trends or high school dances, but now, they seem destined to enter 2020’s lexicon as something we’d like to forget.

What’s it like to do distance learning at Providence? Two personal first impressions:

1) Providence teachers and students pivoted to online learning over a weekend, and though it wasn’t seamless, it was amazing. We are still doing excellent work! Just speaking for myself (other teachers are far more creative and competent than me), I’ve given lectures, had one-on-one tutorial sessions, class discussions, conducted a mock trial, and zoomed quizzes and tests. And, of course, students get grades. 

2)  But. There’s always a “but,” right? Online learning teaches you why a traditional face-to-face education is so valuable and “lockdown learning” (that’s my term) is so confining and incomplete. I miss lunchtime and study hall and before school and after school conversations with students. I miss the ease of traditional education. I typically had nearly 2000 minutes of face to face interactions with students each week, which is why I never longed to talk to anyone right after school—I was too tuckered out. Now, I’m lucky to get a few hundred virtual face to face minutes with students per week and I’m talking to myself too much at home.

The good news is, this will pass. No longer will I hear a freshman say, “Raise your virtual hand!” I won’t miss the occasional garbled audio feeds, the “just got out of bed” appearances from some students, the barking dogs and binging computers, and my own steep learning curves with distance learning.

Life will get much better. I have always reminded students how good we all have it. We are 35 times, give or take a few “times,” wealthier than our ancestors. Our problems are often (though certainly not always) trivial. The Black Death killed a third of Europe’s population in the 14th century. Chinese peasants mugged each other over the results of their retrieval of  buckets of “night soil” from the common latrines. Life is strained now, but our ancestors faced worse issues. We will defeat this virus, and when we do, inexorably, life will not only return to normal, it will be so much more sweet! The pent up demand will find goods, businesses will rehire workers, we’ll be able to sit down at restaurants, and the koinonia will return in full measure to our church gatherings.

Some things may change. In the past, crises tended to birth a statist leviathan; I hope that doesn’t happen. The handshake had a good, 1000 year run; that may be over. Some ways of doing business will evolve. We might want to stomp, virtually of course, on our Zoom software. And some good will perhaps emerge--a re-emergence of federalism would be refreshing, as states do their own experiments in reacting to the virus.

But let’s also embrace the “not change” portions of our lives when the corona virus is dethroned. Let’s enjoy lively give and take, good communal meals, hugs and shoulder rubs. Let’s continue caring for the vulnerable, and look forward to the day when students and teachers can both return to our classrooms, white boards, shared dining tables, sports, plays, games, lounging on the artificial turf—the things that make life sweet.

See you all, hopefully soon—in the classrooms, not at all virtually, but in flesh and blood, and sooner than we expect or fear. 

Words and Numbers Hosts Visit Providence

By Chloe Olsen, Class of 2021

Coercion’s grasp is capable of stripping American society of liberties, and our deliverance relies on cooperation.

On Tuesday, February 21, Drs. James Harrigan and Antony Davies presented a talk to Providence students targeting these concepts. Dr. Harrigan is the managing director of the Center for Philosophy of Freedom and the University of Arizona, and Dr. Davies is a professor of economics at Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh. In their popular podcast, “Words and Numbers,” the two delve into philosophy and economics. They are currently traveling the country and have now visited Providence three times in the past four years to impart their wisdom to high school students entering into a world where an awareness of subjects like these is crucial. Providence is a school that places an immense gravity on students’ knowledge of ideas, including economic and political ideas. They talked about the governmental hold on citizens’ lives, the extent to which coercion should be accepted and considered beneficial, and the fruits of cooperation. As authors of Cooperation and Coercion, a book that unpacks the tendency in human relations to either comply or constrain, they posed the pros and cons of both trends during their talk.

Harrigan began the discussion on the topic of coercion. Explaining the problematic nature of societal constrictions, he addressed the myriad of limitations on day-to-day activities such as those on our use of water and where we can cross the street. Another form of coercion from the government appears in the price of harmful products. He gave the example of the dramatic increase in the cost of cigarettes. During the 1980s, a pack of cigarettes could be purchased for roughly one dollar, while today a pack costs nearly seven dollars. In an attempt to prevent unhealthy habits, our government has nudged citizens into living a life they believe is best for us.

Students were encouraged to question these regulations. Should such constraints exist to prevent self-inflicted harm, or should regulations be in place solely to prevent one person from harming another? Nations exercising too much coercion become consumed by a sea of regulations on everyday life which compromise the liberty that keeps our country afloat. With examples such as China’s social credit system and its former limits on the amount of children per family, Harrigan warned of the damaging effects of a coercive government.

Post-presentation, students in the Libertas Scholars program meet Dr. Harrigan and Dr. Davies.

Rather than forceful leadership, perhaps our prosperity depends on cooperation. Davies led students in an interactive experiment that emulated real-world commerce. Students divided into groups of four who traded within the group, aiming to multiply their products and create the largest amount of goods possible. One side had a comparative advantage and was significantly more efficient at production than its competition. However, despite one group’s lack of skill and one’s clear industrial domination, both gained from the cooperation; in fact, those who were the poorest improved more. Through this experimental economics, Davies demonstrated that trade works to not only make us all better off, but also to decrease economic inequality. With an engaging, palpable take on production and consumption, his example helped students understand the often unrecognized fairness of cooperative exchange. Similar to this exercise, there exists a reciprocity in cooperation that debunks the popular notion that all sellers are thieves. Trade produces profit for the disadvantaged in the deal and lessens economic inequality.

In groups of four, Providence students and teachers participate in an interactive economics experiment led by Dr. Davies.

Students work together to solve production and efficiency problems through trading.

Drs. Harrigan and Davies conclude the discussion with a Q and A, where students had the opportunity to ask questions about the talk and about economics and politics in general.

The matter of whether force or compliance is best for our nation is certainly relevant. Amidst the current political climate and upcoming election, an understanding of economics is especially vital. With a unique optimism, Harrigan shared that he expects our generation to have an awareness of the importance of liberty and value of trade that many millenials do not always recognize.

Our school promotes the economic and political education of students, as this insight is necessary for navigating the world of politics and life as an American citizen. Providence High School students   attained a worthwhile understanding of coercion and cooperation from Tuesday’s discussion and greatly appreciated the two talks. Students were particularly drawn to the comprehensibility of the presentation. Senior Chloe Norton shared, “They make economics a more tangible subject. I think that a lot of the times I am intimidated by the concepts, but both Antony Davies and James Harrigan make it simple without losing its vast complexity.” Others were motivated to further their understanding in this area. Junior Nolan Lundgaard said, “I thought it was so great to hear from these economists today, and everything they had to say about the benefits of working together and the drawbacks (and the good) that result from coercion. It just underlines the importance of cooperation in society and that things will be better off once humans begin working with others. The whole presentation was super inspiring.” Junior Josh Frankenfield added, “Personally, I really enjoyed the presentations... It was quite intriguing to see the contrasting ways on solving problems (coercion vs. cooperation) and which option yields better results. Discussions and topics like those that were presented are the reason why I am fascinated by economics.”

James Harrigan and Antony Davies spurred on a venture for learning political and economic truth and a cultivation of knowledge through considering that coercion may be poisoning liberties, but cooperation is fruitful to all.