Citizenship education needed
Founding Father Thomas Jefferson wrote that an educated populace is necessary for democracy to survive. It has long been my belief that the lack of civics knowledge cited in your recent editorial is the intended result of politicians’ efforts to have voters who can be easily swayed. The current emphasis on the “STEM” subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or adding to the arts to make it “STEAM,” ignores studying how governments work and our responsibility in keeping ours strong.
The current political cycle is a case in point. Almost every candidate, whether on the federal, state or local levels, is saying that they will bring back or create jobs for the middle class. Yet anyone who has diligently read your newspaper recently learned that there are 4 million jobs in the United States that are unfilled and the unemployment rate is relatively low. They would have learned that many of the unfilled jobs in the local Marcellus Shale industry are the result of a lack of basic math and reading skills among applicants, or failed drug tests.
An educated voter would understand that in our democracy, no one person can do anything on their own. If they could, we would not have a democracy. We need leaders who have ideas for our future and who promises to work with others to find ways to make all our lives better.
Above all, our leaders should re-evaluate the quality of citizenship education in this country.
Martha M. Quimby
Washington