I aced your civics quiz - but I have to admit I was a little unsure on one of them! :) I teach at the college level, and have realized that the love of reading is really going away from young people. Honestly, it’s kind of going away for older people - I even find myself listening to audible books more than reading these days. I’m not sure if it’s just simply the cost of progress and using electronic devices - or needing to get information quickly, or if there are some other causes. I would not mind a deep dive on this subject someday.
I had a student recently that told me that she would not vote for Biden because he used to be a member of the KKK. The meme she was talking about was easily debunked - I sent her a Snopes article that was only about 6 paragraphs long. Her response was that she just said, ‘OK’ and followed that up with ‘yeah but I’m not gonna read all of that.’ Lots of my students are like that, reading, seems like a real chore to them even if it means finding out something important, especially about a false thing they might believe. I would like to find some positive things to do to reverse this trend, or at least change it in a meaningful manner.
"Not voting is like gift-wrapping your belongings and handing them to a burglar." I wish I could write that across the mind and heart of every American.
The craziest thing is that trumpism’s favorite whipping boy label is “antifa”…as if that’s some sort of well oiled, organized anti-American machine. Even if it was an organization, it’s almost as if nobody in the press knows that “antifa” is short for anti-fascist. In a sane world anti-fascists (like anti-racists) would be the good guys…fascists the bad guys. Somehow, the obvious is constantly overlooked nowadays, and the press leaves such labels undefined and unchallenged.
Again, amazing thought provoking articles. Thank you for taking the time to read and reflect. I believe this element is lacking in our schools and in our homes. I now value and appreciate what my 6-12th grade teachers had us do in class.(graduated in 73). We were required to produce and write about a current event 1x week and we were also required to memorize a great quote/poem. I use to dread both! They required I read and think of what I would write or my presentation.
And of course I have to chime in too. You are a wonder, Kareem. I spent many years marching and as Connecticut secretary for the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). I testified on the issue at the state legislature with my 6-month old daughter in my arms. She is now 45, and I am heartbroken that the Supreme Court took away her rights. And I admit to getting question 3 wrong. I definitely wanted it to be separation of church and state (even having been born in England where the monarch is head of the Church).
Just 7% of your readers pay? Seems like stealing. We seem to have a culture of getting away with anything you can get for free without recognizing the work that went into the product.
It's so patronizing to tell women that the threat to their womanhood (whatever that means--seriously) is trans people. It makes me so mad to see so many people falling for this "look over there!!" culture war strategy.
Meanwhile it will never stop being ironic to me how many "free thinking" drinkers will rail against big government, political correctness, etc etc and then just blithely assume the government is assuring the major alcohol purveyors that they are putting exactly the right amount of poison safely in their drink. Talk about taking the blue pill.
I too am concerned about our children learning about civics and politics. however my idea is further up the food chain. I propose that anyone running for federal office has to pass a US citizenship test before placing their name on the ballot. it would weed out some crazies and give the elected a base of knowledge to work from as opposed to talking points.
RE downturn in Black and HIspanic vote. The same is true in here GA - Black turnout down 11% hispanic turnout down 15% White turnout remained the same.
As a canvasser here in GA I ran into far too many black men who refused to vote because "Nothing makes a difference"- no matter what I said ie. " so you're just going to let them win without even showing up? " etc. seemed to work. Does anyone have any suggestions for next time I canvass a vote and run into nilism and deprression among black male voter. (never met a black woman who didn't want to vote) p.s. we had a black male and back female at the top of the ticket ( Stacey Abrams and Warnock)
Kareem , I look forward to your newsletter. I’m an old school liberal never voted for a Republican in my life, I’m pro choice, I’m left left left.
Comparing the “abortion” issue with the “males competing in female sports issue” isn’t fair. Two different things.
There has to be an answer besides letting biological men compete against biological women in sports. What’s the point in womens sports then? I think this issue will only hurt democrats.
"You know what would make a difference? If ethically minded companies refused to advertise on Fox News programs. That would be a real act of patriotism." I would add: "on ALL Fox programs/stations." I believe on Tucker's show, advertisers fled, but until all programs, including on Fox Sports, feel the financial impact, we won't see change.
I Iove this song & have been listening to it over & over to remind myself of one of the greats. His music will always live in my heart . His hometown in Canada loved him so much they erected a beautiful bronze statue to him.
For all those decrepit wrong wingers trying to convince the white populace of their knowledge and power, total BS. Of course they want to dumb down education to the masses because they are dumb themselves. It's all about belonging to a group and feeling accepted & having power, even when the message is total nonsense. How would tucker carlson know how white men fight? From some movie or online game? Please! Again, total BS. Oh sure he pulls back from the negative thoughts of actually killing the "antifa" kid. What a croc! Like he even has a conscience. As for nikki haley. Irrelevant.
Thank you for the little quiz. I aced it. Keep our minds & memories intact.
The adorable little child. Daddy! Wait for me please. 2 minutes to finish my cookie & vitamins. Just precious.
And the New Brownies Book. I am going to order one.
Thank you for your passionate writing and care for the future. Hopefully, a new generation of young people will have an epiphany & come to realize how precious freedom is & how much work it takes to preserve it.
Thankfully, It's no longer socially acceptable to harass gay people, at least not publicly. So, the fear/hate some have for the LGBTQ community has been squeezed into attacking the "T" population.
Shame on Nikki Haley for her intemperate remarks. She should listen to the counsel of the Congresswoman from her state, fellow Republican Nancy Mace who seems to have more reasonable views on LGBTQ issues and abortion.
I literally "gave up" trying to teach (I'm retired) what's now called "social studies" in most school districts due to the apathy that I encountered from the Board(s) of Education and Administrators who emphasized math, English and science over my subject. I was encouraged to add lesson plans which re-enforced those subjects, while foregoing actual history. It got to the point where I was more-or-less a glorified substitute teacher in the eyes of the school district.
One other point: there are many facets to "social studies" other than history and civics - there are also geography, economics and cultural and societal lessons that need to be taught. I was metaphorically handcuffed in that I was only permitted to teach watered-down history and geography lessons that coincided with the textbooks which were chosen by the Board of Education. Bottom line: it sucked.
I got called out SO many times because I would stray from the textbooks, but I would do it again. People need to get a full scope of "social studies". I would also add that world language(s) should be part of "social studies" - most of the language classes that I've taken are also studies in the culture of the people who speak that language.
Go Lakers! "Stop the Steph" - he's starting to look like Whitman Mayo (Grady from "Sanford and Son) as he gets older.
Kendrick Perkins? For real? Match up against Brooks then tell me your opinion. geez!
I am not surprised by the drop in scores for civics, history etc., given the ongoing campaign to denigrate the humanities and social science majors in college because they don't generate as big a return for investment (that is income compared to tuition and other education expenses). Colleges are dropping history, English and other similar degree programs. The emphasis is now largely on majors that generate high paying jobs (business management, STEM), while cutting those that focus on understanding humanity and both its achievements and transgressions. Both tracks are important and mutually supportive, and if one gets pared away, everyone will, eventually, lose out. (Note: I have my degrees in the natural sciences and spent my entire career on the applied end of them, but took lots of courses in the social sciences and humanities. Never regretted that, and I would say they helped me in both my personal life and professionally. Certainly college would have been less interesting without them.)
I aced your civics quiz - but I have to admit I was a little unsure on one of them! :) I teach at the college level, and have realized that the love of reading is really going away from young people. Honestly, it’s kind of going away for older people - I even find myself listening to audible books more than reading these days. I’m not sure if it’s just simply the cost of progress and using electronic devices - or needing to get information quickly, or if there are some other causes. I would not mind a deep dive on this subject someday.
I had a student recently that told me that she would not vote for Biden because he used to be a member of the KKK. The meme she was talking about was easily debunked - I sent her a Snopes article that was only about 6 paragraphs long. Her response was that she just said, ‘OK’ and followed that up with ‘yeah but I’m not gonna read all of that.’ Lots of my students are like that, reading, seems like a real chore to them even if it means finding out something important, especially about a false thing they might believe. I would like to find some positive things to do to reverse this trend, or at least change it in a meaningful manner.
Love your stuff as always!
"Not voting is like gift-wrapping your belongings and handing them to a burglar." I wish I could write that across the mind and heart of every American.
The craziest thing is that trumpism’s favorite whipping boy label is “antifa”…as if that’s some sort of well oiled, organized anti-American machine. Even if it was an organization, it’s almost as if nobody in the press knows that “antifa” is short for anti-fascist. In a sane world anti-fascists (like anti-racists) would be the good guys…fascists the bad guys. Somehow, the obvious is constantly overlooked nowadays, and the press leaves such labels undefined and unchallenged.
Again, amazing thought provoking articles. Thank you for taking the time to read and reflect. I believe this element is lacking in our schools and in our homes. I now value and appreciate what my 6-12th grade teachers had us do in class.(graduated in 73). We were required to produce and write about a current event 1x week and we were also required to memorize a great quote/poem. I use to dread both! They required I read and think of what I would write or my presentation.
And of course I have to chime in too. You are a wonder, Kareem. I spent many years marching and as Connecticut secretary for the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). I testified on the issue at the state legislature with my 6-month old daughter in my arms. She is now 45, and I am heartbroken that the Supreme Court took away her rights. And I admit to getting question 3 wrong. I definitely wanted it to be separation of church and state (even having been born in England where the monarch is head of the Church).
Just 7% of your readers pay? Seems like stealing. We seem to have a culture of getting away with anything you can get for free without recognizing the work that went into the product.
It's so patronizing to tell women that the threat to their womanhood (whatever that means--seriously) is trans people. It makes me so mad to see so many people falling for this "look over there!!" culture war strategy.
Meanwhile it will never stop being ironic to me how many "free thinking" drinkers will rail against big government, political correctness, etc etc and then just blithely assume the government is assuring the major alcohol purveyors that they are putting exactly the right amount of poison safely in their drink. Talk about taking the blue pill.
As per your always--your takes are spot on! Thanks for sharing!
I too am concerned about our children learning about civics and politics. however my idea is further up the food chain. I propose that anyone running for federal office has to pass a US citizenship test before placing their name on the ballot. it would weed out some crazies and give the elected a base of knowledge to work from as opposed to talking points.
RE downturn in Black and HIspanic vote. The same is true in here GA - Black turnout down 11% hispanic turnout down 15% White turnout remained the same.
As a canvasser here in GA I ran into far too many black men who refused to vote because "Nothing makes a difference"- no matter what I said ie. " so you're just going to let them win without even showing up? " etc. seemed to work. Does anyone have any suggestions for next time I canvass a vote and run into nilism and deprression among black male voter. (never met a black woman who didn't want to vote) p.s. we had a black male and back female at the top of the ticket ( Stacey Abrams and Warnock)
Kareem , I look forward to your newsletter. I’m an old school liberal never voted for a Republican in my life, I’m pro choice, I’m left left left.
Comparing the “abortion” issue with the “males competing in female sports issue” isn’t fair. Two different things.
There has to be an answer besides letting biological men compete against biological women in sports. What’s the point in womens sports then? I think this issue will only hurt democrats.
Thanks for your work.
"You know what would make a difference? If ethically minded companies refused to advertise on Fox News programs. That would be a real act of patriotism." I would add: "on ALL Fox programs/stations." I believe on Tucker's show, advertisers fled, but until all programs, including on Fox Sports, feel the financial impact, we won't see change.
I never thought I could act this way.
And I've got to say that I just don't get it.
I don't know where we went wrong.
But the feeling's gone
And I just can't get it back.
R.I.P. Gordon Lightfoot
I Iove this song & have been listening to it over & over to remind myself of one of the greats. His music will always live in my heart . His hometown in Canada loved him so much they erected a beautiful bronze statue to him.
For all those decrepit wrong wingers trying to convince the white populace of their knowledge and power, total BS. Of course they want to dumb down education to the masses because they are dumb themselves. It's all about belonging to a group and feeling accepted & having power, even when the message is total nonsense. How would tucker carlson know how white men fight? From some movie or online game? Please! Again, total BS. Oh sure he pulls back from the negative thoughts of actually killing the "antifa" kid. What a croc! Like he even has a conscience. As for nikki haley. Irrelevant.
Thank you for the little quiz. I aced it. Keep our minds & memories intact.
The adorable little child. Daddy! Wait for me please. 2 minutes to finish my cookie & vitamins. Just precious.
And the New Brownies Book. I am going to order one.
Thank you for your passionate writing and care for the future. Hopefully, a new generation of young people will have an epiphany & come to realize how precious freedom is & how much work it takes to preserve it.
One final thing about last night. 127-100!!
Go Warriors 🏀🏀
Thankfully, It's no longer socially acceptable to harass gay people, at least not publicly. So, the fear/hate some have for the LGBTQ community has been squeezed into attacking the "T" population.
Shame on Nikki Haley for her intemperate remarks. She should listen to the counsel of the Congresswoman from her state, fellow Republican Nancy Mace who seems to have more reasonable views on LGBTQ issues and abortion.
Thanks for the two videos!
Thanks Kareem,
I literally "gave up" trying to teach (I'm retired) what's now called "social studies" in most school districts due to the apathy that I encountered from the Board(s) of Education and Administrators who emphasized math, English and science over my subject. I was encouraged to add lesson plans which re-enforced those subjects, while foregoing actual history. It got to the point where I was more-or-less a glorified substitute teacher in the eyes of the school district.
One other point: there are many facets to "social studies" other than history and civics - there are also geography, economics and cultural and societal lessons that need to be taught. I was metaphorically handcuffed in that I was only permitted to teach watered-down history and geography lessons that coincided with the textbooks which were chosen by the Board of Education. Bottom line: it sucked.
I got called out SO many times because I would stray from the textbooks, but I would do it again. People need to get a full scope of "social studies". I would also add that world language(s) should be part of "social studies" - most of the language classes that I've taken are also studies in the culture of the people who speak that language.
Go Lakers! "Stop the Steph" - he's starting to look like Whitman Mayo (Grady from "Sanford and Son) as he gets older.
Kendrick Perkins? For real? Match up against Brooks then tell me your opinion. geez!
I am not surprised by the drop in scores for civics, history etc., given the ongoing campaign to denigrate the humanities and social science majors in college because they don't generate as big a return for investment (that is income compared to tuition and other education expenses). Colleges are dropping history, English and other similar degree programs. The emphasis is now largely on majors that generate high paying jobs (business management, STEM), while cutting those that focus on understanding humanity and both its achievements and transgressions. Both tracks are important and mutually supportive, and if one gets pared away, everyone will, eventually, lose out. (Note: I have my degrees in the natural sciences and spent my entire career on the applied end of them, but took lots of courses in the social sciences and humanities. Never regretted that, and I would say they helped me in both my personal life and professionally. Certainly college would have been less interesting without them.)