September 8, 2005

Expert: Lack of civics knowledge a serious, yet fixable, problem

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – James Madison. Alexander Hamilton. Freedom of speech, religion and assembly. The separation of powers. Most would agree these are historical figures and basic concepts with which every American should be familiar.

But Phillip VanFossen, an associate professor of social studies education in Purdue's College of Education and director of the James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship, says unfortunately, that's not necessarily the case.

"The fact is that many Americans lack fundamental knowledge and understanding about the Constitution, our nation's history and the principles on which our republic was founded, and that should be a concern to all of us," he says.

As the nation's schools prepare to celebrate the first Constitution and Citizenship Day this month – mandated by Congress last year in an effort to increase civic literacy – VanFossen says a renewed focus on civics education couldn't come at a better time.

He cites statistics from a study sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation earlier this year. It found that more than a third of high school students think the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees, three out of four think flag burning is illegal and half believe the government can censor the Internet.

VanFossen says students who lack knowledge of their rights and of the Constitution are not only misinformed, but they miss out on the many important lessons the Constitution can teach us, such as:

• We can learn precisely what our system of government is and why it was created that way.

"Many Americans hold the mistaken notion that our system is a 'democracy,'" VanFossen says. "In fact, the Constitution laid out a federal republic with clear separation of powers and a representative – rather than a directly democratic – system. Our founders were quite fearful of a 'tyranny of the masses,' so the authors of the Constitution designed a unique system that instead placed decision making in the hands of elected representatives."

• We can learn that our system of government has not been, and is not now, perfect, but that the Constitution provides a unique mechanism for self-correction. The process laid out by the founders has added 27 amendments (including the Bill of Rights) that have brought our nation closer to realizing our goal of a "more perfect union," VanFossen says.

• We can better analyze current events because understanding our past helps us understand the present. John Roberts, recently nominated to the Supreme Court, has outlined his philosophy on interpreting the Constitution. Why does this matter?

"Supreme Court justices' interpretation of the Constitution can have dramatic effects on our way of life," VanFossen says. He says examples of this impact can be found in landmark cases, such as Miranda vs. Arizona, which established that police officers must read criminal suspects their rights before placing them under arrest. More recently, in Bush vs. Gore, the high court's decision to stop the recount of ballots in Florida led to the election of our current president.

VanFossen says the creation of a day to place emphasis on citizenship education is a positive step, although he wishes a federal requirement were not necessary.

"As a citizenship educator, I would like more students to take it upon themselves to become interested in the history that helped shape this nation," he says. "I hope students' curiosity will be piqued with the activities our nation's schools will plan for Constitution Day. Although it is only one day, it will bring a much-needed focus to the issue of civics education. It is a small, but important, step."

Writer: Kim Medaris, (765) 494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu

Source: Phillip VanFossen, (765) 494-2367, vanfoss@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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