Nearly 10 percent of college grads think Judge Judy is on Supreme Court
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Nearly 10 percent of college graduates think television’s Judge Judy serves on the Supreme Court, according to a new report released this month.
The report , titled "A Crisis in Civic Education," was based on a survey of 1,000 adults in August and concludes that "recent college graduates are alarmingly ignorant of America's history and heritage.”
"They cannot identify the term lengths of members of Congress, the substance of the First Amendment, or the origin of the separation of powers," the report said, referring to college graduates.
The lack of civic knowledge extended to the Supreme Court, where 9.6 percent of college graduates incorrectly identified Judith Sheindlin — who handles small legal disputes on the TV show "Judge Judy" — as a justice. Another 5.5 percent of college grads picked John Kerry , the former senator who is now secretary of State, as a member of the court.
Of those surveyed, the report found only 28.4 percent of college graduates identified James Madison as the father of the Constitution, while 59.2 percent thought the answer was Thomas Jefferson.
Nearly 40 percent of college graduates didn't know Congress has the power to declare war and less than 50 percent of the college graduates surveyed were aware that presidential impeachments are tried before the U.S. Senate.
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni, which released the report, said the results of the survey show students are being short-changed.
“Instead of demanding content-based coursework, our institutions have, in too many places, supplanted the rigorous study of history and government — the building blocks of civic engagement — with community-service activities,” the report says.
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I don't know if I should laugh or cry. As a retired teacher, I am appalled.
Cry first. Laughing comes when your mind is finally blown from contemplating how many stupid people are out there. Remember, this is a nation where a significant percentage of the population believes in creationism (or a flat Earth) and/or rejects evolution and other scientific facts. Appalling is putting it nicely.
Alexander Hamilton was right the masses are asses. Move on.org is doing us no favor by helping them register to vote.
Gordy,
Still.. even if you don't believe in science, you should know your houses of government and they don't. How can we expect people to make educated choices when they don't get how their government works?
Adams and Jefferson and Franklin wanted to make sure that the masses were well informed. Something happened along the way...
Are you suggesting that all of the stupid people vote Democratic?
John Stuart Mill had a few choice words on this subject,
Conservatism appeals to ignorant people because they don't have to consider answers to problems and how things would change. Conservatism is about preserving the status quo, despite the problems that are not solved. Change is scary to people who cannot or refuse to think.
Just for the record, I am all about science (not that I'm saying you're implying otherwise). But I use science as an example of the collective ignorance and/or stupidity within our nation today. But that also extends to the socio-political realm (such as your government example) as well.
To be fair, I don't think the government makes educated choices either. But I digress.
I can think of one thing as a generalization.
A taxpayer-supported high school education might have been sufficient in 1900 but we need to do much more and make lifetime education subsizided by the government because we are not keeping up with the worldwide standard. The internet and PBS are not be properly utilized for this goal because they are valuable tools in addition to brick and mortar schools. I am not supporting charter schools because for the most part they have been an expensive mistake when compared to not-for-profit public education. Teachers are insultingly underpaid for the work that they do. My older sister teaches learning disabled students and we help her buy supplies because the school budget has been slashed by Republicans.
Quite possibly no truer words ever spoken.
Yeah politics happened...
There was a reason that GW hated politics, took a specifically stated non-political administration and thought politics had no place in government....
Those that think education should be political? Look to history to identify those people.... (and what happened to their nations)
The masses MUST be informed to make good decisions, but when it is decided politically what information is correct to be disseminated (taught) you no longer have education, you have brainwashing with propaganda......
Politics has no place in a classroom...
Nice political spiel there, right out of the NEA's campaign book...
Do you have a rational rebuttal instead of a sweeping generalization? I do support unions because the higher wages create a stable middle class and organized labor is on a more equal footing to management. I want well-educated teachers in the classroom instead of people with 6-month certificates who just read out of a workbook or tell students to follow the prompts on a tablet/laptop. I've had excellent teachers and I've had horrific teachers/profs who couldn't teach the subject, even if they had a working knowledge of it.
One of the most frustrating things I've had to deal with is when my local community college has a course I'm interested in taking, they make me take a basic education test to make sure I can handle education level of the course material..... (ace every single one they throw at me to the testers amazement)
I went to school back in the 50's and 60's back when they actually taught something worth using to manage your everyday life, or needed to understand the world around you....
Politics or being taught to what the teachers opinion of right was unheard of and when discovered the teachers doing such were separated from their teaching credentials.....
Today, the union specifies who gets to teach and in some cases what they are going to teach.....
And of course out here, they have the students on the picket line with them when they illegally go on strike....
What's being taught?
It certainly isn't rational thinking, looking at both sides and making a judgment? No, it's not, critical thinking skills are lost when education comes with the thinking already decided...
It's known as propaganda..
I take continuing education credits and often a course a year just for my knowledge.
Professors should keep their opinions out of the classroom, even when asked. They teach the material and don't editorialize. Their opinions become public knowledge only after the material is taught or on the last day of class.
That should not happen. The teachers should get a voice on what books are used.
I support teachers if they feel that they deserve a raise (they usually do) or if the education system is being attacked by a partisan idea.
You don't teach them what to think. You teach them how to think.
Everyone has an opinion.
Well unfortunately the teachers union in this state has a direct link into the government and the state supreme court.
Teachers union money has perverted equal representation in this state...
I only wish they taught how instead of what.....
Considering the fact that only landed men voted, and participated in governing, they denied the right to vote to as many of 'the masses' as possible.
Waiting until they are in college is way too late. In the 60's, we were reading the Constitution and learning civics in grade school. It used to piss me off that teachers were more into making sure we memorized dates than in making sure we understood the principles and what the events MEANT to our civilization.
That's an idealistic statement when one sees the overly liberal bias on university campuses including the banning and shouting down of conservative or Israel-supporting, or Islamist-critical speakers on campuses.
That's an idealistic statement
To me it was freedom. My parents were very conservative. They didn't really strive to teach us especially to think for ourselves it was more like they put out what they needed to control us. To them there was only one way to think and one way to do things, everything else was WRONG.
They insisted we think and do as they did.
It didn't last. I am my own individual. I know how to think for myself. I also learned how to learn and IMO: that is "teaching them how to think"
PS: Knowledge of a subject is not thinking, its memorization.
Problem solving involves thinking. I'd rather know how to think about that than what day a president took office a hundred years ago.
Just my opinion Buzz.
You have to take into consideration the whole of my statement, not just the first few words of it. but you are absolutely correct that memorizing facts does not indicate intelligence.
I guess we both used the same statement to help point out different things.
As far as anything becoming liberal my question always is about the same, Where the hell were the conservatives when this "Take over" was taking place ?
Like with google, twitter, the media and the colleges I see a lot of anger coming from some on the right about these things but I don't see too many right wing advancements to match what they complain about.
To me I see the world as in constant state of change. IMO: you either change, grow and adapt or be left behind, that goes for people, institutions, businesses, countries and damn near anything.
Complaining about it or the changes doesn't change reality.
the overly liberal bias on university campuses including the banning and shouting down of conservative or Israel-supporting, or Islamist-critical speakers on campuses.
Did not just happen Buzz, it didn't just pop up, it has happened over time. Where were the conservatives as it happened ?
Many I'd say were busily involved in gaining wealth, having families , jobs and controlling what they could of our political system. The two income family was born and thrived as conservatives did this and liberalism grew as the country both gained more rights for the minorities and the population became even more diversified.
Now it seems to me that both ideologies would like the control of it all, The conservatives to kinda turn back time, I dont see that happening, its too late the world done changed too much and the liberals who seem to have some delusions about every human being equal and free stuff being the answer over personal responsibility.
I personally subscribe to neither philosophy or ideology.
PS: Buzz, I didn't address israel, I dont care to with my religious belief system being what it is.
Thanks and have a nice whatever time of day it is there...lol
But there is something that needs to be considered, societies do not change that fast, people do not change that fast. Over time anything is possible....
The issue with the campus rejections of anything conservative (the anti free speech movement) has only started since T-rump was elected and have only intensified into a media circus in the last year or so......
And it's all coming from one direction, a political direction....
The other part is that it gets more and more intensified when the political leaders make calls for it to intensify....
Given the plain evidence, minus the medias attempts to drive it further, it is an actual political movement to squelch the opposition.....
If they succeed, toss the constitution out the window..... what's to stop the other side from doing the same? The law doesn't matter and this isn't a nation of laws anymore....
Self reliance becomes critical as will self defense..... the system we have is designed to change with the times while preserving everyone's voices....
The people pushing the opposition off campuses, are the ones who want the anarchy of one voice from above in the name of progress.....
To me it isn't progress, but a step backwards towards a much more harder, evil world where law doesn't matter...
And part of the process of pushing this "progress" is deliberately failing to teach the kids the difference. they do not want the young to have the requisite knowledge to make reasoned decisions...
As I said before where were the conservatives ?
And NO this just did not start with trump, here are just a couple of links to back in 2013 and one of the links shows a uninvite for a same sex marriage speaker as well.
Again the conservatives move slowly, then complain the world has changed in ways they dont like.
That's how realty and life works... ya snooze ya lose.
...............................................................
University BANS Conservative Speakers From Campus
Warner Todd Huston
September 5, 2013 4:02pm PST
Our “tolerant” Universities strike again. This time its the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill barring two conservative women from speaking on campus.
………………………………………………………………………
Who Can Speak at Providence?
Facing faculty and student outrage, college says it will permit an academic speaker in favor of same-sex marriage, under certain conditions.
By
Scott Jaschik
September 26, 2013
John Corvino
Providence College announced late Wednesday that, under certain conditions, it would permit a lecture by a philosopher who is an advocate of same-sex marriage.
...............................................................
The other part is that it gets more and more intensified when the political leaders make calls for it to intensify....
Given the plain evidence, minus the medias attempts to drive it further, it is an actual political movement to squelch the opposition.....
Sorry the same could be said about our newest president on how he treats "the opposition" and he has plenty of republican supporters at this time. including Fox news.
Both ideologies seem to want to rule America, neither really want to compromise any longer. One nation divided with both opposing parties wanting full control.
That's why I no longer belong to neither political party. IMO: They both suck and only represent a smaller and smaller segment of Americans and themselfs of course.
and so I say Good Luck America I Think we're gonna need it.
If your talking business or financials I would agree with ya.
Your talking abut the exogenous of a society? I completely disagree.....
The conservatives were there, who do you think are getting run off campus? And yes this dumbing down of America has been going on for a long time...... It is only since T-rump has been elected that the hate has actually come out into the open.....
LONG TIME.... they stopped teaching history for social studies way back in my junior high days.... so no it's not something that has just happened.....
Point is what has happened, T-rump represents hate to those that live in hate..... so they respond in the manner that comes natural.
My question is, who taught them it is ok to hate, hate is acceptable, acting on hate is a good thing?
Because hate isn't a switch that can be flipped, it is something that has to be imbued first before you can turn it on.....
All I have to do is look towards history to see who thrives on hate to get my answer......
Unfortunately history also tells us it is going to get a lot worse before it is going to get better.
Good question and I don't know.
My first thought was though, in the absence of love comes hate.
Perhaps with the breakdown of the family unit to a degree with the two income system that could possibly be a contributing factor.
trump and his insults from the get go may also have helped open the door just a crack further, probably as with most stuff it's probably a combination of factors.
But good question.
It would seem if they were there in numbers they wouldn't be being run off though.
I guess that's why minorities dont like being outnumber as well.
Like dad used ta say son, Sometimes life just isn't fair.
PS: I'm not advocating for anything here, I'm just trying to life in reality.which these days seems is getting harder and harder...lol
I get ya my friend. same here.... My Dad used to say the exact same thing.
He also said, it isn't abut what they are doing, what are YOU going to do?
I just wish those on the college campuses had dads that taught them the same wisdom....
Just from your comments I think you're quite a bit older than me. I had history all the way up to the day I graduated high school. In 9th grade it was PA History, 11th grade it was American History, and 12th grade it was Problems of Democracy. So....in my teeny, tiny, backward rural school, it seems like I got a lot more educated than some.
That's interesting as I've run into many people who should fit into your postulation...yet they are not conservative...because they are told how they should vote.
Me too. When I was teaching, the State of Michigan required one semester of American Government and two semesters of American History at the high school level (not nearly enough in my opinion). Now, no requirements; Math and Science took up the time used for those. Those may be important, but there are other things just as important that have been dropped. As Robert Heinlein once wrote, "We are now in the second generation of illiteracy".
Also, the plebs have found that they can vote themselves "Bread and Circuses" at will; so they will do so endlessly, at least until the wealth that is subject to theft runs out.
I don't know if this is an indictment of some of our public schools or not. My daughters took 2 years of civics and were on the debate team, so I know that our public school did its job. As you said, maybe we need national standards. Yes, as a science teacher, I understand the importance of STEM, but we also are creating tomorrows citizens. They need to understand government.
I think the problem comes about when you have people who create standards based on their biases rather than what would make a well-rounded educated citizen. You are correct that the students need to be taught government, unfortunately they are taught politics.
I'm not even sure they are taught that since they do think Judge Judy is part of the Supreme Court. I'm really not sure what they are taught.
Among many other things too.
Perhaps what they are learning comes more from reality TV than actual school. I always knew Survivor was the beginning, or at least the turbo boost, of our intellectual downfall. Lol
Perrie, that article is almost 3 years old. Has there not been any change since then?
Buzz,
The actual story was in the NYT 2 days ago, but I have used up my limit. Apparently not much has changed.
Here is the more current story dealing with this:
China blocks a lot of, but not all, news sites. I can't open the NYTimes, Reuters, CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp), etc. but there are many that I do open such as Bing, Yahoo, MSN, ABC, NPR, CSM, etc so I'm not left without news. Maybe China knows how much bullshit the NYT publishes.
That kind of surprises me that you can get all of that. That's pretty cool. Do you get Cnn or Fox ? or does china consider them shit stations as well ?
most of America seems to depending on which side you are on these days.
No problem getting CNN and Fox News. Contrary to common belief, China does not completely censor what's happening in the world, but if the news is critical of China there's a possibility it's not seen here.
Here is the basic text my friend....
Thank you, my friend. You know, all through school and university I never was taught civics or citizenship, or politics, or how to vote - How did I ever survive?
O .. So that 's how they work it. Let the people see the fucked up rest of the world and control whats known about their own country. I'm glad we dont have that here !!!
We are pretty fucked up here i want to know how bad it's getting. Unfortunately not long ago COX cable tried to push my cable bill from 125 a month to over 170 bucks a month, I literally told them to shove their cable where the sun dont shine and to drop my paid cable service.. Now I have a digital antenna and Hulu, I no longer get CNN or Fox. And I live in America.
Go figure !!!
When Mom taught 5th & 6th grade social studies we had to know who was on the Supreme Court to pass 6th grade. I say we because I had her both years. We also had to memorize the states and their capitals in 5th Grade and, by continent, all the nation's of the world in 6th grade. I can still name all the states alphabetically by rote. Ours was a well funded small town school district with only about 80-90 students per grade but the standards were high in the 60s and 70s. Memorization is not stressed nearly as much today but by my own thinking memorizing the multiplication tables and learning how to do math quickly in my head was the most valuable skill I learned in school.
My Dad's parent's rural one room school only went to eighth grade but few today could pass the strenuous exam required to graduate eighth grade. Both of my grandparents had their final exams and i am sure i could not pass them. No doubt, we lowered our educational standards.
JBB,
So we are about the same age, and yes I had to know what you had to know. I have to say that my kids' school was really on top of that, too. I really don't think that is the case anymore, nationwide. That makes for an impending scary generation of voters.
Someday everybody is going to figure out you talk lots of bullshit...
Which, BTW, is what I suspect some respondents did to surveyors.
I remember that.. but you ended up always in trouble and I had to make you go to the board.
Despite the claims of failing schools young people I know are informed...
I wonder if our system isn't being unfairly maligned for political reasons.
So much for those degrees we give out to so many
They must all be graduates of liberal arts colleges!
Ed,
This level of education is supposed to be at the high school level so that they can be ready to vote at the end of high school. As for what they teach in liberal arts schools, I can't tell you personally. My girls went to Hopkins, which is almost totally STEM.
I'm not surprised, 20% or more probably dont know how to change a car tire either.
Hell I had a 60 year old lady ask me a while back what Washington DC was.
and some of these people probably vote.
All very true Steve. And yes, my daughters can't change a tire, LOL.
They have AAA. And they are a bit old to drive their bikes to school.. not that they ever could ride one of those right. Here is a demo of how my kids rode their bikes:
and no I am not kidding.
When my now adult daughter was a young teenager, I taught her how to change a tire, do oil changes, jump start dead batteries, and check brake and radiator fluid levels. She does that to this day and made sure her 19 year old son can do all that as well. She does so to this day in her early 40's.
Ed,
My dad did the same thing to me, and we tried with my daughters. They are very smart but total spazzes, never mind their total lack of spatial perception, which makes them crash test dummies.
I can't change my truck tires and I'm 56. I have AAA.
I just found out I don't have a spare tire....
Better now, than out on the highway.
It didn't come with a spare but it did come with an electric air pump....
Mine's underneath the back of the truck....it's a pain to even get it out much less trying to change it.
Better than nothing, but I can imagine some scenarios where the pump will be useless. Does it have room for one of the mini spares?
I could put one in the hatch
That could be a good idea.
Though not often needed, they are invaluable at the times they are needed.
She should be, lol.
Tru dat.
10% think Judge Judy is a Supreme Court justice butt 36% approve of Trumpism...
Being a citizen of a democracy means you have a responsibility to understand at least the basics of how our system works. I won't say you have to know everything about everything or the names of all the important people, but a working knowledge of the basic framework - and the history behind it - is critical. Too many people think they have no such responsibility and so the kind of knowledge described here is just "stupid trivia" to them.
I have to agree with you Tacos!
Sometimes Tacos repeats on me, but only when the site is malfunctioning.
Tacos,
My standard final exam essay question for my American Government classes was always the same one; "Explain how a bill becomes a law". Many of these students were adults who were returning to school to obtain diplomas after quitting school at a young age. The answer didn't have to be particularly detailed to pass. Among those students still in high school, the average passing that question was 55% (this was in the early to mid 80's; it's far worse now, I have friends still in the profession who keep records). Among those in the adult ed classes, it varied by generation. Among those who quit school during WWII to join the military or take industrial war jobs (including my own mother), the average passing that question was 96%. Among those who left school later, it was 43%. (Yes, I too kept records).
I learned most of what I know about bills from Bill Cosby.
Hey Dean thanks for the video...
I had forgotten that Cosby did them. How the mighty have fallen.
You mean she's NOT?!!! (BTW, is "/s" really required at the end of that sentence?)
Alright, so, I am not a fan of stupid people influencing the direction of our country, but who draws the line? Where is it or they drawn?
Is it IQ determined? IQ of civics? What passes and what fails? Are there grading curves for some and not for others?
What about psychological balance? What determines imbalance with regard to this?
Will there be new demographic categories from such measures?
Just looking at the tip of the iceberg here, and a little curious.
Dave,
I was thinking more in the way of national standards for the future. Of course, even these nimrods can vote, but let's not repeat the same mistake.
Thanks Perrie.
Then how would these national standards be enforced come election time?
Again, I refer back to the question of curves.
Well, traditionally, during your junior and senior year you are supposed to take civics. We could just start from there. That would at least get the next group of voters ready.
I can see something like that could be a help.
At voting time would an assumption exist that the voters are well equipped to assess the issues and vote according to educated understandings?
I can't believe that some people thing that Judge Judy is on the Supreme Court...I though that everyone knew that she was on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Geez people.
Pay attention there us going to be a test at the completion of this article.
She was? I always thought they introduced her as a family court judge
She's a helluva lot more qualified than Kavvyboy will ever be.
Of course this was released in January of 2016, so it is almost 3 years old, and done during the Obama Administration hence the reference to Kerry as the SoS.....
Finally, something T-Rump didn't have anything to do with....
Doesn't really matter. This situation has been ongoing since Kennedy was President (and getting worse as it goes along).
Yet Trump is a perfect example of someone who lacks a basic understanding of the role of government. Trump still thinks that the Attorney General is his personal lawyer and that the DOJ are his personal hit squad.
Isn't that EXACTLY what Trump has been demanding for two years?
Nope. Trump has used the government to punish his political opponents and tried to force others to do his bidding.
BTW y'all, as bad as the data in the survey is on College graduates, the data from the answers from the 'American public' are worse.
I wonder if the headline shouldn’t read “10% of college grads have a healthy sense of sarcasm”. I find this hard to believe.
I bet the number of Americans who can actually name a SCOTUS judge is even less.
I always like the late night segments ( i think Leno might have started it) when they would go out on the NYC streets and ask random people easy questions. Like who is our VP? What holiday celebrates our Independence? Who was our first POTUS, etc.
I'm sure they only took the funny ones for effect but regardless, some of the answers or lack thereof were more scary than funny .... crazy stupid stuff there.