The Seattle Times – Claudia Rowe
“Fewer than half of American eighth-graders know why we have a Bill of Rights. Only one in 10 understand the concept of checks and balances between branches of government. Most surprisingly, 75 percent of high school seniors cannot name any of the powers granted to Congress by the U.S. Constitution. All of those results come from national exams, and they are ringing alarms across the country – from government offices to school hallways. So this month, Seattle approved plans to bolster civics education, starting in May…High school seniors already take U.S. Government, but younger students need a better understanding of representative democracy and “why their voices are critical,” as Kathleen Vasquez, the district’s manager for literacy and social studies, put it.”(more)