Civics testing debated; public pension privacy advances

Sen. Julie Slama introduced the civics education proposal, which would require schools to give students the same 100 question test new citizens have to pass. Slama, who’s 22, said she’s already forgotten a lot of what she learned in high school. However, she added “Civic education is a different story. I’ve used that knowledge every day since high school, in everything from reading the newspaper to voting in elections.”

“While not all students will strive to be an elected official, we should be giving them the basic knowledge and education to be informed citizens,” Slama said.

Doug Kagan of Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom supported the proposal, and gave an example of what he thinks is wrong with current civics education efforts. “Those who intend to destroy our way of life depend very much on the ignorance of our youth to create future generations of automatons, ready and even eager to embrace oppressive ideologies,” Kagan said. “Yes, socialism appeals to some of our youth because they think it a great way to get free stuff,” he added.

Slama’s proposal updates an existing law on the teaching of “Americanism.” It would have schools teach quote “the dangers and fallacies of forms of government that restrict individual freedoms or possess antidemocratic ideals such as, but not limited to, Nazism and communism.” After another supporter, S. Wayne Smith, suggested adding socialism to the list, Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks asked, why he wasn’t adding fascism as well. Smith agreed that would be a good idea.

Read more: http://netnebraska.org/article/news/1161241/civics-testing-debated-public-pension-privacy-advances