Most Colleges Don’t Mandate Teaching of Government, History and Economics
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Photodisc/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Should college students be well-informed about the government, history and economics prior to moving on with the rest of their lives?
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni believes so but in its sixth annual analysis of core curricula at nearly 1,100 four-year colleges and universities, the group found that it just wasn’t the case.
In fact, Michael Poliakoff, director of the survey, says that the vast majority of colleges in the country don’t mandate the teaching of U.S. government, history or economics.
As a result, the survey found that most college graduates are unaware that a congressional term is two years long, that the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves and that George Washington led the American troops at Yorktown.
According to Poliakoff, “It’s much easier for campus administrators to let faculty make decisions rather than to decide with them what are really important and what really matters.”
He says that failing to become skilled in critical thinking is hampering college grads and keeping many from getting better jobs.
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