[Senate Hearing 108-92]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 108-92
PUTTING THE TEACHING OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND CIVICS BACK IN THE
CLASSROOM
=======================================================================
HEARING
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION,
LABOR, AND PENSIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
EXAMINING S. 504, TO ESTABLISH ACADEMIES FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS OF
AMERICAN HISTORY AND CIVICS AND A NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF TEACHERS OF
AMERICAN HISTORY AND CIVICS
__________
APRIL 10, 2003
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions
86-582 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2003
____________________________________________________________________________
For Sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Internet: bookstore.gpr.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; (202) 512�091800
Fax: (202) 512�092250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402�090001
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS
JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire, Chairman
BILL FRIST, Tennessee EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut
LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee TOM HARKIN, Iowa
CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland
MIKE DeWINE, Ohio JAMES M. JEFFORDS (I), Vermont
PAT ROBERTS, Kansas JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico
JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama PATTY MURRAY, Washington
JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada JACK REED, Rhode Island
LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina JOHN EDWARDS, North Carolina
JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York
Sharon R. Soderstrom, Staff Director
J. Michael Myers, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
C O N T E N T S
__________
STATEMENTS
April 10, 2003
Page
Alexander, Hon. Lamar, a U.S. Senator from the State of Tennessee 1
McCullough, David, Historian and Writer, West Tisbury, MA........ 8
Byrd, Hon. Robert, a U.S. Senator from the State of West Virginia 16
Cole, Bruce, Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities;
Eugene W. Hickok, Under Secretary for Education, U.S.
Department of Education; and James H. Billington, The Librarian
of Congress, Library of Congress............................... 21
Ravitch, Diane, Research Professor of Education, New York
University, Brooklyn, New York, and Senior Fellow, The
Brookings Institution.......................................... 35
Dodd, Hon. Christopher J., a U.S. Senator from the State of
Connecticut.................................................... 40
Berg, Russell, student, Trumbull High School, Trumbull, CT;
accompanied by Peter Sullivan, History Teacher, Trumbull High
School, Trumbull, CT; and Blanche Deaderick, History Teacher,
Memphis, TN.................................................... 44
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc.:
Senator Byrd................................................. 67
Senator Cornyn............................................... 68
Senator Cochran.............................................. 68
Bruce Cole................................................... 70
Eugene W. Hickok............................................. 71
James H. Billington.......................................... 74
Blanche Deaderick............................................ 75
Diane Ravitch................................................ 76
Russell Berg................................................. 78
Philip D. Duncan............................................. 79
Lawrence M. Small............................................ 80
Robin Butterfield............................................ 82
(iii)
PUTTING THE TEACHING OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND CIVICS BACK IN THE
CLASSROOM
----------
THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2003
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:06 a.m., in
room SD-430, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Senator Alexander,
presiding.
Present: Senators Alexander and Dodd.
Opening Statement of Senator Alexander
Senator Alexander. We will call the hearing to order. I
want to note the presence of Dr. Billington, Bruce Cole, Diane
Ravitch, and others who will testify. I want to especially
acknowledge the presence of Senator Robert Byrd of West
Virginia, who has been a leader in the Senate in encouraging
the focus on the study of traditional American history and who
in previous Congresses put into the appropriations bill a
significant appropriation which is now being administered by
the Department of Education for grants for the teaching of
American history across the country. I am delighted that
Senator Byrd has come today.
Senator, we hope you will have something to say before you
leave. When would you prefer to do that?
Senator Byrd. At some point when it is convenient after Mr.
McCullough speaks.
Senator Alexander. All right.
Senator Byrd. I came here this morning especially to hear
him.
Senator Alexander. We are glad you are here, and after Mr.
McCullough finishes, I will invite you to come up and make a
statement.
Senator Byrd. Thank you.
Senator Alexander. We appreciate your coming.
I want to thank Senator Gregg for inviting me to Chair this
hearing this morning. We had a good visit with Senator Kennedy
prior to the hearing. The hearing today will address the
intersection of two concerns which are extremely important to
the future of our country: the education of our children and
the principles that unite us as Americans. It is time to put
the teaching of American history and civics back in its
rightful place in our schools so our children can grow up
learning what it means to be an American.
We are especially sensitive to this right now at a time
when we are asking our young men and women to fight to defend
our country's values. We are not doing a very good job of
teaching just what those values are. Too many of our children
do not know exactly what it means to be an American. National
exams show that 4th, 8th, and 12th graders are not proficient
in civics knowledge, and, further, the students do not have
basic knowledge. Children usually do not learn because they are
not being taught, and so the focus today is to put an increased
focus on the teaching of American history and civics.
As I mentioned earlier, this is not the first effort of the
United States Congress to encourage this. In addition to
Senator Byrd's initiative on the teaching of American history,
there are 11 programs that the Federal Government funds, and as
Mr. McCullough will undoubtedly talk about, there are huge
institutions that we have that make the teaching of American
history easier and more exciting. Dr. Hickok from the
Department of Education will be here to talk about those as
well.
This hearing is specifically on the subject of legislation
which I introduced with 19 cosponsors--including Senator Reid,
the Democratic Whip; Senators Gregg and Kennedy from this
committee; Senator Frist, our Majority Leader--which would
create summer residential academies for teachers and students
of American history and civics, 2 weeks for teachers, 4 weeks
for students. And at these academies, they would learn more
about and be inspired about the key events, ideas, and
institutions that created our democracy.
We have in our State of Tennessee a number of Governor's
Schools for teachers and for students which were enormously
successful in a variety of subjects. And there have been such
Governor's Schools in 28 States. It is a way for teachers to
come together in the summer for a couple of weeks and find
different ways to teach their subjects and to improve their
learning of the content.
In addition, the legislation that we are reviewing would
create a National Alliance of Teachers of American History and
Civics to make it easier for them to use the Internet and other
materials and exhibits that exist in the content of their
teaching.
President Bush has taken a major interest in the teaching
of American history and civics. With Mr. McCullough at his
side, last fall he launched a new initiative, which we will
hear more about today from Bruce Cole of the National Endowment
for the Humanities.
So we have an interesting set of witnesses, a fascinating
subject, and our lead-off witness is a fascinating individual.
David McCullough has several distinctions. One is that none
of his books have ever been out of print. Very few authors can
say that. He has won two Pulitzer Prices. He was won the
National Book Award twice. He is one of America's best-known
authors. Mr. McCullough, I think virtually every day of the
letter you recount in the John Adams book that Adams wrote to
Jefferson when our country was beginning. He said to Jefferson,
``Aren't we privileged to serve our country in such serious
times?'' I think about that every day in these serious times,
and I am sure most of our colleagues do as well.
We welcome Mrs. McCullough here. Thank you both for coming,
and we look forward to your comments.
Before we begin I have a statement from Senator Murray.
[The prepared statements of Senators Alexander and Murray
follow:]
Prepared Statement of Senator Alexander
The hearing today will address the intersection of two
urgent concerns that will determine our country's future. These
are also the two topics I care about the most: the education of
our children and the principles that unite us as Americans.
It is time that we put the teaching of American history and
civics back in its rightful place in our schools so our
children can grow up learning what it means to be an American.
Especially when we are asking our young men and women to
tight to defend our values. We need to do a better job of
teaching just what those values are.
Yet, too many of our children do not know what makes
America exceptional. National exams show that three-quarters of
the nation's 4th, 8th and 12th graders are not proficient in
civics knowledge and a third of students do not even have basic
knowledge, making, them ``civic illiterates.''
Christopher Hitchens, in a 1998 article in Harper's,
reported:
59 percent of 4th graders do not know why Pilgrims and
Puritans first voyaged to America.
68 percent of 4th graders can't name the first 13 colonies.
90 percent of 8th graders can't recount anything about the
debates of the constitutional convention.
Children are not learning about American history and civics
because they are not being taught it. American history has been
watered down, and civics is too often dropped from the
curriculum entirely. Today, more than half the states don't
have a requirement for students to take a course--even for one
semester--in American government.
Until the 1960s, civics education, which teaches the duties
of citizenship, was a regular part of the high school
curriculum, but today's college graduates probably have less
civics knowledge than high school graduates of 50 dears ago.
Reforms, so-called, in the 60s and 70s resulted in the
widespread elimination of required classes and curriculum in
civics education.
To help put the teaching of American history and civics in
its rightful place, I introduced legislation last month when I
made my maiden speech. This legislation has nineteen co-
sponsors including: Senators Reid, Gregg, Kennedy, Frist, Dodd,
DeWine, Stevens, Santorum, Inhofe, Nickles, Cochran, Cornyn,
Coleman, Enzi, Sessions, Warner, Murkowski, Miller, and
Chambliss. We call it the ``American History and Civics Act.''
This act creates Presidential Academies for Teachers of
American History and Civics and Congressional Academies for
Students of American History and Civics. These residential
academies would operate for two weeks (in the case of teachers)
and four weeks (for students) during the summer.
Their purpose would be to inspire better teaching and more
learning of the key events, persons and ideas that shape the
institutions and democratic heritage of the United States.
I have had some experience with such residential summer
academies, when I was Governor of Tennessee. In 1984, we began
creating Governor's schools for students and teachers. For
example, there was the Governor's School for the Arts at Middle
Tennessee State University and the Governor's School of
International Studies at the University of Memphis as well as
the Governor's School for Teachers of Writing at the University
of Tennessee at Knoxville, which was especially successful.
Eventually there were eight Governor's Schools helping
thousands of Tennessee teachers improve their skills and
inspiring outstanding students to learn more about core
curriculum subjects. When these teachers and students returned
to their schools for the next school year, they brought with
them a new enthusiasm for teaching and learning that infected
their peers. Dollar for dollar, the Governor's Schools were one
of the most effective and popular educational initiatives in
our state's history.
States other than Tennessee have had similar success with
summer residential academies. The first Governor's school was
started in North Carolina in 1963 when Governor Terry Sanford
established it at Salem College in Winston-Salem. Upon the
establishment of the first school, several states, including
Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee
established similar schools.
For example, in 1973 Pennsylvania established Governor's
Schools of Excellence, which has 14 different programs of
study. As in Tennessee, students participating in the
Pennsylvania Governor's School program attend academies at 8
different colleges to study everything from international
studies, to health care and teaching. Also established in 1973,
Virginia's Governor's School is a summer residential program
for 7500 of the Cormmonwealth's most gifted students.
Mississippi established its Governors School in 1981. The
Mississippi University for Women hosts the program, which is
designed to give students academic, creative, and leadership
experiences. Every year West Virginia brings 80 of its most
talented high school performing and visual arts students to
West Liberty State College for a three-week residential
program.
These are just a few of the more than 100 Governors'
schools in 28 states--clearly the model is a good one. The
legislation I propose today applies that successful model to
American history and civics education at the national level by
establishing Presidential and Congressional academies for
students and teachers of those subjects.
Additionally, this proposed legislation authorizes the
creation of a national alliance of American history and civics
teachers who would be connected by the interest. The alliance
would facilitate sharing of best practices in the teaching of
American history and civics. It is modeled after an alliance I
helped the National Geographic Society begin during the 1980's
to put geography back into the American school curriculum.
Tennessee and the University of Tennessee were among the first
sponsors of the alliance.
This legislation creates a pilot program. Up to 12
Presidential academies for teachers and 12 Congressional
Academies for students would be sponsored by educational
institutions. The National Endowment for the Humanities would
award 2-year renewable grants to those institutions after a
peer review process. Each grant would be subject to rigorous
review after three years to determine whether the overall
program should continue, expand or end. The legislation
authorizes $25 million annually for the four-year pilot
program.
There is a broad basis of renewed support for and interest
in American history and civics in our country.
David Gordon noted in a recent issue of the Harvard
Education Letter: ``A 1998 survey by the nonpartisan research
organization Public Agenda shoved that 84 percent of parents
with school-aged children said they believe that the United
States is a special country and they want schools to convey
that belief to their children by teaching about its heroes and
traditions. Similar numbers identified the American ideal as
including equal opportunity, individual freedom, and tolerance
and respect for others. Those findings were consistent across
racial and ethnic groups.''
Our national leadership has responded to this renewed
interest. In 2000, at the initiative of Senator Byrd. Congress
created grants for schools that teach American history as a
separate subject within school curricula. We appropriated $100
million for those grants in the recent Omnibus appropriations
bill, and rightfully so. They encourage schools and teachers to
focus on the teaching of traditional American history, and
provide important financial support.
Last September, with historian David McCullough at his
side. President Bush announced a new initiative to encourage
the teaching of American history and civics. He established the
``We the People'' program at the NEH, which will develop
curricula and sponsor lectures on American history and civics.
He announced the ``Our Documents'' project, run by the National
Archives. This would take one hundred of America's most
important documents from the National Archives to classrooms
and communities across the country.
This year, he will convene a White House forum on American
history, civics, and service. There, we will discuss new
policies to improve the teaching of history and civics in
elementary and secondary schools.
This proposed legislation takes the next step by training
teachers and encouraging outstanding students. We need to
foster a love of this subject and arm teachers with the skills
to impart that love to their students.
Mr. President, in 1988, at a meeting of educators in
Rochester, the President of Notre Dame University, Monk Malloy,
asked this question: ``What is the rationale for the public
school?'' There was an unexpected silence around the room until
Al Shanker, the president of the American Federation of
Teachers, answered in this way: ``The public school was created
to teach immigrant children the three R's and what it means to
be an American with the hope that they would then go home and
teach their parents.''
From the founding of America, we have always understood how
important it is for citizens to understand the principles that
unite us as a country. Other countries are united by their
ethnicity. If you move to Japan for example, you can't become
Japanese. A few things in which we believe, on the other hand,
unite Americans. To become an American citizen, you subscribe
to those principles. If there were no agreement on those
principles, as Samuel Huntington has noted, we would be the
United Nations instead of the United States of America.
There has therefore been a continuous education process to
remind Americans just what those principles are. Thomas
Jefferson, in his retirement at Monticello, would spend
evenings explaining to overnight guests what he had in mind
when we helped create what we call America. By the mid-19th
century it was just assumed that everybody knew what it meant
to be an American. In his letter from the Alamo, Col. William
Barrett Travis pleaded for help simply ``in the name of
liberty, patriotism and everything dear to the American
character.''
But the most important Americanizing institution, as Mr.
Shanker reminded us in Rochester in 1988, was the new common
school. McGuffey's Reader, which was used in many classrooms,
sold more than 120 million copies introducing a common culture
of literature, patriotic speeches and historical references.
In the 20th century it was war that made Americans stop and
think about what we were defending. President Roosevelt made
certain that those who charged the beaches of Normandy knew
they were defending for freedoms.
But after World War II, the emphasis on teaching and
defining the principles that unite us has waned. Unpleasant
experiences with McCarthyism in the 1950's, discouragement
after the Vietnam War, and history books that left out or
distorted the history of African-Americans made sonic skittish
about discussing ``Americanism.'' The end of the Cold War
removed a preoccupation with who we were not, making it less
important to consider who we are. The Immigration law changes
in 1965 brought to our shores many new Americans and many
cultural changes. As a result, the American Way became much
more often praised than defined.
Changes in community attitudes, as they always are, were
reflected in our schools. According to historian Diane Ravitch,
the public school virtually abandoned its role as the chief
Americanizing Institution. We have gone, she explains, from one
extreme (simplistic patriotism and incomplete history) to the
other--``public schools with an adversary culture that
emphasize the nation's warts and diminish its genuine
accomplislments. There is no literary canon. There are no
common readings, no agreed upon lists of books, poems and
stories from which students and parents plight be taught a
common culture and be reminded of what it means to be an
American.''
During this time many of our national leaders contributed
to this drift toward agnostic Americanism. These leaders
celebrated multiculturalism and bilingualism and diversity at a
time when there should have been more emphasis on a common
culture and learning English and unity.
America's variety and diversity is a great strength, but it
is not our greatest strength, Jerusalem is diverse. The Balkans
are diverse. America's greatest accomplishment is not its
variety and diversity but that we have found a way to take all
that variety and diversity and unite us as one country. E
pluribus Unum: out of many, one. These three Latin words that
were the first motto of our nation, E Pluribus Unum, are still
in the right order--Out of Many, One--even though some are
trying mightily to turn them around to say that we are ``Many,
Out of One.'' In other words, in the United States of America,
I believe unity still trumps diversity. That is what makes
America truly exceptional.
Since 9/11 the national conversation about what it means to
be an American has been different. The terrorists focused their
cross-hairs on the creed that unites Americans as one country--
forcing us to remind ourselves of those principles, to examine
and define them, and to celebrate them. The President himself
has been the lead teacher. President Bush has literally taken
us back to school on what it means to be an American. The
President called on us to make those magnificent images of
courage and charity and leadership and selflessness more
permanent in our every day lives through Freedom Corps. And
with his optimism, lie warded off doomsayers who tried to
diminish the real gift of Americans to civilization, our
cockeyed optimism that anything, is possible.
Just after 9/11, I proposed an idea I called ``Pledge Plus
Three.'' Why not start each school day with the Pledge of
Allegiance--as we do here in the Senate--followed by a faculty
member or student sharing for three minutes ``what it means to
be an American.'' The Pledge embodies many of the ideals of our
National Creed: ``one nation, under God, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.'' It speaks to our unity, to our
faith, to our value of freedom, and to our belief in the fair
treatment of all Americans.
In Dr. Ravitch's words, instead of incomplete history and
simplistic patriotism, we went to the other extreme--``Public
schools with an adversary culture that emphasized the nations
warts and diminished its genuine accomplishments.''
So imagine the plight of teachers. Assaulted by simplistic
patriotism on one side and multiculturalism on the other,
teachers dove for cover, textbooks became sanitized and boring,
and we've seen the embarrassing results.
Samuel Huntington has written that most of American
politics and government is about balancing conflicts between
the principles that unite us and dealing with the
disappointments of not being able to live up to our greatest
dreams.
Mr. President, if most of our politics and government is
about applying to our most urgent problems the principles and
characteristics that make us the exceptional United States of
America, then we had better get about the teaching and learning
of those principles and characteristics.
At a time when there are record numbers of new Americans,
and at a time when our values are under attack, at a time when
we are at war to defend those values, there can be no more
urgent task than putting the teaching of American history and
civics back in its rightful place in our schools so our
children can grow tip learning what it means to be an American.
A man from Nashville who was quoted in the Public Agendas
recent report, ``Knowing it By Heart'' put it this way: ``We
have to teach and remind our children about the people that
sacrificed for those freedoms, from the Revolutionary War to
the different wars we have. These freedoms didn't come because
we're just a nice bunch of people. A lot of people put their
lives and careers on the line several times through our history
to get these freedoms, and we do take them for granted.''
I again want to thank Senator Gregg and Senator Kennedy,
for agreeing to have the committee hold this hearing today on
this legislation so that we can determine how it might
supplement and work with already existing programs and the
Presidents future initiatives.
I look forward to hearing from the witnesses.
Prepared Statement of Senator Murray
Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for holding this hearing
and I also thank all of today's witnesses for taking some time
to share their insights and experiences with us. I particularly
want to thank Russell Berg for his thoughtful comments on the
importance of civic education in our schools, and Peter
Sullivan for the important work he does in educating young
people about how our government works.
That's exactly what citizenship education is all about--
teaching young people how our unique democracy was created,
affects our lives and relies on the involvement of its
citizens. Citizenship education also provides an opportunity
for schools to help students understand the commonly-held
values that have shaped our country. The truth is that our
democracy cannot function without an informed, engaged
citizenry. It requires that all of us fulfill certain civic
responsibilities, whether that means volunteering time in our
communities, staying informed on important issues, holding
elected officials accountable or even running for office.
Citizenship education passes on to the next generation respect
and commitment to this fundamental basis of our democracy.
While not everyone needs to be a constitutional law scholar,
every American should possess a basic understanding of our
history and government if they are to be active participants in
self-governance. Unfortunately, citizenship education in
America today is not as pervasive or as strong as it should be.
For this reason I am pleased to support the Alexander bill.
Russell Berg offered us a glimpse into what strong civic
education looks like. The program in which he participates and
described, ``We the People,'' is one I am familiar with. I have
met with some of the educators who are involved in ``We the
People,'' and it is impressive in its breadth, depth,
creativity and effectiveness. I think it would be a tremendous
step forward if this kind of education were available to all
America's students, and I think Senator Alexander's bill moves
us in that direction.
Thank you.
STATEMENT OF DAVID McCULLOUGH, HISTORIAN AND WRITER, WEST
TISBURY, MA
Mr. McCullough. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the honor of
appearing today. I look upon this as a great step forward for
American history and for our children and children to come. I
am extremely grateful to you, to Senator Byrd, to President
Bush, Senator Kennedy, and others who have participated so far
in taking what seems to me a very important step in improving
the situation in our schools.
History has served many purposes, and I think it is
wonderful that history now is providing you here in the
Congress with something you can be bipartisan about. It should
be that way. This is a need that calls for all of our efforts.
In my view, the key is the teacher, but we cannot leave the
entire responsibility to just the teachers. It is something we
all have to address as parents, grandparents, and citizens.
I have been fortunate to be invited to universities and
colleges to speak and lecture for years now, and I have been
virtually in every State, on campuses large and small. And a
few years ago, one morning I lectured at a major university in
the Midwest. And a young woman, a student, came up to me after
my talk and said she was very glad that she had come to hear me
speak that morning because until she heard my talk, she had
never understood that the original 13 colonies were all on the
East Coast. And I was so stunned by that. I felt so sad about
it. I felt so angry about it. How could she have gotten that
far in our system of education to be a student on one of the
campuses of one of our really important universities and not
have any idea of where we began and how we began.
Very soon after that, I was taking part in a seminar,
teaching a seminar at one of our Ivy League colleges. And it
was a beautiful winter day and the snow was coming down
outside, and I thought, This is really--this is the best. I had
25 students who were all history majors and all seniors and all
honor students. And I decided that I would open the
conversation by asking if anyone there knew who George Marshall
was. Not one knew who he was. Finally, one student ventured to
say, Did he have maybe something to do with the Marshall Plan?
And we then could begin talking about George Marshall.
Once, in his advanced years, George Marshall said that he
thought that his education at Virginia Military Institute had
been quite inadequate. He felt he had been badly educated, and
he was asked why. He said, ``Because we were taught no
history.''
So I felt something had come sort of full circle there. We
are doing a dreadful job of teaching history to our children.
We are raising a generation of young Americans who, to a very
large degree, are historically illiterate. The Council of
American Alumni just did a survey a year or so ago and found
that the students on our top 50 campuses on a general knowledge
of history test or survey scored about what they did in high
school 20 years ago.
I will give you one example. Question 19: Who was the
commanding officer at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown?
More than half the students guessed that it was Ulysses S.
Grant, more answered George Washington, and 6 percent said it
was Douglas MacArthur. They were guessing. They had no idea.
Now, what difference does it make if you do not know who
the commanding American general at Yorktown was? It means that
you do not have any idea that that was the last battle of the
Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War was the longest war in
our history except for Vietnam; that George Washington was the
commanding general all through the war--you probably have no
idea of that--and that he had served 8 and a half years without
ever taking any time off and without pay; and that if it had
not been for George Washington, we would not have won the
Revolutionary War, certainly not when we did, or as we did. And
if it were not for George Washington, we probably would not
have a Constitution such as we have nor a Presidency such as we
have.
Now, I was raised in the day when George Washington's
portrait hung in every classroom along with Abraham Lincoln,
when our geography courses began with the study of the Tigris
and Euphrates and the beginnings of history and civilization in
present-day Iraq, and we graduated from grade school, I am
convinced, knowing more basic American history and geography
than many students on university campuses know today.
I have been involved with something called the National
Council for History Education, and our program has been to
bring teachers to a campus once a year in the summertime, some
200 teachers, and a number of people volunteer their time to go
and work with the teachers, try to get them involved with the
processes of history, to catch the excitement of history so
that they will carry that back to the classroom.
It has been a very effective program in what it does to
help those teachers, but it has been less than a drop in the
bucket. And when I think of the potential, when I think of what
can be done, that is what is so exciting. This can really make
a huge difference.
There was a marvelous child psychologist, teacher,
professor of child psychology at the University of Pittsburgh
years ago named Margaret McFarland, and Margaret McFarland's
disciples are all over the country, and thank goodness. And her
most famous disciple was Fred Rogers, Mister Rogers, who
reached more children, taught more children, than anybody who
has ever lived. And Fred Rogers would say to anyone who was
interested that all he was doing was to carry on the principles
and the ideals of Margaret McFarland.
And Margaret McFarland's thesis was very simple: that what
matters to a student and what matters in education is attitude;
and that attitudes are not taught, they are caught; and if the
teacher is enthusiastic about her material, if the teacher
knows her subject, if the teacher gets up in front of the class
or calls you over to the table and says, ``Look in this
microscope, this is really great, you are going to like to see
this,'' that teacher is conveying an attitude that the students
get right away.
Conversely, if the teacher is bored with the subject, if
the teacher does not know anything about the subject, and if
the teacher has no affection, love, enthusiasm for the subject,
the student gets that.
My feeling, sir, is that the real effort, the real
concentration ought to be placed on grade school teachers. We
have to reteach our teachers. We have to revise how we are
teaching our teachers. We have great teachers in this country,
many of them. But we have too many teachers who are coming out
of schools of education, majoring in education, with degrees in
education, who are then told that they are going to teach
botany or history or physics, and they do not know botany,
history, or physics. They have not majored in that subject. And
it is not just that they do not have the knowledge; they do not
have the affection, the love for the material to want to share
this world that they know.
Now, we cannot function as a society if we do not know who
we are and do not know where we came from and how we got to
where we are. Jefferson said it perfectly in one sentence. He
said, ``Any Nation that expects to be ignorant and free expects
what never was and never will be.''
The importance of history has been repeated again and again
and again, and often by some of our most prominent leaders.
Harry Truman said, ``The only new thing in the world is the
history you do not know.'' Daniel Boorstin, Dr. Billington's
predecessor and one of our front-rank historians, said,
``Anybody who tries to plan for the future without a sense of
the past, that is like trying to plant cut flowers.'' And we
are raising cut flowers, and it is not their faults. It is our
faults. And it should not just make us sad. It should make us a
little angry and a little worried.
If a child grows up not knowing what a demagogue is, if a
child grows up thinking this is the darkest time we have ever
been in, they are not going to be able to cope as they should
as a citizen, as a participant in self-government.
We heard that after September 11th, people saying, We
should have known better, on television and in the press, this
is the darkest, most dangerous time we have ever been through.
Well, anybody who says that has no sense of history. We have
been through much worse times. We have been through more
dangerous times. We have been through times when the outcome
was far less clear, far less certain.
One of the most important things to convey in teaching
history is that history is about human beings, it is about
people who did not know everything and certainly did not know
any more than we do how it is going to come out. And it is
joining that human experience of the past and the understanding
of human nature, the understanding of cause and effect, the
understanding that one individual can truly make a difference
that is the real value of history.
Yes, it is very important that we understand, for example,
why we have an independent judiciary, let us say, or a three-
part system of Government. That is extremely important. We
ought to have required courses in the Constitution in all our
universities in this country, in my view,and I wonder if you
know how many universities or colleges require a course in the
Constitution. Three. And you know what those three are? The Air
Force Academy, West Point, and Annapolis.
Now, if an officer in the military ought to know the
Constitution, surely we as citizens ought to know the
Constitution. And we do not.
What we do not know is infinitely greater, what our
oncoming generation does not know about the past is infinitely
greater than even the worst of these studies reveal. You know,
more than half of the college student seniors in our best
universities could not say when Abraham Lincoln was President.
When you have Ivy League students saying they thought that
Germany and Japan were our allies in World War II, you know you
have got a very serious problem. And it is curable. Teach the
teachers. Involve the teachers in the intellectual and
emotional and human excitement of history.
If we can just convey that the people who created this
country were not gods, they were not icons, they were human
beings, and yet they could rise to the occasion and do what
they did despite their imperfections, their flaws, their
grievous mistakes on some occasions, we can, too. Again,
Jefferson said it right in the very first line of the
Declaration of Independence: ``When in the course of human
events...'' The key word is ``human.'' And they were not
perfect, and they knew that what they had done was not perfect,
that this is an ongoing experiment, an ongoing creative process
and we all have to take part in that spirit. And if a student
comes out of a course in American history knowing only that,
that course will be of infinite value.
In the midst of the darkest days of World War II, after
Pearl Harbor, when half of our fleet had been destroyed, when
we had no Air Force to speak of, when our recruits were
drilling with wooden rifles, and Hitler was almost at Moscow,
and German submarines were sinking our ships off of the coast
of Florida and New Jersey at will, our oil tankers, Winston
Churchill came across the Atlantic and gave a very great speech
in which he said, ``We haven't journeyed this far because we
are made of sugar candy.'' And Winston Churchill, along with
everything else, was a historian.
Thank you, sir.
Senator Alexander. Thank you, Mr. McCullough.
Now, may I ask this question? We are talking about today
about the possibility of creating, let's say, a 2-week summer
residential program for teachers of American history and
civics. And let's say it is in Massachusetts, which is your
home State, where you live. And let's say a major university
would like to be the host; we have dormitories that are not
full in the summer, we have the facilities, we want to be a
part of this. And Bruce Cole and the National Endowment for the
Humanities liked the application of this Massachusetts
university and gave them some Federal money. They select, 200
Massachusetts teachers. And let's say they are not just
teachers of Massachusetts history or American history; they are
first grade and second and third and fourth, fifth, sixth, they
are teachers all the way through K-12 on the theory that every
teacher ought to teach some American history as a part of a
curriculum.
And let's say they met for 2 weeks in June, and you found
yourself in charge of those teachers for 10 days. They came
there and lived at that university. What would you do with
them? How would you help them become more effective teachers
and to learn more about the key events and persons and
institutions that have created our Government?
Mr. McCullough. Well, first of all, I think that would be
marvelous, and I would try to take advantage as much as
possible of two great--three great Federal institutions already
in place, all ready to play a big part: the National Archives,
the Library of Congress, and the National Park Service.
I am not affiliated with a university. I have no access to
a university library except as a guest. I have done most of my
work, most of my career has been possible because of the
National Archives, the Library of Congress, and the National
Park Service, where there are infinite resources and,
importantly, marvelous staff people.
I would first of all try to set up some program with the
Library of Congress and the National Archives whereby these
teachers can understand how you do research through electronic
means, getting original documents and the like through the
Archives and the Library of Congress, not just so that they
will have these items to use in their classrooms but because
they will catch the bacillus, the bug of history in doing the
research, the excitement of it, get them involved in the
detective casework of history. And it never fails. Never fails.
And if it is Massachusetts, it would be ideal. I would have
them come to the Adams House as a guest of the Park Service for
that day, set up a tent, whatever you wish, and I would ask
somebody--maybe me--to come and talk to them about John Adams.
I would. I would invite David McCullough to come and talk about
John Adams. [Laughter.]
And then we would tour the house, and we would use the
house, in effect, as kind of a lab for the day.
Senator Alexander. This is in Cambridge?
Mr. McCullough. No. It is in Quincy, MA.
Senator Alexander. Quincy.
Mr. McCullough. And I think we have to bring the lab
technique to the teaching of the humanities far more than we
have done. I think that is the way people really learn, and
instead of being in a science laboratory looking at a model of
a trilobite or something, you are on the grounds of the Adams
House, and you are going through the Adams House with all its
real possessions, real items. The Adams House is like a
geological cross-cut, not just of a family history but of
American history, two Presidents' home right there.
I would then take them to see--obviously I would go to the
Minuteman National Park at Concord and Lexington. Then I would
take them to the Longfellow House, which is also a national
park site, which was Washington's headquarters during the
Revolution, during the siege of Boston. And so in those three
sites, they could get a big banquet of American history focused
on the Revolutionary War era, such as you could not get
anywhere else in the world--free. It is all there. The park
historians are there to talk, and the park historians are
superb. The site is there. And they are not only affected by
this, influenced by it, but then when they in turn can bring
their students to those sites, then their part in the school
trip becomes infinitely more exciting and meaningful for the
children. Everybody benefits.
We have all had the experience--I hope we have all had the
experience of being taken as a child either on a school trip or
by parents or friends of parents or whatever to one of our
national historic sites--a battlefield, Presidential home--and
there they are. They are all there waiting to be used for just
this kind of a purpose.
So I think if we could set something up like that in
Massachusetts it would be ideal. And you would not even have to
have them stay in a university campus. I mean, the number of
teachers in, let's say, a 40-mile radius of the Adams House or
the Minuteman National Park at Concord and Lexington, it would
be enormous.
Senator Alexander. Now, someone might say, well, that is
great for Massachusetts, but not every State has such a wealth
of historical sites. What would you say to them?
Mr. McCullough. I would say that almost every State in the
country has such a site. Thirty-four Presidents, Presidential
sites, almost every President, battlefields, and not just
political or military sites. Edison's laboratory at Menlo Park
is a national historic site. Up and down the line. And if you
cannot do that, then there are other ways to do it, which is to
take them to sites that are State parks, State historical
society sites, or take them to a repository of some exciting
documentary material, primary source material.
One summer, for example, we ran a program in Ohio, and the
teachers who were taking part in this National Council for
History Education worked with original documents relating to
the Underground Railroad. And they were so excited that when
the 2 weeks were up, they did not want to leave; they did not
want to go home. They had more work to do on their project.
There, again, Margaret McFarland's thesis, they can bring
that back to the classroom, that excitement. She said, ``Show
them what you love.'' That is the way to teach: show them what
you love.
Senator Alexander. One of Tennessee's most interesting
teachers is John Rice Irwin, who created the Museum of
Appalachia, which celebrates the way mountain people lived many
years ago. But his thesis is what you just said. He will remind
students in an area who might think they have grown up in the
mountains and not have as much as someone who grows up in
Massachusetts that they, in fact, have a rich heritage. And he
will take them to Roane County, which is just 30 miles away,
and say, ``Sam Rayburn was born here.'' And he will drive 10
more miles and say, ``Cordell Hull and Albert Gore, Sr., were
born here, and Hull was Gore's teacher.'' And then over here
was Howard Baker and over here Mark Twain's father lived. And
by bringing all of that to life, he helps students and teachers
in that area see that they do not have to go very far to have a
rich and interesting course in American history.
May I switch gears just a little bit. Here is a comment
that a panel participant made at a recent meeting of the
National Council of Social Studies. He said, ``We need to de-
exceptionalize the United States. We are just another country
and another group of people.'' This came in response to a
question from a teacher who wanted to learn more about American
history after 9/11.
We are talking about American history. Maybe we are jumping
over something. Maybe we ought to step back and say, Why
American history? I mean, is America really exceptional? And if
so, in what way? Because there are some who answer that
question, no, it is not.
Mr. McCullough. I would love to answer that question at
length but cannot this morning. Yes, we are exceptional. Yes,
the American story is exceptional, has been from the beginning.
And everyone, almost everyone who participated in it from the
beginning sensed that or knew that or said that.
The American Revolution was the first successful revolution
of a colonial people breaking lose from the empire and
establishing their own Government ever in history, the first
Government to succeed as a self-governing people. Our hope and
promise that we have given to the world, despite incongruities,
inconsistencies, injustices, failures, disappointments, has
continued from the beginning--as Lincoln said, the last best
hope. And we have proven again and again that we mean what we
say and that we have been willing to sacrifice in order to
sustain the experiment, the dream.
And to just say, well, we are not exceptional is really to
denigrate so much that has been done for us by our
predecessors. We are all the beneficiaries of those exceptional
people who went before us, who had the ingenuity, who had the
courage, who had the selfless response to the possibilities of
self-government. And we must never take it for granted. We must
never fail to not just honor and respect but learn from them,
because so much of what they did was for our benefit. They
wanted us--we have always been a country that was trying to
improve itself, to become better. And we have been inclusive
from the beginning.
You could go to France, Senator, tomorrow and live there
for the rest of your life, and you would never be a Frenchman.
You could have gone there when you were 15, and you would never
be a Frenchman, ever. If you were in France and you came here
and settled here and became a citizen, you are an American,
because it is open to all and it is opportunity for everyone as
much as any society that has ever existed in all of history.
Senator Alexander. I have one last question, and then we
will allow you to get on with your schedule, and we will go to
other witnesses. You lead me to it. We have talked about how,
for a variety of reasons, we have not focused on the teaching
of American history. Perhaps one reason is because teachers
have not learned it or they have not caught the attitude that
helps them impart this attitude of teaching. I think there may
be another reason that teachers may not teach American history.
I think many of them are afraid to. They are reluctant to
because, in their words, it has become controversial. We have,
on the one hand, super patriots, and we have, on the other
hand, a politically correct crowd. And so, for example, Thomas
Jefferson owned slaves, that is a subject that a teacher may be
reluctant to discuss. Or many teachers are reluctant to discuss
the religious nature of our country because they hear that we
cannot teach religion in schools. Many teachers may be afraid
to discuss a whole variety of issues because they are
controversial or because they have conflicts. Some schools have
even gone so far as to take the names of George Washington and
Thomas Jefferson off the school because they owned slaves.
What would you say to teachers who are afraid to wade into
controversial territory in American history? What would your
advice to them be?
Mr. McCullough. I would say read history and you will
understand the controversy and differences of opinion, and
various forms of coercion have been part of the story from the
beginning. There is nothing new about this kind of difference
of opinion, contradiction, conflict. It has always been there,
from the beginning. And if we have reached the State where we
are afraid to teach our own history, that is as sad a comment
as I can imagine.
I think there are three great needs in the teaching of
history. The first is we have to revise how we are teaching our
teachers.
The second is we have to do something about the textbooks,
which are, by and large, deadly. Some of them, they seem to
have been written almost as if for the purpose of killing
anyone's interest in history. If somebody said to you, ``You
have got to go home and read this book tonight for 2 hours,''
you would probably say after you had read maybe for 15 minutes,
``Why am I being punished this way?''
We should have them reading what we would want to read, and
the argument that students, children today do not want to read
has been blown right out of the water by Harry Potter. When you
see an 8-year-old sit down a read a 700-page book for the
pleasure of reading, you know that there is nothing adverse
about their attitude toward reading.
And the third thing is not to put all the burden of
responsibility on the teachers. We have to assume
responsibility. We have to talk about history in front of our
children, with our children, our grandchildren. We have to take
them to national parks and historic sites and talk about the
books that we have read, talk about the people in history who
have interested us, who have been our heroes. Make it part of
conversation in the family. Set the example at home.
Senator Alexander. Well, David McCullough, thank you not
just for being here today, but helping a whole Nation catch an
attitude about American history. Your narrative of John Adams
is the most recent example of that and captured the imagination
of Americans who knew about John Adams but had no idea of all
you told about him--you told a wonderful story. I hope we can
work together with other members of the U.S. Senate and
Congress and teachers to find ways to inspire the teaching of
American history. We appreciate your coming this morning.
Mr. McCullough. Thank you, sir.
Senator Alexander. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Now, before our second panel--our second panel includes
Bruce Cole, Chairman of the National Endowment for the
Humanities; Dr. Gene Hickok, the Under Secretary of Education;
Dr. Jim Billington, the Librarian of Congress. Before they come
to the table, I want to ask Senator Robert Byrd if he will--
invite him to make a statement.
While he is coming, it is customary for Senators to
compliment one another. I have learned that even in 3 months of
being in the Senate. But in this case, Senator Byrd actually
deserves it. He is a historian himself. He reads history. He
writes history. He loves history. He has caught the attitude of
history. He speaks on it on the Senate floor, and he, above all
Senators, has through his work in the Senate encouraged the
teaching of traditional American history.
Senator Byrd, thank you for being here this morning.
STATEMENT OF ROBERT BYRD, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST
VIRGINIA
Senator Byrd. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
It is a great honor and a privilege and a rare experience
to be able to start the day as this day has been started in
this room, to hear one of the greatest of American historians,
David McCullough, and to listen to him. He is not only a great
historian, but he has helped to change the course of history.
Back in 1977, when I became the Majority Leader of the U.S.
Senate and Howard Baker, a statesman, as well as a good
politician, was the Minority Leader, the subject before the
country was the Panama Canal Treaty. And the country was very
much opposed to a new treaty, according to the polls. I was
very much opposed to a new treaty. The people of West Virginia
were very much opposed. And I made speeches in West Virginia,
made statements--they are in print, and I am confronted with
them, have been in every subsequent election--in which I said,
no, we should not have a new treaty.
I read David McCullough's book, ``The Path Between the
Seas.'' It is a fascinating book. The title is an excellent
title, but somewhat misleading in that one does not feel what
is in that book by simply reading the title. But that book
helped to change my position on the Panama Canal Treaty. I read
the book. It was so fascinating I could hardly get away from
reading it to eat some of my wife's good cooking. But there is
a book that changed the course of history.
Now, I changed my viewpoint, and Howard Baker, who was the
Minority Leader, as I said earlier, changed his viewpoint. And
Howard Baker, you should have his name on the reception room in
the U.S. Senate, where there are some great Senators, all-time
great Senators--perhaps not all-time but certainly all in the
history of this Republic. And it took a statesman to do that.
It took a high-quality statesman. He looked and he read, and we
both went to Panama. We did not go on the same trip. We went
separately to see for ourselves the canal.
But what I want to say here is here was a book that helped
in great measure to change the course of history, and we
carried those two treaties by not only the two-thirds vote that
is required by the Constitution, but two-thirds plus one vote
in the case of each treaty. And we sailed upstream. We went
against the grain. And I say this to applaud the man who wrote
that fascinating history. And he came down to the Senate at
that time and talked with me and with other Senators. So he
took an active part in changing history, changing the course of
this country for the better. And I want to congratulate him
once again. I have done it many times, and he is a great
American, and I have been greatly inspired by him on many
occasions.
I believe in teaching history. Social studies are fine in
their place, but I believe in history, teaching history and
reading history.
I grew up at a time in American history when we read in the
7th and 8th grades, 9th grade, Muzzey's history, and I have
Muzzey at my house. I remember the first sentence in Muzzey's
book: ``America is the child of Europe.'' That is the first
sentence.
Now, Muzzey might have been driven out of town in this day
because that might not have been smart politics. But I will
take Muzzey any day over political correctness. America is the
child of Europe. So I studied American history. I often talk to
the pages in the Senate, and I say, ``How many of you know
about Nathan Hale? Hold up your hands. How many of you know
about Nathan Hale?'' Sometimes there would be one hand;
sometimes there would be none. And, occasionally, I am pleased
to see two or three hands go up.
Well, who was Nathan Hale? He was that patriot who, on
September 22, 1776, gave his life. He was arrested as a spy for
volunteering--he volunteered when George Washington, the
greatest President who ever lived, and who ever will live
probably, George Washington asked for volunteers to go behind
the British lines to bring back drawings of fortifications, and
he went. He gave his life. And the night before he was to
return to the American lines, he was arrested, and the drawings
were in his clothing.
The next morning he was hauled up before a gallows, a crude
gallows, and there before the gallows was a roughly hewn wood
coffin. He knew that his body would soon lie in that coffin.
And when the British captain, whose name was Cunningham, asked
Nathan Hale, ``Is there anything you would like to say?'' Those
immortal words: ``I only regret that I have but one life to
lose for my country.'' And the British captain said, ``String
the rebel up.''
Well, Muzzey gave me my heroes. American history gave me my
heroes. My heroes are not among the rock musicians. Even my
good musicians are not among the rock musicians. I like the
Grand Ole Opry and bluegrass boys. I used to listen to the
Grand Ole Opry, my wife and I, Grand Ole Opry.
American history ought to be taught today. Muzzey, perhaps
you ought to go back to Muzzey. You did not find many pictures.
There were not many pictures in Muzzey's history, just a few.
It was full of text. And I memorized my history at night by the
light of an old oil lamp on Wolf Creek Hollow in Mercer County,
southern West Virginia. I memorized my lessons because I had a
great man who raised me. His name was Titus Dalton Byrd, and he
and his wonderful wife did not have much of a education, but
they felt that they ought to reward this boy that they had
adopted. And they always looked at my report card, and one of
the first things my dad--I called him my dad; he was the only
dad I ever knew. One of the first things he looked for on that
report card was designated ``deportment.'' And if that did not
show up very well, which it always did in my case, of course, I
knew what the razor strap would be like.
I had a wonderful teacher in a two-room school. His name
was Archie Akers. And I lived in a house where there was no
running water, no electricity, and each morning Archie Akers
would come by my house and we would walk together to the
school. And I would talk with him about history, the history
lesson. I loved it. I memorized those history lessons.
Then when I moved to a coal-mining community, the principal
of that school learned that I knew a lot about American history
and that I memorized history. He took me up before the senior
class. I was just in the 5th grade. He took me up before the
senior class and had me repeat the words in American history
that I had memorized.
As I say, there is where many a young person in America
received his education with respect to American history, and
there is where he found his heroes.
So I am honored today to come before your committee and
especially honored by being able to listen to David McCullough.
And we have a great Librarian of Congress here, too, Dr.
Billington. And I have been privileged to visit with him over
these years.
Well, I have taken about all the time that you expected me
to take. May I just read from--I will ask the committee if it
will include my prepared statement.
Senator Alexander. Of course, Senator Byrd.
Senator Byrd. Let me just read from a speech which I made a
few years back at West Virginia University. These are the
closing paragraphs. You would not want me to repeat the whole
speech, or we would be here quite a while. But it goes like
this:
``As a Nation, we are all guilty of abominably lax
vigilance over our responsibilities, Members of Congress who
cower at the slightest criticism and who do not even both to
study and understand the document that they take a solemn oath
to support and defend; Presidents eager to grab power, to make
their mark on history larger; representatives of the media who
would report significant events without really understanding
them because they do not understand history; talk-show
demagogues who rail over the airways while they generate ill-
informed and destructive anger; and ordinary citizens who do
not even bother to vote.''
``Let us remember the words of John Philpot Curran, the
Irish orator and statesman who commented that, `The condition
upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance,
which condition if he breaks servitude is at once the
consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt.'''
Now, I went on to say, ``Those of us who teach, those of us
educated in the discipline of law, those of us who purport to
serve the public in some capacity have a special responsibility
to make others sensitive to the importance of every citizen's
role in preserving our freedoms. But we can all do more, and we
must. We started this day,'' I said, ``with a most disturbing
poll. Let us close with the results of a study which may shed
some useful light upon at least one possible reason why such
ignorance about our Constitution exists.''
I refer to the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation's first ever
appraisal of State standards for history in 38 States,
published in February of 1998. This is a brand-new study which
points out something that I have believed for quite a while.
Let me quote from the foreword of the study on its general
findings about how 38 States are doing in the effort to teach
history to our grade school and high school students, and I
quote--this is from the Fordham study. ``The vast majority of
young Americans are attending school in States that do not
consider the study of history to be especially important. No
doubt some children are learning lots of solid history from
excellent teachers in fine schools. Their good fortune,
however, appears to be serendipitous. State standards rarely
constitute a ceiling on what can be taught and learned. But it
is not unreasonable to view them as the floor below which no
child or school should fall. When it comes to history, most
States have placed that floor where the sub-basement ought to
be. In only a few instances in history itself, the focus of the
State academic standards that pertain to it, in most
jurisdictions history remains mired in a curricular swamp
called social studies.''
This is Robert Byrd talking again now. ``We can correct
this deplorable treatment of history in our schools and we
must. For only with a thorough knowledge of history can we ever
expect our people to appreciate the gift of the Framers or the
experience and the struggles going back centuries which combine
to make us free. Only with a citizenry that understands its
responsibilities in a republic, not a democracy, in a republic
such as ours can we ever expect to elect office holders with
the intelligence to represent the people well, the honesty to
deal with them truthfully, and the determination to effectively
promote the people's interest and preserve their liberties, no
matter what the personal and political consequences. We can
build upon the respect and reverence we still hold for our
Constitution, but we better start now before, through ignorance
and apathy, even that much slips away from us.''
Now, Mr. Chairman, I close by thanking you and the members
of the subcommittee for conducting this hearing. I do not know
of any greater service we could render our Nation than that of
promoting--and we are in positions to do it--the study of
American history. When I think about those 38 signers of the
Constitution, I think about what they taught and how they
sacrificed, and the dangers they put themselves in by what they
did and giving us a Declaration of Independence, considering
those who wrote it and signed it would have been declared
treasonous and could have been taken to England and hanged, and
then the Constitution, the 38 signers.
I will close by saying that Cicero said to remain ignorant
before you were born is to remain always a child. And let me
close by saying this: This Constitution, Mr. Chairman, if we
could find some way to begin teaching, the re-teaching, the
review of American history to our colleagues, the Members of
the U.S. Senate and the Members of the House of
Representatives, we would perform a great service indeed. As I
say this to you--now, this may offend some, but it is the
truth, in my judgment. When only 23 Senators cast a vote
against shifting the power to declare war to a Chief Executive
of a Nation, something is wrong. Twenty-three Senators. Study
that Constitution which gives the Congress the power to declare
war.
This may be a little like teaching history, American
history, and it may offend some. But the truth is there. The
truth will always stand.
I thank you for what you are doing.
Senator Alexander. Thank you, Senator Byrd, very much for
joining our hearing. To have it begin with Mr. McCullough and
with you is the best possible way we could start. Thanks for
your leadership.
[The prepared statement of Senator Byrd may be found in
additional material.]
Senator Alexander. I will ask Dr. Cole and Dr. Hickok and
Dr. Billington if they will come to the table now, and we will
hear from them.
Senator Byrd. I apologize to those who are going to be
witnesses before the committee now that I will have to go. I
have to attend another committee hearing. Thank you very much
for what you gentlemen are doing.
Senator Alexander. We have a third panel of witnesses, and
they may be setting their watches because I know they all have
schedules as well. We will finish this panel before 11 o'clock,
and that will give us a chance for Dr. Ravitch and others to
testify and answers questions in time to leave.
Our first witness is--and let me suggest in each case, we
would be glad to hear your statements, but you would be welcome
to summarize them in any way you would like, and then we can
have questions and answers. This is an extremely distinguished
panel representing three agencies that have the most to do with
providing resources to teachers and schools and others who want
to learn more about American history and civics. And our
mission is to shovel all this wonderful information out to the
classroom and put it in front of the students and put it in the
hands of the teachers so it can be used.
Our first witness is Bruce Cole, who is Chairman of the
National Endowment for the Humanities. He has a distinguished
resume. He himself is an author. He has written 14 different
books. He has new, important roles in helping with President
Bush's initiative on American history and civics.
Dr. Cole, rather than give you a long introduction, I am
going to thank you for coming and let you take the time to tell
us how the National Endowment for Humanities might help.
STATEMENTS OF BRUCE COLE, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE
HUMANITIES; EUGENE W. HICKOK, UNDER SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; AND JAMES H. BILLINGTON, THE
LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Mr. Cole. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of this
committee, for the opportunity to testify today.
This hearing helps raise awareness of an important issue--
the need to increase and enhance knowledge and understanding of
American history.
It is crucial that we understand the principles, events,
and ideas that have defined our past and that will shape our
future. Democracy, unlike other forms of government, is not
self-perpetuating. Its ideas and principles must be taught and
transmitted. Indeed, we cannot defend what we do not
understand. But even as our country is at war, numerous studies
indicate that many students lack even a basic knowledge of
their country's past.
I will give you just a few examples:
A recent survey of students enrolled at 55 of our Nation's
most elite colleges and universities found that 54 percent of
our brightest young people thought Abraham Lincoln was
President before 1860, before the Civil War. More than a third
of these students could not identify the Constitution as
establishing our Government's division of powers.
At the secondary school level, the National Assessment of
Educational Progress test found that over half of all high
school seniors scored ``below basic''--that is, below the bare
minimum level of proficiency in history. To illustrate what
this means, 18 percent of seniors thought Germany was a U.S.
ally in World War II; around two-thirds could not identify who
we fought with or against.
In speaking to various groups, I have called this loss of
memory and lack of understanding of our history ``our American
amnesia.'' The consequences are serious. Citizens who do not
know their rights are less likely to protect them. And if young
Americans cannot recall whom we fought, and whom we fought
alongside, during World War II, there is no reason to expect
that they will long remember what happened on September 11th.
As Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities,
one of my top priorities for the agency and its able staff is
to address this challenge of American amnesia. We are aiming to
do this through a new initiative called ``We the People.''
On Constitution Day, 2002, in a special Rose Garden
ceremony, President Bush announced the launch of the ``We the
People'' initiative to be spearheaded by the NEH. ``We the
People'' is designed to broaden and deepen Americans' knowledge
of their Nation's history. We are honored that the President
has chosen the Endowment to play a leadership role in the
administration's American history and civics initiative, and we
look forward to serving in this capacity. This initiative is an
important part of the President's USA Freedom Corps, which is
working to promote a culture of active, engaged citizens who
have a better understanding of their democratic traditions and
their duty to serve our communities and country.
NEH's ``We the People'' initiative aims to cultivate an
enhanced understanding of American history among students,
teachers, and the public at large. We will enlist the efforts
of scholars, professors, curators, librarians, filmmakers, and
others engaged in a wide variety of projects, including the
creation of model history curricula, the digitization and
dissemination of historical documents, the expansion of our
acclaimed summer seminars for school teachers, and new programs
that bring history to our citizens.
Already, the Endowment has undertaken several exciting
efforts as part of this initiative. This year, we launched a
nationwide solicitation of grant applications to address ``We
the People'' themes and topics. On May 1st, we will host the
inaugural ``Heroes of History'' lecture, featuring acclaimed
historian Robert Remini, who was authorized by the House of
Representatives to write its official history. In addition, we
recently held the first ``Idea of America'' essay contest where
more than 1,300 high school juniors submitted essays on key
events in American history.
I should also mention that on May 15th, the NEH will
present the Thirty-Second Annual Jefferson Lecture, delivered
by the distinguished historian David McCullough. As you may
have gathered from his remarks this morning, he is not only a
first-rate scholar but also a leading champion of American
history.
Each of these NEH efforts aims at enhancing and increased
knowledge and understanding of American history among teachers,
students, and the general public.
This hearing is another important step. I want to express
my appreciation to Senator Alexander for his work to address
this issue, both in his home State of Tennessee and from the
Capitol. He has been an effective and dedicated advocate for
excellent in education, and I look forward to working with him
toward that shared goal.
The American History and Civics Education Act authorizes
the establishment of Presidential academies for teaching
history content to teachers and congressional academies for
teaching history to gifted students. It would place the
responsibility for selecting those academies within the purview
of the NEH and its highly respected merit review system.
It is a truism of teaching that one cannot teach what one
does not know. As someone whose life was changed by the
inspired teaching of a professor, I can attest to the
transformative power of quality teaching. But studies also show
that secondary school history teachers receive less instruction
and training in their discipline than any other subject except
physics. In fact, one recent Department of Education study
found that 58 percent of high school history teachers neither
majored nor minored in history.
There are many reasons for this ``content gap'' in history
teaching. Many education schools focus more on the theory and
methods of teaching rather than on the key documents, events,
and figures of our history. The emphasis that Senator
Alexander, Senator Byrd, Under Secretary Hickok, James
Billington, and others have placed on teaching actual history,
as opposed to pedagogy, is exactly right.
Our challenge is clear: We need to enhance and extend the
teaching of history to teachers so they can pass it on to their
students.
One way in which the NEH addresses this challenge is
through its widely respected summer seminars and institutes for
school teachers. Each seminar or institute is selected by the
NEH's rigorous merit review system and concentrates on teaching
the teachers history and humanities content. In the
testimonials we have received, many teachers have claimed that
the experience was extremely helpful and rewarding and that
learning more about a subject naturally enabled them to teach
it more effectively.
Mr. Chairman, the administration and the NEH share your
concern with ensuring that our Nation's history is well
understood by teachers, students, and all citizens. The ideas,
ideals, and institutions that founded and form our Nation
should be well and widely taught. With nearly 40 years of
experience as the Federal Government's agency for advancing
education, scholarship, public programs, and preservation in
history and the humanities, NEH is well positioned to
contribute to this important effort.
Again, I want to express my appreciation for the
willingness of this committee to address the issue of American
amnesia, for the work and experience Senator Alexander has
invested in this legislation, and for the opportunity to
testify today. I would be glad to answer any questions.
Senator Alexander. Thank you, Dr. Cole. Am I correct that
you have until about 10:45? Is that right?
Mr. Cole. Right.
Senator Alexander. Well, why don't we go on to Dr. Hickok
and Dr. Billington and then we will bring this panel to a
conclusion about 10:45.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Cole may be found in
additional material.]
Senator Alexander. Dr. Hickok, the Under Secretary of
Education, also has a distinguished resume for his work as
Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education. We are delighted to have
him with us today. The Department of Education supervises a
number of activities and programs that have to do with the
encouraging of the teaching of history, of American history and
civics. Dr. Hickok?
Mr. Hickok. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning. Let
me first of all State it is somewhat humbling to sit at the
same table where Senator Byrd just made his presentation and,
before that, the eminent historian David McCullough. It is one
of the great benefits of a job like this. You get a chance to
hear some incredible words from incredible people. It is also
very humbling to share the table with these two gentlemen, who
have long and distinguished careers of contributing through
public service and private service to the next generation of
America.
I on a personal note want to say how much what you are
attempting to do and what we are talking about today means to
me because, long before I entered public service, I was a
college professor and devoted my scholarship and my teaching to
the importance of American constitutionalism and American
constitutional history. I would point out that there is a
statute of Nathan Hale outside the Justice Department where I
once worked. Most people probably could not tell you that. I am
hopeful now that most people now know who Nathan Hale is, at
least the people in this room.
I am also here to point out that the Department of
Education has a lot going on, in large measure because of the
work of this body, to promote informed teaching of American
history. The Teaching American History program, $100 million,
is dedicated toward trying to make sure that America's teachers
understand the fundamentals and can teach the fundamentals of
American history using original documents, working with
colleagues, working with faculty from higher education and
other institutions, community organizations. The goal of this
is professional development in its truest sense, and it is
urgently needed.
As my colleague Dr. Cole said, the majority of America's
history teachers did not major or minor in history, and I think
if the truth be told, they were not hired to be history
teachers. Most of them were hired to teach other things or to
be coaches. American history has not been a high priority in
America's schools, and I think America suffers because of that,
especially at this time, this very, very challenging and unique
time in our history.
The Teaching American History program then is dedicated to
the proposition that we need to do something as a nation about
that. It is a long and difficult challenge, but the purpose of
the program, perhaps one teacher at a time, is to change the
course of the way we teach history so that lives in the future
are better informed about what this Nation is all about, has
been all about, the idea of America, and, more importantly, we
will be better prepared to make sure that idea continues long
after all of us are gone.
In addition to the Teaching American History program, we do
civic education, every bit as important, certainly not
unrelated to the importance of understanding of American
history. Under the Civic Education program, we work with the
``We the People'' program that does The Citizen and the
Constitution and Project Citizen.
The Citizen and the Constitution project is a competition
in many ways, high school and junior high school, middle
school, the goal of which is to get students engaged in
understanding, and not just in a superficial way but in a
reasoned, articulate, in-depth way, some of the most important
issues in American civics and history. They grapple with these
issues in competitions at the local and State level, and their
final competition is held here in DC. I have attended it. You
would be, I am sure, stunned with the quality of the
competition and the ability of some of these people to make the
arguments they make and be able to debate with such insight and
in many ways wisdom far beyond their years. The competition is
truly impressive.
The disappointing thing about the competition is even
though it might be thousands of kids, there are millions of
kids who need to be a part of that competition. So whatever we
can do as a nation to instill in this country a sense of the
importance of civic education through programs such as The
Citizen and the Constitution, we need to continue to do.
I want to close. I think it is more important we have
conversation. I would mention two things. On a personal note,
about 10 years ago I was lucky enough to visit the Baltic
republics that were struggling at the time to achieve their
independence from the then-Soviet Union. I was there to talk
with the emerging leaders about their emerging constitutions. I
mention that because I was fortunate to get a sense coming home
of how important it is for a free people to remember the source
of their freedom.
I remember sitting with a gentleman who later became the
Minister of Finance in Lithuania and how he sat across the
table from me and said, ``How do you invent private property?
How do you find the invisible hand? How do you create a
democracy among a people who do not know how to govern
themselves?'' And it struck me I had no answer for that, except
I knew that we as a nation had been able to do that because we
have never lost touch with how we created our system of
economy, our Government, etc.
I fear that we as a nation need to address the teaching of
history and civics with a sense of urgency because I never want
my children or my grandchildren to be asking the kind of
question that was asked of me almost a decade ago.
I would leave with this one thought, going back to
something that Senator Byrd referenced, the Declaration of
Independence. The last line of that document should ring in the
hearts of every citizen in a republic. That last line talks
about how those who signed the document pledge their lives,
their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
The future of this Nation will always rely upon individuals
willing to do exactly that, and if we are not about the
business of making sure that our young people, from elementary
school through college, and not just students but all of our
citizens, if we are not about the task of making sure they
understand American history and the obligations and
opportunities of American citizenship, then we will not be able
to make sure the legacy that is established in the Declaration
continues. That is how urgent our task is, and I thank the
chairman for making sure that we are about that task.
Thank you.
Senator Alexander. Thank you, Dr. Hickok.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Hickok may be found in
additional material.]
Senator Alexander. Thank you. All three of you have
rearranged your schedules and are very busy with other
responsibilities, and I am grateful to you for coming, Dr.
Billington. I know that you have--and I appreciate your
arranging to be here.
Dr. James Billington is the 13th person, only the 13th
person to ever be the Librarian of Congress. He has been that
since 1987. To use Mr. McCullough's words, he certainly has
caught the attitude of American history and has a treasure
trove of information there that we all can use.
Dr. Billington, we look forward to hearing from you.
Mr. Billington. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and it
is a privilege to be able to testify on this subject that is so
important to the future of America and on which you yourself
have spoken and acted so eloquently.
I am going to try to illustrate for you an actual program
we have which I think follows Mr. McCullough's principles in
terms of both representing something which creates a chain of
enthusiasm which is so important for animating this history and
also that helps humanize history by using the Internet, as he
said, is of some importance.
During Alex Haley's 12 years researching his groundbreaking
novel ``Roots,'' he traveled the globe to uncover his family's
story, even crossed the Atlantic to get some feel for what his
ancestors went through on the Middle Passage. He also spend
many hours in the reading rooms of the Library of Congress,
porting over American Missionary Society files from our
Manuscript Collection.
For the first 100 years of the Library's existence, people
could access our vast collections only by traveling here,
working in the beautiful reading rooms, as Mr. Haley did.
Now the primary materials in the Library of Congress, many
of them are already available free of charge online, and this
has proven to be extraordinarily valuable in the teaching of
civics and history, in supporting the teaching particularly in
the classroom, and I believe that this kind of program that we
have been running for a while now can be a key player in your
program to establish Presidential academies for teachers and
congressional academies for students, and also most
particularly to create an online National Alliance for
Teachers.
The technology revolution of the past decade has made it
possible for the Library to reach far beyond its buildings. We
now deliver 8 million interesting and educational multimedia
documents, maps, and images of American history and culture
free of charge to stimulate curiosity, to humanize the teaching
of history. By exploiting the power of the Internet and the
incomparable resources of these collections, the Library I
think now can be considered the leading provider of free,
noncommercial educational content on the World Wide Web.
The Library's websites attracted last year more than 2.5
billion hits, and they have won many prestigious awards by
offering easy electronic access to the key documents, events,
ideas, and people of American history. So the Library is
uniquely positioned, I think, to support the goals of educators
everywhere, helping students in a sense form their own
questions so that finding the answers to them will drive them
back into reading.
American Memory, as it was called, was first established as
a pilot in 1990. It is one of the first large-scale efforts to
use the Internet to disseminate high-quality educational
content.
Out of that grew the National Digital Library program,
which has created an online archive of more than 100
significant collections of important, rare, and unique items in
all formats documenting American history and its cultural
heritage. The materials were selected from the Library of
Congress as well as from 36 other American institutions, making
the National Digital Library truly national.
Students themselves get to work directly with the primary
materials, get to feel some of that enthusiasm, whether it is
manuscripts, documents of which we have spoken, the original
drafts. You can see them inventing these things, maps which you
can zoom in on and view with greater clarity than you can see
them with the naked eye; prints and photographs of all kinds
and varieties that themselves document the history of
technology as well as illustrate different stages of the
Nation's history, and music, which I am sorry we cannot provide
for you, the local technology, but I assure you that online it
illustrates all the different kinds of music of which Senator
Byrd was speaking.
The point is these are the actual stuff of history, not
about history. These resources encourage critical thinking in
students and inspire learners to further exploration. The
multimedia American Memory Collections include the papers of
United States Presidents in their own handwriting--you get the
feel and you see how good their handwriting is, by the way--
Mathew Brady's Civil War photographs. This is the first
photographed war and, of course, the great development of
American history recorded in a whole host of moving photographs
that have a great impact on children. Edward Curtis' images of
Native Americans, and early films of Thomas Edison, the first
films ever made, including the first steps on American soil of
people arriving at Ellis Island at the turn of the century. It
is very moving because he took--these are not the huddled
masses of which people tend to speak. They are people proud,
taking their first step on American soil. You can see how they
dressed up in their finest outfits, usually the only good
outfit they had, but proud to be taking that first step in the
great entryway into America of so many of our citizens. And
historic speeches is another thing, to hear the voices of our
leaders, as well as the great sort of implements of American
sports, the very first baseball cards. You cannot quite see it,
but the one on the left is the Brooklyn Atlantics, who were
champions of the world in 1865. And oral histories representing
the diversity of our culture, recorded Federal projects of
various kinds going back to the 1890s.
The Learning Page website, introduced in 1996 as a
companion to the American Memory Collections, specifically was
designed for K-12 educators and their students. Here a wide
range of content, and the Library's digital collections are
presented within an educational context that includes lesson
plans, actual lesson plans that reflect the real-life
experience. Those are just the sort of covering images on top
of actual experience lesson plans of students. Also, ``how to''
projects, for instance, this one illustrates the beginning of--
using maps to show how geography changed, the science of
geography, and also to show how people view--there are all
these little pictures. This is 1562, one of the earliest maps
of the New World, and it goes on to be--so they actually see
these materials and have a kind of ``how to'' study of history
through geography.
The point is the educational experience makes a dynamic,
stimulating, and interactive activity. You have to have a train
of thought. You have to be thinking critically to develop it.
It is not passive spectator experience like television.
Now, on this page, teachers can show with their lesson
plans. At the click of a mouse, they can search the
collections. They can try out lesson plans. They can engage in
classroom activities. They can connect with other teachers.
They can ask a librarian for help, the Library of Congress or
their local library. They can view a lecture or a poetry
reading, or they can visit more than 40 exhibitions, which are
also online.
We have had American Memory Fellows Institutes at the
Library in summer. They can serve perhaps as a pilot for or in
anticipation of your program to establish a National Alliance
of Teachers. The institute has successfully trained a network
of teachers across the country who are teaching other educators
in their local communities what they have learned at the
Library using primary sources in the classroom to stimulate and
get that chain of enthusiasm. Over a 5-year period, 300 master
educators from nearly every State have participated in a year-
long, largely online, professional development program which is
highlighted by a brief but intensive summer institute held at
the Library.
Teams of educators worked directly with the Library staff
and with the original lesson plans and teaching guides based on
the Library's online materials. These teachers develop road-
tested lesson plans that are now available electronically to
all teachers through the Learning Page website.
So we already have a kind of alliance of teachers connected
virtually through our Learning Page. But America needs to reach
teachers in all of the Nation's 15,000 school districts, and
also to have, as these institutes do, they get--what Mr.
McCullough stressed so beautifully, they get firsthand exposure
to the actual documents, and there are documents, by the way,
in local histories, museums, libraries all over the country, so
that is not just a perquisite of one community. They can have
that experience of actually seeing the originals and then using
the virtual materials, but carrying on that enthusiasm.
Anyhow, we are already reaching children and their families
directly through yet another new website called America's
Library, which is specifically designed to get kids where they
are, in the audiovisual world of boom boxes and television, but
seeing real quality material. It is fun, but it is also
educational, and it is currently attracting more than 22
million hits per month, combining child-friendly graphics with
the incomparable American collections of the Library, which
include more than 4,500 stories about our Nation's past.
Interactive elements on the site teach searching as a scavenger
hunt. They offer a virtual tour around America. You can send a
picture postcard of the American past online through e-mail and
so forth.
The Library is also linking the world's resources with
America's schools through collaborative digitization projects
with the national libraries of Russia, Brazil, Spain, and the
Netherlands. Joint binational, bilingual collaborations of this
kind, combined with the power of the Internet, provide some
marvelous material for global education. And they provide
links--we also provide links to other vetted and reliable
materials from and about more than 130 countries. When
completed, this project--this is just one topical example,
obviously, but when completed, this project will bring free to
America's classrooms resource materials from all the nations of
the world.
Finally, we have a new monthly online magazine called The
Wise Guide, which offers articles that encourage newcomers to
use our website to explore the wealth of the Library's online
educational programs.
So the Library is reaching students, their teachers, and
all learners with the documents, sounds, films, maps, music,
and other artifacts that tell the story of America. I think
this can be an inspirational as well as an educational
enhancement for the important new initiatives that this
committee is considering, and I, too, will be happy to answer
questions, Mr. Chairman.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Billington may be found in
additional material.]
Senator Alexander. Thank you, Dr. Billington. That is a
fascinating presentation. Alex Haley was a close friend of
mine, and he told me many times of his--he described that 13
years of research he did, finally discovering his ancestor
Kunta Kinte in Gambia.
While we have such talent here, let me go right to the
chase in a couple of ways. All of you have experience with
summer institutes in one way or another in this subject. Dr.
Cole does. Dr. Billington, as you said, you have short summer
institutes of one kind. Dr. Hickok, you do as well.
And as we have heard today and know, there is a great story
and a great need, and there are about maybe 2 million teachers
plus out here of all kinds plus in K-12. So how do we connect
all this up with the teachers?
Some of the obstacles I have heard about today or heard
about other places include that teachers are not trained to
teach history. Almost every witness has said that. They are
trained in other subjects. Textbooks are dull and watered down
and boring, and as Mr. McCullough said, if you were sentenced
to 2 hours of reading the textbooks, that would cure you
forever of wanting to learn history.
I believe many teachers are afraid to teach a lot of the
stuff of history because they feel caught in so-called
controversial subjects and do not feel confident in dealing
with them. And then, finally, an obstacle, Dr. Billington, to
what you have to offer is that a great many teachers, while
they have hardware, are not comfortable with using the
Internet. They will say they are and there are lots of salesmen
around who will tell you they are, but the fact of the matter
is if you go into a great many schools, you do not see very
many teachers who are comfortable integrating material on the
Internet into their daily teaching program.
So my own thought is--and the reason I proposed this
legislation was that summer institutes of 2 weeks, say, for
teachers or 4 weeks for students at which there would be a lot
of master teachers would be a good way to solve many of these
problems at once. If you have 200 teachers, for example, for 2
weeks--Mr. McCullough talked about visiting historic sites.
They can be presented with this information and shown how to
use it. There can be a discussion of how to teach controversial
subjects and a reminder that most of American history is
controversial subjects because it is a conflict of very deeply
held principles about which we mostly agree.
So my question for you would be: Based on the experience
you already have with institutes or what you can think about in
the future, in each case, Dr. Cole, starting with you, if you
think about a 2-week institute for teachers, what would you do
with the 2 weeks?
Mr. Cole. Well, first let me say that hearing you, Senator
Alexander, and Senator Byrd and David McCullough and my
colleagues here gives me a lot of hope. I think this is
inspiring, and I think together we can really address this
problem of American amnesia.
We have a long experience with summer seminars in the NEH,
and I like to think of these seminars as sort of an analogy of
a pebble tossed into a pool that has a great rippling effect,
because what we do is we bring teachers together with experts
in fields of various disciplines and would now talk about
American history. And we give them a very content-rich
experience. We expose them to the raw materials of history,
things that you can find in American Memory, for example.
Then these teachers take that knowledge back. They have a
chance in these seminars, by the way, to reflect and to discuss
among themselves. They take this content back and then teach
generations and generations of students.
Senator Alexander. Where would such a seminar be? Here in
Washington? Or do you have them all over?
Mr. Cole. We have them all over the country.
Senator Alexander. And how long are they? How many days?
Mr. Cole. They vary. They vary.
Senator Alexander. And how many teachers will come to a
typical seminar, or does that vary as well?
Mr. Cole. Fifteen to 30. But what we plan in our ``We the
People'' initiative is to expand this to include many more
hundreds of teachers. We find that this gives teachers
something that they do not have, that is, very content-rich
education.
Senator Alexander. Dr. Hickok, I wonder if in thinking
about the teaching program that you are administering whether
you now have such--whether any of the school districts now have
such institutes or whether you are thinking about such
institutes for the future.
Mr. Hickok. Some do. I think the better ones have
partnerships with institutions of higher education. I do not
think many of them locate the 2- or 3-week institute at a
historic location, which I think is an excellent idea. You
know, history is everywhere. You do not have to go to famous
historic sites to be in a historic location.
I do think that most need to do a better job of
incorporating technology. One of the real benefits from these
kinds of experiences I have seen--and I have been lucky enough
to participate in quite a few over the years as a faculty
member--is not just the experience of those 2 or 3 weeks where
a chemistry develops among the participants and an energy and a
willingness to sort of get engaged in the discussions and
debates, sort of give them the kind of intellectual support
that they might feel they need. It is what takes place
afterwards, especially with the technology. This community does
not disband after 3 weeks. They tend to keep in touch through
the Internet, through technology. They tend to share lesson
plans. It is kind of the ripple effect you are talking about.
The beauty of that is gradually that intellectual community
of history teachers, if you will, finds others to get engaged
at their location, so it does grow. It is very important that
it not be seen as sort of a 3-week experience, have a good
time, get a certificate, and go back to work. It has got to be
in many ways a transformative experience, intellectually,
pedagogically, and professionally. And the best of them can do
that. And when that takes place, it really grows pretty
quickly.
Senator Alexander. Dr. Billington, what has been your
experience? And as you look ahead, what could you foresee for
such summer institutes for teachers?
Mr. Billington. Well, our summer institutes are very short,
very intensive. They are just a week long. I think the 2 weeks
and the longer period you propose is an excellent idea.
We have tried--a couple of things from our experience that
are worth noting. First of all, the exposure to primary
materials, whether they are handling them directly in the
Library or in some other archive or repository or dealing with
them online, can be very effective right down to the 3rd grade,
2nd grade. I mean, it is surprising because the main point is
it gets people to form questions. When they themselves form the
question, they are motivated to find answers. That is important
not only for history but for learning in general. And because
kids are on the Internet very early, if you do not get some
good quality material to them on the Internet, they are going
to identify with, you know, the culture of violent video games
and all the destructive things and the chat rooms which are
destroying the basic unity of human thought, which was the
sentence, because it just runs on with the only punctuation
being ``like'' and ``you know.''
If you do not get good things on there very early and get
the teachers--the training of the teachers is absolutely
central, I think. And we have found also that the people who
are trained in this can train other people. We try to make it a
condition. It is competitive access to our summer institutes
that they offer some promise or some program for teaching
others. Because you are absolutely right, one of the biggest
obstacles is that the kids very often tend to be ahead of the
teachers with the new technology.
But I would say that getting people comfortable with the
new technology is not nearly as big or as demanding a problem
as it is getting the competence and the knowledge of history
and the enthusiasm of it from the teachers themselves. If they
have gone through a lot of education themselves and not picked
this up, that is in a way the bigger problem.
So it seems to me a slightly longer period, but focusing on
teachers at an early stage, because a lot of scholarship shows
that if they have not gotten turned on by the 4th grade, they
are not going to get turned on at all. And this has the
capacity, because, I mean, this is like the experience--I mean,
my model was going up in the attic of my grandparents when I
was very young and discovering old letters and old pictures.
And I started asking my grandmother a whole lot of questions.
And that was in a way the way most kids get an interest in
history.
Another point that I would like to stress that Mr.
McCullough stressed is the importance of getting the family
involved. Our new website, this America's Library website, has
been adopted by the Advertising Council. It is the first
library program they have ever adopted, precisely because they
think it has the capacity to get intergenerational learning
going, story telling across generational lines. And the value
of the Internet is it goes into the home as well as the
schools.
So I think that the institutes that you are proposing are
very important. I do not think the business of getting people
to feel comfortable, teachers, with the Internet is that
difficult. It just has to be done, and it has to be done
professionally. So I would say that an important aspect of this
should be using people who are already well trained. We have a
network--there are others, there are plenty of others--to train
the trainers, so to speak. But you need to get a multiplier
effect because all these programs, including ours, are just
very small drops in a very big ocean. And I think having some
obligation for the participants to assume some responsibility
for energizing, training teachers in their own community would
be a good thing to add in so that you can really ramp this
thing up and not let the peer group chat room world take over
the Internet, because the Internet is not--no new technology is
automatic delivery.
The last thing I would say is that we have found the
combination of the new technology and old materials, primary
materials that reflect old values, that widen the horizons of
kids, is old material, old values, and new technology. That is
a very American combination, and I think we need to not only
teach it but to exemplify it, that the country that produced
all this new technology can use it to restore its memory and
not simply to create the idea of innovation for innovation's
sake.
Senator Alexander. I have one more question of this panel,
and then we will move on to the next one. I will start with Dr.
Hickok on this and see if Dr. Cole and Dr. Billington have
anything to add.
The Leave No Child Behind Act, as you mentioned in your
testimony, requires that teachers in core academic subjects be
highly qualified, quote-quote, by the year 2005, 2006. Several
of the witnesses today have remarked that in no subject do
teachers have less instruction than in history other than
physics.
Now, that is a problem to cure for the future, but we have
got more than 2 million teachers out there teaching today, and
we have lots of students out there today. And so it occurs to
me that these summer academies for teachers as well as the
summer schools for students, but especially the academies for
teachers, might be a way that a State could help its teachers
become highly qualified in history.
What do you think of that?
Mr. Hickok. I think you are absolutely right, Senator. Two
points. The highly qualified language of the law does say if
you are teaching a core academic discipline such as history you
need to have subject matter mastery in history. In far too many
places, the certificate is a social studies certificate, and
that is not to be critical of social studies, but that is often
not much history, maybe no history.
So the first challenge for existing teachers is to get the
kind of background they need to meet the highly qualified
provisions, and one way to do that would be to participate at
institutes such as the ones that you are proposing.
The other issue to remember is that new teachers need to be
highly qualified as well, so there is a challenge now for those
who want to go into teaching, perhaps those who are just
entering college and teacher preparation programs now, they
need to start thinking, we need to start thinking about a new
way to prepare teachers, all teachers, but certainly history
teachers. They need to be taking courses in experiencing
history in the departments and not just in the college
education programs.
Senator Alexander. I have an idea we will hear something
about that from Dr. Ravitch when she gets to the table.
Mr. Hickok. I think so.
Senator Alexander. Dr. Cole, do you have any thought on
that?
Mr. Cole. I agree. I think it will better prepare them, and
I think it is right, there is a systemic problem here in the
way teachers are trained that needs to be addressed.
Senator Alexander. Dr. Billington?
Mr. Billington. I agree. I think that part of the problem
of the way history is taught, I think much greater pressure
should be put on the university system, which is not--the major
universities that train historians train them mostly to talk to
other historians, not to teach effectively in the schools. So I
think that there needs to be some pressure put. The
universities have an obligation, which they have not really
properly assumed, to teach history to teachers of history. I
think the summer schools should be developed there. I think the
summer institutes that the Humanities Endowment has done--I
have had exposure to a couple of them--are excellent. But they
need to be multiplied, and the whole burden should not be on
the Federal Government. The universities should be cajoled and
made to see that it is part of their responsibility not just to
deal with the graduate students there but to deal with teaching
crisis in their particular discipline.
One of the problems, it is not only ideological, as you
mentioned, but it is methodological. There has been so much
emphasis on impersonal forces and on various methodological
fads in the study of history that people no longer write good
English. So it affects expression. That is one reason David
McCullough--everybody reads David McCullough because he is such
a beautiful writer. The teaching of history is the telling of
stories, making them literate. There is nothing wrong with
making them a little more fun. And if there were more emphasis
in the universities on the writing and on the presentation for
a general audience the way history should be, I think we would
have a much better trained corps. But as it is, people tend to
write more and more at rarefied levels for less and less
readers rather than addressing themselves to what you have well
identified as a national problem that the universities should
be playing a much more active role.
Mr. Cole. I second and third that.
Mr. Hickok. I fourth it.
Senator Alexander. Our most successful summer Governor's
School for teachers in Tennessee was a Governor's academy for
teachers of writing, taught by Richard Marius, who was at
Harvard, whose job was teaching Harvard freshmen how to write
as they went in. And he would divide them up in groups and get
local writers to come and actually work with them, and Marius,
who was a Tennessean originally, came down, worked with about
200 teachers for a 2-week period in the summer, and literally
inspired them. I mean, their feet did not hit the ground for 10
years after they spent 2 weeks with him. And it was 200
teachers every summer for 10 years, and it had a dramatic
effect in the classrooms across our State on the teaching of
writing.
I hope that this will be the beginning of an alliance
working together. I have a list of 11 Federal programs related
to the teaching and/or the study of American history and
civics, and they are all supervised by the three of you. And so
if Senator Kennedy and Senator Byrd and I can work with you
over a period of time to look for ways to coordinate those
activities--we do not want to run them. We just want to
encourage you, put the spotlight on them, have additional
hearings, provide the funds. Perhaps over a period of time
perhaps we can put the teaching of American history and civics
back in its rightful place in our schools.
Thank you for coming.
Mr. Hickok. Thank you.
Mr. Billington. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Cole. Thank you.
Senator Alexander. I would like to invite the members of
the third panel, Dr. Diane Ravitch and Blanche Deaderick and
Russell Berg, to please come.
Welcome. Thank you for being patient as we heard from, I
thought, some very interesting people. Senator Dodd is coming
in a few minutes, Russell, to introduce you, and I am going to
let him have the honor of doing that. He is the ranking member
of this committee. And, Blanche, welcome to you and to Kate
Gooch. Both are here from Memphis. Kate started the Governor's
School for International Studies at the University of Memphis
and was in charge of it, for a number of years, and Blanche ran
it. So we will get to you next.
Dr. Ravitch has come from New York. She has a class to
teach there, and she has to go back there after a while. So if
the others of you will permit that, I would like to introduce
Dr. Ravitch and let her say what she has to say and ask her a
few questions, and then that will make sure that her students
are not cheated out of her class this afternoon.
Diane Ravitch--there is no American historian of education
superior to Diane Ravitch. There is also no one who writes
about education who is a better writer than Diane Ravitch. She
has a clear view where our schools came from and a strong view
about what they ought to be doing. When I was appointed by the
first President Bush as Education Secretary, my first act was
to recruit David Kearns, the CEO of Xerox, to become the Deputy
Secretary of Education, and then he and I, never having met
Diane Ravitch but having read her books and works for a long
time, invited her to lunch and asked her to join us, which she
did, as Assistant Secretary of Education. So she is still
writing and still teaching, especially on this subject.
So, Diane, thank you very much for being here today.
STATEMENT OF DIANE RAVITCH, RESEARCH PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION,
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, AND SENIOR FELLOW, THE
BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
Ms. Ravitch. Well, thank you, Senator Alexander. I am very
honored to be here and to be in such distinguished company and
to hear from the gentlemen who have preceded us.
Since everything I was going to point out that was brand
new has been said this morning, I am going to say some things
that are not in my written testimony that were evoked by the
previous speakers.
This hearing is wonderful for me because I started pushing
the subject of history education and the need to revive it. As
I realized sitting here, I started it 20 years ago. It was at
that time that the State of New York was proposing to drop
chronology from the social studies curriculum and to teach
history and social studies all mixed up together so that events
came completely out of chronological order and in relation to
grand themes and there would be no sense of cause and effect.
And I wrote my first article on the topic. Al Shanker gave me
his guest column in the New York Times to decry this mish-mash,
and the State backed off and restored chronological history.
I followed that up with an article in the New York Times
Magazine in 1985 called ``The Decline and Fall of the Teaching
of History,'' and then got on to the subject of how history had
been dropped out of the elementary grades and retitled that
``Tot Sociology.''
Subsequent to that, I wrote the California history
standards K-12 with a committee created by the State of
California. That curriculum has been around since 1987, which
is quite remarkable.
But I have been at this subject of the dire State of
history education for a long time, and I salute you for making
this an important cause. I think for all the reasons that have
been said this morning, it is very important to our future as a
Nation.
I am particularly pleased that your legislation
incorporates not just history but civics, because that is what
is so often missing. And I think that is what we find missing,
for instance, in higher education where history is taught
completely divorced from any sense of the importance of
democratic principles.
There has been, as you pointed out earlier, a feeling on
the part of the National Council of Social Studies and many in
that field that the U.S. is not exceptional. In fact, several
years ago, the NCSS put out a proposed framework for the
teaching of social studies where they said that U.S. and world
history should be merged into a single study, which would
demonstrate that the U.S. was not in any way exceptional, it
was no different from any other country and should not get any
more time or attention.
The teachers of America, despite their lack of a strong
history background, realized that that was a very bad idea, and
I do not know of any State in the country that has actually
followed that recommendation.
On campus, I think one of the reasons that--you know, I
have very mixed feelings about where and how teachers should be
educated--is that on campus history has become so specialized,
as Mr. Cole and Mr. Billington said earlier, that we are
certainly not getting in higher education the approach to
American history that David McCullough described, a sense of
the inspirational quality of American history, a sense of the
specialness of the Founding Fathers.
What we get instead is, whereas American history used to be
taught as everything that happened was good, there tends to be
now a sense that everything that happened was bad. And students
who come through American history courses come through a long
exposure to the deep defects of American society, the deep
defects of American history. They do not encounter heroes. They
only encounter victims. And there is an adversarial approach to
teaching about America that I think turns a lot of young people
off to history other than to continue seeking for flaws that
have not yet been uncovered. So that creates a very bad taste
in the mouth in terms of teaching history to children.
Now, as was said earlier, we have amongst people who are
teaching history a teacher corps, and it is 3 million, by the
way, not 2 million. But amongst people who teach social studies
and history, the majority of them have neither a major nor a
minor in history, and they are coming from other fields. And
most of their education, unfortunately, has been a pedagogy,
which does not prepare them for any particular academic
subject.
I think in terms of the problem that you are attempting to
deal with, I certainly support this legislation. I think
symbolically it is very important. I think in terms of what it
will accomplish, it is important. But it does not get to the
structural problem, which is that our States need to establish
requirements for history teachers where they are expected to
take, for example, not only courses in U.S. history and world
history, but also courses in the U.S. Constitution. And I think
that point was made very well this morning. Until the States
begin establishing reasonable requirements for history
teachers, we are not going to see any serious change.
I have just finished writing a book, which is actually
being published next week, and part of the book was a review of
textbooks. So I forced myself all last summer to----
Senator Alexander. ``The Language Police'' by Diane
Ravitch. I have it right here.
Ms. Ravitch. Well, I forced myself last summer to read the
history textbooks that our children read in high school and
junior high school, and, believe me, it was truly forcing
myself. This is an exercise in ``my eyes glaze over.'' It is a
punishment to children to expect them to read these books. Most
of them run to 1,000 pages. At least half the material in them
is graphics. The textbooks attempt to look like Web pages, but
since they are static, they really cannot compete with Web
pages. And the language in them, as David McCullough said, is
really very dull, and everything is compressed so small that
you do not get a sense of narrative.
Now, since Senator Byrd mentioned how he had been inspired
by David Saville Muzzey's textbook, I realized that I had the
introduction--a quote from his introduction from Muzzey's
textbook in my new book, and I want to tell you why David
Muzzey said that high school students should learn history, and
this was his advice to his readers of his high school history
text. This was in 1940. He said, ``You are growing up in this
age of opportunity and responsibility. In a few years, we of
the older generation shall have passed on, leaving to you the
duty of carrying on the American tradition of a free democracy,
of preserving our ideals and remedying our faults. This is your
America. Whatever business or profession you may choose to
follow, you are all first and foremost American citizens. Each
of you should think of himself or herself as a person who has
inherited a beautiful country estate and should be proud to
keep up that estate and to make such modern improvements as
will increase its beauty and comforts. You would be ungrateful
heirs indeed if you did not care to know who had bequeathed the
estate to you, who had planned and built the house, who had
labored to keep it in repair for your occupancy, who had
extended and beautified its grounds, who had been alert to
defend it from marauders and burglars. If you agree with me,
you have already answered the question why you should be eager
to study American history.''
Well, I looked at all of the textbooks that our kids get
today, all of them published between 1997 and 2001, and not one
of them has an introduction explaining why kids should want to
study history or connecting history to the extension and
protection of our democracy. In fact, there is almost an
embarrassment about the idea that we have something that we
want to be proud of.
What I found in my review of these textbooks is, first of
all, there is no narrative. They just give event after event
and fact after fact. There is certainly no celebration of
American democracy and its growth and development and
improvement over time. There are no paeans to freedom and
democracy because that is considered embarrassing in the world
of higher education. There are no heroes. There is no idealism.
What we do find is a plethora of pointing out hypocrisy,
finding victims, pointing to exploitation. And it is not a very
inspiring story, and it is intended not to be inspiring. And so
it is dull.
What I think that you can do with these 2-week seminars
that would be important--you cannot take the place of a college
education. You cannot take the place of a year-long study of
American history. You cannot do that in 2 weeks. What you can
help to do is to begin with presenting people who participate
in these seminars with a synthesis, having a distinguished
advisory panel of historians and excellent history teachers,
through the auspices of the NEH develop the synthesis of what
teachers will learn and what they will teach and what a year-
long course in American history must include as essentials.
Then working from this synthesis, spend at least a week out of
this 2-week period describing the synthesis, criticizing it,
talking about it, understanding it so that teachers can begin
to integrate, because if they have taken history courses, the
chances are they have bits and pieces of American history.
They will have a very difficult time utilizing either of
the methods that David McCullough described, going to John
Adams' House, which is very specific. First of all, you have to
know who John Adams is and how he fits into the Revolutionary
generation and how that fits into the broader picture. So
teachers need to have synthesis. They will not be able to use
the kinds of material that the Library of Congress has
available unless they have the big picture. And I think you can
work on the big picture during this first week. You can in the
second week work with teachers in developing the skills of
using primary sources, of using technology, of introducing
multimedia approaches to the teaching of history, of using
experiential approaches where you go to sites and where you go
to local landmarks and where you fit it in, of using--instead
of or in addition to textbooks, using biographies, using real
histories and real narratives so that the teachers themselves
can see what they have been missing in not having these
materials.
But I think that without that larger picture, they are
going to still be at sea and have just lots and lots of little
pieces, very detailed and specific.
I just wanted to close, first of all, by thanking you for
your interest in what is obviously a very important and timely
subject, but also to remember something that occurred to me,
and this was in 1989. I had been invited by the American
Federation of Teachers to travel to Warsaw, and at the time I
was invited, Solidarity was the underground movement, and that
was in the spring of 1989. But by the time I got there, the
underground dissident who had invited me was the Minister of
Education. And that was in the fall of 1989. So I arrived and I
was told that I was to lecture on the meaning of democracy. And
I was lecturing in the Great Hall of the Ministry of Education.
I gave my lecture and was told that this building had been
the headquarters of the Nazi Party before it had become the
Communist Ministry of Education. And one of my Polish hosts
said to me, ``We always use words like `democracy.' We always
use words like `debate.' But they did not mean what you said
they mean. They always meant no debate and no democracy. They
meant the opposite of your description.'' And I had this eerie
feeling, in fact, goose bumps all over, thinking that I was the
first person in that building in 60 years who talked about
debate and democracy and actually meant it.
And I wonder whether our children will know the meaning of
freedom and democracy unless they understand much more about
the history of this country and much more about what it means
not to have freedom, not to have democracy in countries like
Iraq and Poland and the other countries that have gone through
the terrible things that have happened in our world. If all
they have is what they get instantaneously, it is not enough.
And so I thank you for addressing this vital issue and will
be happy to answer any questions, and if you have no questions,
I will be happy to extend any help that you ask for in the
future.
Senator Alexander. Thank you, Dr. Ravitch.
First of all, I would like to welcome Senator Dodd of
Connecticut, who is here and in a moment will introduce Mr.
Berg. But he may want to join me in asking you some questions.
Ms. Deaderick, is your schedule such that I can go to Mr.
Berg next and then we will come back to you?
Ms. Deaderick. Yes.
Senator Alexander. All right.
Dr. Ravitch, first, thank you for your very specific
suggestions about what we might accomplish in a 2-week
institute for teachers of American history and civics. That was
a big help. And maybe as time goes along we will ask you to
write the whole synthesis--that would be terrific--or some
enterprising applicant for one of these schools. The idea would
be that there will be a dozen places around the country in this
pilot program where someone will want to do this and want to
apply to the National Endowment for the Humanities and set up
such a school in the summer. I would invite you to take an
interest in that because the first institutes will obviously be
models for others, and it will be a way to put a fresh
direction to the way we approach the teaching of American
history and civics.
You mentioned Al Shanker, I believe, and I have great
respect for Al Shanker, the former president of the American
Federation of Teachers. And I remember being in a meeting with
him in 1988 in Rochester, and the president of Notre Dame, Monk
Malloy, asked a roomful of educators this question. He said,
``What is the rationale for a public school?'' And there was
this embarrassing silence among all these educators, until Al
Shanker spoke up and said, ``The rationale for a public school
was, when it was created, to teach immigrant children the three
R's and what it means to be an American, with the hope that
they would then go home and teach their parents.''
Is that an accurate memory of how and why the school was
created in this country? And if so, whatever happened to the
idea that the common school or the public school had as its
principal rationale teaching about the principles that unite us
as a country?
Ms. Ravitch. That was the original rationale, and the great
leaders, Henry Barnard of Connecticut and Horace Mann of
Massachusetts, understood that citizenship and sustaining and
building this republic was the most important thing that the
public school could do. It was not about dividing us up and
teaching us how we differ, but teaching us what we have in
common so that we could, in fact, be citizens and be part of a
common enterprise and pull together.
Robert Hutchins, who was the president of the University of
Chicago, once said that the purpose of the public school is to
sustain the res publica, the public thing, and it is about
maintaining and sustaining our governmental institutions.
Senator Alexander. In my, as we call it in the Senate, so-
called maiden address, I spoke on this subject, and I said I
thought we had spent over the last 30 or 40 years too much
time, relatively, on diversity, multiculturalism, and
bilingualism and too little time on a common culture, on a
common language, and on unity. And I nearly had my head taken
off by a few people who thought that was heretical.
I still think I am right. I think our diversity and variety
is one of the greatest strengths that we have as a country, but
Jerusalem and the Balkans and Iraq are all diverse. Diversity
is not that great an accomplishment. It is a source of
strength, but it is not an accomplishment. The accomplishment
is that we have taken all that variety and diversity and turned
it into one country, and we do not talk about that. We do not
teach our children about the principles that unite us as
Americans. And, therefore, it seems to me they do not--that is
where the idea comes that there is no difference between the
history of the world and the history of America because they
are the same thing. They are not the same thing, in my opinion.
Ms. Ravitch. Well, our national slogan is E Pluribus Unum--
out of many, one. And it does not deny them any. In fact, I
live in the most diverse city probably in the entire world, and
diversity is a magnificent thing. But in order to maintain a
nation and to make it work, you have to have a sense that you
have something in common with your fellow citizens. And that is
why we have public schools. If we did not care about teaching a
sense of community, then we would not need public education at
all.
And, by the way, Senator Dodd, I wanted to tell you that in
my review of the work of the States in developing things like
history and literature, Connecticut is way up there. It has
just done a magnificent job. As you know from the NAEP scores,
Connecticut always leaves almost everyone else in the dust.
Senator Alexander. Well, that is a nice transition to
Senator Dodd.
Senator Dodd, would you like to ask Dr. Ravitch some
questions?
Opening Statement of Senator Dodd
Senator Dodd. Well, first of all, I apologize for arriving
a bit late. We have had a hectic morning. We had all five
Presidents of the Central American countries here this morning,
and as a former Peace Corps volunteer in Latin America, I
worked closely with the Central American countries.
But I want to begin by commending you, Mr. Chairman, on
your--and I am proud to be a cosponsor--first bill. It is a
bill dealing very specifically with the teaching of American
history and civics, and it should come as no surprise that you
chose this subject matter, given your own background in
history. This is a wonderful contribution to the public debate
to be able to have a subject matter like this as the subject of
discussion in the U.S. Senate.
I appreciate your very kind comments, Ms. Ravitch, about
Connecticut, and you are going to hear in a minute an example
of why we are so proud of Connecticut.
And I am hopeful that we are going to do some things to
begin to address some of these issues. First of all, I think
the legislation by the chairman is going to be a good start. If
it does nothing else it will to get us talking about history
and civics education around here. We don't do enough of that.
I get teased a little bit by my staff. I walk around every
single day of my life with a copy of the Constitution in my
pocket. Every single day. And I read it almost every day--not
all of it, but I read a good part of it every day, go through
it. And the Declaration of Independence is in this as well.
This was given to me by Senator Byrd years ago. It is a ratty
old copy. It is all falling apart.
Senator Alexander. He came earlier, and he waved his copy
just as well.
Senator Dodd. We are going to build a Visitor Center here
at the Capitol. We are in the process of doing it, as you can
see by the incredible amount of construction going on here.
Beyond being a public works project, what we are trying to do
with the Visitors Center is create an introduction to the
Capitol. One of the things that has always been disturbing to
me is that people come here, we walk them into the halls
without any preparation of what they are about to see, what
these buildings represent, what went on here, and what goes on
here.
It is a civics project. The Center will have theaters in
which people will be introduced to the history of Congress. So
that before you walk in the building, you understand what you
are about to see. This is a living institution, based on that
which came before.
I have spoken at every single public high school in my
State in the last 15 years, and I try to do it almost every
week. I have not been very faithful to that in the last number
of weeks. I have a new child, an 18-month-old daughter that is
taking a little of my time, so I am missing some of these
things. But I have been to every high school, and one of the
reasons I do this is because I want students in my State, and
particularly in my inner cities, to see a United States Senator
answer questions, listen to their ideas, and talk about the
notion of civics so that it is living. It is not just a
question of who we Senators are but what a Senator is and what
we do.
I know Senators' schedules are busy, but we all ought to
make an effort, when high schools and elementary or middle
schools come down here for those photographs on the steps and
so forth, to be with them. The Presidential Classroom and Close
Up programs are wonderful institutions. We ought to promote
promote these types of programs particularly Close Up, which
reaches out to a wide-range of students so you end up with a
mix of students who otherwise would not be able to afford to
come to DC. There are also internships. In fact, there are so
many things that we can do in our daily conduct as Senators to
become part of a living civics lessons, if you will, if we
utilize our offices and our time appropriately. I cannot think
of anything more important that we can do.
Having said all of that, I come from a family of teachers.
My father's three sisters taught for 40 years apiece in the
Connecticut public school system. My sister has taught for
almost 35 years in the inner city of Hartford. My brother, Tom,
taught history for 30 years at Georgetown University. So I get
lobbied rather heavily, Mr. Chairman, on teachers and the
importance of it.
One of the things I would like to bring up is how stunned I
was to discover how few States today require any State history.
There used to be a time when it was almost mandatory that there
at least be a year of State history. The reason I bring that up
is because I think it is important that there be a progression.
I think children first learn from their immediate environs and
then from an expanding circle. I am learning this with my first
child, my 18-month-old daughter. When we move her from our
house here in Washington and we go up to Connecticut, it is
like going to a different country for her. In fact, going from
one room to the next is almost like going to a different
country. At least it was initially. See if you begin by
understanding your neighborhood, your community and where you
are from, getting you to understand the Nation in which you
live and the world which you inhabit becomes a lot easier.
And so I wonder if you might comment on what has happened
here. I guess a lot of it has to due with budgets and so forth,
but why isn't there more of an effort to begin civics and
history at a very young age. Why do we only talk about history
in high school? I do not think you can begin early enough
talking about the notion of civics. There is only one textbook
on Connecticut history. Unfortunately, the gentleman who wrote
it has passed away. It is very hard to get a copy of his books.
But I use it as a reference all the time because it has
wonderful facts and information about the 169 cities and towns
that Mr. Berg and Mr. Sullivan and I live in in the State. But
when this gentleman died, that is where it ends. There is a gap
now of about 30 years. In fact, if anyone is listening to me,
it would be a nice project to pick up the next 30 years to add
on to that wonderful history of Connecticut that is already in
textbook form.
I wonder if you might just comment on the notion of
beginning earlier with the notion of civics and what has
happened to States that so many have dropped the notion of
learning about the State in which one lives as a beginner to
understanding the larger civics questions.
Ms. Ravitch. Yes, Senator Dodd, in most States, State
history became conventional in the 4th grade, and it just was
always taught in 4th grade. When I was growing up in Texas, it
was always taught in 7th grade. But most States do teach State
history at some point. And I think that if the State of
Connecticut required State history, you would find someone who
would quickly prepare at least one textbook, if not more, to
meet that requirement.
When you talk about kids learning in terms of expanding
their environments, there has actually been over the past, I do
not know, 50 years this idea that little kids cannot really
deal with any history. And so they spend 1st grade learning
about myself, and 2nd grade is my neighborhood and community,
and 3rd grade is my town. And so by the time they get to 4th
grade, they can learn about my State.
This is actually a very bad idea. It is right for your 18-
month-old, but for little kids, especially in the 2nd and 3rd
and 4th grade, they are very capable of learning about
biography. They love great stories of heroes. And it used to be
that all over the country, in America, kids learned about
Nathan Hale; they learned about George Washington; they learned
about, you know, the great men and women of our republic and
even of other cultures. And all that got tossed out for my
neighborhood and the community helpers, which turned out to be
such a dreary thing that surveys showed that kids were not
doing any social studies at all in the early grades because the
teachers thought it was boring. And you would get a textbook
telling you about somebody else's community and someone else
having a birthday party and somebody else going grocery
shopping. Well, kids don't need to read in a textbook about
grocery shopping when they could be reading about Nathan Hale.
So I think that some States have been trying to turn that
around and realize that you can actually introduce little kids
to heroes. They like it a lot.
Senator Dodd. How many States do that? How many States
really require it today?
Ms. Ravitch. Well, about half the States now have history
standards, and that is a big change. Ten years ago, there were
only four States that had history standards, and it was
Virginia, Connecticut, Texas, and Massachusetts, literally the
only four in the country. The rest all had social studies
standards. Now, including Connecticut, today it is about half
the States actually have history standards, but most of them
still have this antiquated idea that little kids cannot deal
with anything like history or civics. But, in fact, the thing
about little kids--and it is really up until the time kids are
teenagers. Kids have this tremendous sense of fairness. And you
will hear them say, when your 18-month-old starts to talk,
``That's not fair.'' They know what is----
Senator Dodd. She is talking.
Ms. Ravitch. Then she is already beginning to know what is
fair. Kids know about fairness, and that is the basis for
teaching them civic education, what is fair.
Senator Dodd. Well, good. That is very helpful. I live, by
the way--you mentioned Nathan Hale. I live in the town of East
Haddam, CT, where he taught. In fact, down the street from me
is the Nathan Hale Schoolhouse. In fact, when that schoolhouse,
that one-room schoolhouse became to small in about 1854, they
built a little two-room schoolhouse down the street, which was
the schoolhouse in that part of town because there were seven
districts. Obviously, in a small town, there are not a lot of
schools. It was the schoolhouse from 1854 until 1948. And that
schoolhouse is my home today. I have lived in it for 22 years,
converted it into a home, and it is just the wonderful
vibrations of being in the successor schoolhouse to Nathan
Hale's.
Ms. Ravitch. Well, I might not normally have mentioned
Nathan Hale but for the fact that Senator Byrd spoke about
Nathan Hale this morning in some detail, and it was very
interesting.
Senator Alexander. I hope you don't come to the same end he
did.
Senator Dodd. Well, if I could on behalf of my country, it
would be a wonderful ending. [Laughter.]
Senator Alexander. Senator, do you have any other----
Senator Dodd. No. Just when we finish here, I will
introduce Mr. Berg. I do not know how you want to proceed, Mr.
Chairman.
Senator Alexander. Well, let me thank Dr. Ravitch for
coming because she is going back to New York to teach a class.
Ms. Ravitch. In history.
Senator Alexander. In history.
Ms. Ravitch. Thank you.
Senator Alexander. So thank you very much for making a
special trip for this. We appreciate it very much.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Ravitch may be found in
additional material.]
Senator Alexander. Senator Dodd, would you introduce Mr.
Berg?
Senator Dodd. Just very quickly, Mr. Chairman, you have
been very gracious again. Russell Berg is a student at Trumbull
High School, and we welcome you here, Russell. It is good to
have you come down.
He is a member of Trumbull's civics education team, which
for the fourth straight year, Mr. Chairman, will be competing
in the national finals of the ``We the People: The Citizen and
the Constitution'' program here in Washington. With that kind
of a record, I might say that Trumbull High School is to civics
education in Connecticut what the women's basketball team at
Uconn--with all due respect--look at the sad face now on the
Tennessean over here is to basketball in Connecticut. I had to
bring that up. I apologize.
We are very proud obviously of the women's basketball team,
but we don't give enough recognition, with all due respect to
champions in education. And so we want this to be a moment,
Russell, while you may not be getting the attention that Diana
Taurasi is right now, to think of yourself as sort of in the
same league, considering how well you have done and how well
Trumbull High School has done over the years in this ``We the
People: The Citizen and Constitution'' issue. He has been
named, by the way, Mr. Chairman, as an AP scholar with honors,
a National Merit Scholarship finalist, and a Presidential
Scholar semifinalist.
Peter Sullivan, who is with him, is Russell's civics
teacher and last year's Trumbull High School Teacher of the
Year. Russell's testimony speaks very highly of Mr. Sullivan,
and I am sure that he deserves all of the praise and more that
he will be getting as someone who has worked so hard on this
program that Trumbull High has competed in.
So we are honored that you are here, Russell, and, Mr.
Sullivan, we thank you for coming down, and I thank you, Mr.
Chairman, for inviting them to be a part of this.
Senator Alexander. Russell, Mr. Sullivan, thank you very
much for coming. We look forward to your comments.
STATEMENTS OF RUSSELL BERG, STUDENT, TRUMBULL HIGH SCHOOL,
TRUMBULL, CT; ACCOMPANIED BY PETER SULLIVAN, HISTORY TEACHER,
TRUMBULL HIGH SCHOOL, TRUMBULL CT; AND BLANCHE DEADERICK,
HISTORY TEACHER, MEMPHIS, TN
Mr. Berg. Thank you. Good morning. I would first like to
say what an honor, what a humbling experience it is to be on
the same panel with such distinguished historians, doctors,
experts in the field of civic education. It really is a
pleasure to be here.
Mr. Chairman, it is an honor to testify before this
committee on this most important issue of civic education. By
promoting civic education in schools, you and the cosponsors of
this legislation, including our Senator Christopher Dodd, have
proven that education is not something to be sidelined in the
face of pressing current issues. Your actions have shown us
that education is a pressing current issue.
Unfortunately, to many Americans, our Government may seem
intimidating and difficult to understand. Civic education is
the key to comprehending, appreciating, and eventually
participating in our democratic process. The ``We the People:
The Citizen and the Constitution'' program, which is
administered by the Center for Civic Education and funded by
the United States Department of Education by an act of
Congress, takes the logical approach to understanding our
American Government, by tracing its manifestations to their
source, the Constitution.
Our Constitution provides Government with powers and
limitations, to ensure congruence with the Founders' greatest
hopes of a benevolent government ruling under popular consent.
To many Americans, the Constitution is a revered document,
written on browned parchment with faded ink. But to my class,
the Constitution is a living gold mine of philosophical,
political, and social history.
Our State champion Trumbull, CT, ``We the People'' class is
led by the knowledgeable and charismatic Mr. Peter Sullivan.
The most incredible achievement that our class has made, and
that Mr. Sullivan has in no small part facilitated, is the
critical mass of constitutional knowledge we have learned. My
favorite moments in education occur when concepts and new
information can be integrated into an overall framework of the
issue at hand. A beautiful symphony of debate and exchange
miraculously manifests every morning in our class. Mr. Sullivan
might bring up an issue currently in the U.S. Supreme Court
docket, or ask the class for any news they might have heard the
night before. An opinion is expressed by a student, a rebuttal
by another. A particularly progressive member of the class
might apply the issue to its broader social ramifications. A
more critical member of the class would then appeal to our
logic and the realistic implications of the Court's decisions.
Here, in a brew of free, creative thought, coupled with the
solid foundation of constitutional knowledge on which to anchor
our arguments, lies true learning. Not learning without any
application to ourselves, but knowledge that sheds light and
understanding upon a Government that is involved in so many
issues concerning our daily lives.
``We the People'' was a class I signed up for at the end of
my junior year, with great expectations in mind. I had heard
from many older students that the class was more than a class.
It was hard work, to be sure, but the rewards extended beyond
grades and test scores.
In 2 weeks, our team will be competing in the National
Finals for the ``We the People: The Citizen and the
Constitution'' program. Throughout the year, a common goal has
driven our class together, and together forward. I have seen
miraculous things this past year. I have seen quiet, reserved
students emerge, citing complex Court cases with confidence and
vigor in our daily debates. Students who many dreaded would
succumb to the great demands of the program have only
flourished to become our leaders and exemplars. Simply put,
well-designed programs in civics, such as ``We the People,''
taught by teachers like Mr. Sullivan, make a difference in the
classroom.
Surely, such changes in our young people can only be for
the better. A civic education, as buttressed by the ``We the
People'' program, does not merely press rote facts into
receptive minds. It challenges us to use this information as
support for our own arguments and opinions. Undoubtedly,
everyone in our class has learned more than they bargained for
about the United States Government and her Constitution. But
the benefits of this civic education extend beyond learning.
This program has allowed us to become involved in the
Government that we spend so much time studying.
The Constitution is associated with words which reflect the
importance of the American citizen, such as ``popular
sovereignty,'' ``consensus,'' and ``majority.'' It is clear who
was intended to captain the ship of America: her people. Our
Nation is designed to be accessible, to its citizens and to
incoming immigrants, to anyone who has ambition and a dream.
For me, this lesson has only been confirmed by my experiences
this year. ``We the People'' is not merely a mental exercise or
a contest of effort and knowledge. By learning about the
Government, one automatically becomes involved in it. I am here
today, in front of the Nation's leaders, speaking with a
message I hope to convey. I have learned in class that we are
blessed with a participatory Government. Today it has been
proven to me.
The importance of developing these fundamental principles
and values among my generation and future generations was noted
by Judge Learned Hand in an article on liberty, published in
the Yale Alumni Magazine on June 6, 1941. He said, ``I often
wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon
constitutions, upon laws, and upon courts. These are false
hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the
hearts of men and women, when it dies there, no constitution,
no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no court, no law
can even do much to help it. While it lies there it needs no
constitution, no law, no court to save it . . .''
Mr. Chairman, I thank the committee for giving me this
opportunity to testify today.
Senator Alexander. Thank you, Russell, and thank you, Mr.
Sullivan.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Berg may be found in
additional material.]
Senator Alexander. I wonder, Senator Dodd, if we could go
now, having heard from the student, if we go to the teacher,
and then ask both of them questions if we have time.
Senator Dodd. Sure, absolutely.
Senator Alexander. Blanche Deaderick is from Memphis, TN.
She teaches at Germantown High School in Memphis. She is a
history teacher, and the reason that I invited her today is
because since 1987 she has been the academic director of the
Governor's School for International Studies at the University
of Memphis. That was one of Tennessee's Governor's Schools that
began in 1984 which would attract several hundred high school
students to spend a month on one of our university campuses in
a particular core academic subject. At the University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, it was the sciences. At Middle Tennessee
State University, it was the arts. It was humanities at UT-
Martin. And it was international studies in Memphis.
We have had a lot of talk today about the need for a
congressional academy for students of American history and
civics, an opportunity for students in the summer to go for a
month, perhaps, to some educational institution and be inspired
by the ideas and the events and the persons who formed our
democracy.
Blanche, what I would like to talk with you especially
about today is the practicality of making that happen. How
useful has a Governor's School been, even though this is in a
different subject? How much did it cost to make it work? Where
was it held? How was it put together? Those kind of practical
things, so as the National Endowment for the Humanities goes
about taking applications for these schools in American history
and civics, well, they will know more about it.
And may I say, while we have Mr. Sullivan here and Ms.
Deaderick here, the competition is wide open. There will be, if
this legislation is approved this year--which I think it will
be--an opportunity in 12 places in the country to have a
Presidential academy for teachers of American history and
civics and a congressional academy for students of American
history and civics. So it would not hurt my feelings and I
doubt if it would hurt Senator Dodd's feelings if the first two
were in Connecticut and Tennessee.
So, Blanche Deaderick, welcome. And may I also, as I did
earlier, welcome Kate Gooch from Memphis, who was really the
pioneer who started the Governor's School for International
Studies at the University of Memphis and the director of it for
many years.
Ms. Deaderick. Thank you, Senator Alexander, Senator Dodd.
I am so glad to be here today supporting your legislation. I
think enhancing instruction in these areas is critical right
now. We have to provide remedies for all the problems that have
been addressed today, and we have to provide them not only for
people who have lived here and their families here for
generations, but also for the students or people who have come
here, having made conscious choices to come to this country and
be here so that obviously they want to know what are the
factors that really unify us.
I know what you want me to do is explain how the
International Studies Governor's School can be a model for
these academies, and I just wanted to thank you for
establishing the Governor's Schools, and particularly the
International Studies School, because it has been a
transforming experience for me in my own life.
Like what is proposed in this legislation, we have a
director and core faculty chosen for their subject expertise
and for their teaching skills, and because international
studies is such a broad field, what we do is divide our
students into teams focusing on different areas, and then the
expectation is that they will interact and share the knowledge.
This sounds a little problematic in light of what Dr. Ravitch
said about how things need to be chronological and what we do
is not chronological, but I think it works very well.
This year, we are going to be studying--in the four teams,
we are going to study Latin America, and they will study the
Portuguese language. Our goal is to study nontraditional
languages or at least languages that are not routinely taught
in the schools. We have a team studying Sub-Saharan Africa and
Hausa language; East Asia and Chinese language, and Eastern
Europe and Russia along with the Russian language.
Additionally, every day all students address issues of
major significance in the world, and so, you know, they spend 2
hours in classes studying language and area studies, and then
they come together, all--this summer we are going to have
slightly under 100. The school was designed originally for 150,
but with the money the way it is, we have the same budget that
we had in 1986, and so what we do is cut the number of students
yearly. And so I hope that nobody tries to cut your budget. I
worked on your figures, and I decided it may be just possible.
But, anyway, this summer we are going to have a strong
focus on the Middle East, on environmental issues, on human
rights, just to name a few of the major subjects that people
will deal with. And then the students go to an issue analysis
class where they examine things like foreign policy decision
making or democracy and the conditions necessary for its
survival. Yesterday morning, I was watching C-SPAN and I saw
Senator DeWine on the Senate floor talking about his clean
diamond bill. And I do not know if you all had an opportunity
to hear that, but it was so interesting and it is just that
kind of issue that we try to deal with at Governor's School,
and I thought, well, that is a perfect example of something
that is the kind of dilemma that we could look at in a case
study, and it would pull together issues of human rights and
foreign policy and international economics, looking at
something that students would find fascinating, the ideas of
the kinds of terrorism and terrorist activities that are
financed by that blood diamond trade that the people in Sierra
Leone, the revolutionary forces in Sierra Leone have. That is
an example of the kind of thing that we deal with.
We also make a very strong effort to infuse the arts into
our curriculum because we see that as a powerful statement of
what culture is like.
As far as computers--I have added some stuff to this in
addressing what other people have said--we do use some computer
technology in the Governor's School, and one of the ways that
we did that the last time--I don't know if you--I guess you do
know that the Governor's School didn't--we didn't have
Governor's Schools last summer because they were cut for budget
reasons. We will have them again this summer. But we dealt with
one issue on hormone-treated beef and another on coffee
production where students had to go into the Web and find out
everything there was to find--well, not everything, but much of
what there was to find out about those issues, and then develop
projects and PowerPoint things that tied into the Web. So that
is a powerful way to do that. And in our school, we have that
kind of facility as well.
This is obviously a very, very intense program, and there
is not very much free time. When there is, the students will
talk to each other and sometimes get a little chance to sleep,
not very much, but you have to be so careful, I think, to
select students who really care about what they are doing, so
the admissions process is an important thing to consider.
The student academies in American history I thought could
be developed along these same lines. There are so many ways to
individualize instruction. I mean, students might concentrate
on specific periods of history, but they also might look at
something like the development of immigration law or civil
rights growth. You spoke of the principles of American
citizenship like liberty and the rule of law, individualism,
separation of church and State. And those could be issues, the
different groups in the American history schools and civics
school concentrated on. Each could be an area of study.
I am just suggesting, and I think it would be very, very
stimulating to design one of these schools. But what we have to
do is make sure that the instruction is unique, individualized,
and unpredictable.
At the Tennessee Governor's School, our goal has been to
provide experiences that would not ordinarily be found in
schools. And to that end, we encourage the faculty to live in
the dorms with the students and interact with them as much as
possible. There is never a day when the students aren't around
asking questions, engaging in debates among themselves and with
faculty. Then they go back to their schools exhilarated, ready
to share all the new-found knowledge.
The same scenario applies to the teachers' academies, and I
heard all the obstacles that have been raised about this issue,
but the obstacle that I personally think is the most powerful
one is how much teachers have to do in a day. You know, when
you are involved in mastering all the newest computer programs
for attendance or teaching your subject--in addition to
teaching your subject, but guiding the students, teaching
manners and ethics, all your paperwork, lesson line, curriculum
maps, there are all these things that have to be done so that
there is not really very much time left. And the thing that
suffers is preparation in the subject. Teachers don't have any
time to read and keep up to date, and so that what I see these
academies doing is providing them with the time to be involved
in scholarly pursuits, developing lessons that are rich in
content and depth, and then these lessons are going to be ready
to teach. You know, when they go back to school, this will even
help with the textbook problems, because, you know, they will
go back with lessons that are just there that they can then use
to train other teachers with. You know, I can't imagine
anything better than spending these weeks in this kind of
environment. I think it would be wonderful, and all the
teachers will come home with, you know, knowledge, they will be
rested, they will be ready to inspire the students and the rest
of the faculty.
As for Governor's School, again and again I encounter
students who have attended Governor's School in the past, and I
hear how their lives have been transformed by the experiences
in our classrooms and in their late-night discussions. And, you
know, when we see where those students are now--they are in the
Foreign Service, they are in State Government, they are in
teaching, they are in all kinds of leadership positions. And I
know probably a lot of them are in your offices or will be
soon. And many, many say that Governor's School was the single
shaping event in their lives. And what you can do with this
legislation is make the same kind of life-changing experiences
for more teachers and more students.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Deaderick may be found in
additional material.]
Senator Alexander. Thank you, Ms. Deaderick. We will bring
the hearing to a close in just a moment, but I have got a short
question of each of the witnesses, and Senator Dodd may have a
question or two himself.
What is the optimum number of students and what is the
optimum number of weeks for such a school? If money weren't a
problem what would----
Ms. Deaderick. If money weren't a problem, for students I
think the 4-week model that we have is really ideal. What seems
to happen is that when it starts, the first 2 or 3 days seem to
go on for a long time. And then all of a sudden, you know, you
are at the end of the 4 weeks, and the students say, ``Oh,
please don't make me go home. I just want to stay here for the
rest of my life.'' And, of course, they don't. But, you know,
that is the way they feel at that time. I think if we kept them
longer, it might not work that well.
I think the optimum number of students is--we were funded
originally for 150, and I do not think that is an optimum
number. I think maybe 125 at least within the facility that we
have would be a better number. But the thing that is
particularly important is how much faculty do you have to deal
with them, and I think your optimum number has to do with
faculty-student ratio. We try to have three faculty for 20 to
25 students.
Senator Alexander. I think the Governor's School in
Knoxville in sciences may have had 400 students.
Ms. Deaderick. Yes, they did, and I did not have that
opportunity, and I am only responding to what our system was
like.
Senator Alexander. But if you had enough faculty, you could
design a larger school.
Ms. Deaderick. Yes.
Senator Alexander. And would you think that for a teacher 2
weeks is about right, that more than that would not likely fit
into a teacher's----
Ms. Deaderick. Yes. Yes, I think----
Senator Alexander. Four weeks would be hard for a teacher,
wouldn't it?
Ms. Deaderick. Yes, it would.
Senator Alexander. Given other responsibilities. And what
is the budget for your school? Do you know?
Ms. Deaderick. Ours is around $240,000, and I did some
figures that I----
Senator Alexander. Does that count what the university
contributes?
Ms. Deaderick. No, it does not.
Senator Alexander. So this is cash from the State.
Ms. Deaderick. This is cash from the State, and what the
university contributes is classroom space and utility bills,
you know, the machines that we have to use, all those kinds of
things. They give us the dormitory--no, well, we pay for it.
The biggest portion of our budget goes for food and lodging.
Every year that goes up, and I think we have about $2,500 per
student to spend this year, and looking at your figures, it
looked like $3,800 per student. I don't know if I did my math
correctly or not, but that would be good. That would maybe be
equivalent to what we had when we started. When we started the
school, we could do a whole lot more than we are able to do
now. We have had to cut our faculty.
Senator Alexander. And how many applications did you have
the year before last for your spots?
Ms. Deaderick. For the student spots?
Senator Alexander. Yes.
Ms. Deaderick. I think that we had--the year before last, I
think we had about 400-plus applications, and this year we had
325 for what has come to be about 92 spots.
Senator Alexander. Mr. Berg, if there were in Connecticut a
4-week congressional academy for outstanding students of
American history and civics, would you be interested in going?
And if you were, what would your advice be to the managers of
the school about what you would like to find there?
Mr. Berg. Of course, I would be interested. That would be
an incredible opportunity if such a school opened up in
Connecticut, or even regionally; it would still be accessible
to a lot of motivated students with the support of their
schools.
I think some issues that would need to be worked our
probably on a school-by-school basis to make these Governor's
Schools work would be to accommodate students' other interests,
maybe scheduling conflicts with other classes they have. I do
not know if high school students have 4 months of their year to
devote----
Senator Alexander. It would be 4 weeks.
Mr. Berg. Four weeks.
Senator Alexander. It would be a summertime----
Mr. Berg. Excuse me.
Senator Alexander. No, that is all right.
Mr. Berg. Then summertime would be--that would be perfect.
That would be great.
What I would like to see there, if it were to be held on a
university campus, I think that would include most of the
facilities that students would appreciate, access to computers.
With our ``We the People'' program, computers and the Internet
are our greatest resource, along with guidance from expert
faculty, etc.
I think it would be an excellent and positive addition to
the education of any student in their career.
Senator Alexander. Senator Dodd?
Senator Dodd. Well, again, thank you all for your
testimony. And we thank you, Mr. Sullivan, for being here as
well. You were at Georgetown. Were you in the college or the
Foreign Service School?
Mr. Sullivan. College.
Senator Dodd. So you did not have my brother as a
professor.
Mr. Sullivan. I did not.
Senator Dodd. You know, I am listening to you talking about
this, and obviously it is a wonderful concept. Just sharing
anecdotally with you, as I mentioned earlier, having gone to
visit my schools in Connecticut and talking to students, there
is a clear distinction, obviously, when I go to some schools in
more affluent communities and so forth in my State in terms of
the dialogue, the questions, the interchange. And when I go to
some of the areas in my State, particularly in the urban
areas--you go to Bridgeport, which is very near Trumbull. What
does it take, about 15 minutes maybe, to go from Trumbull High
to Bassick or Central High School?
Mr. Sullivan. If that.
Senator Dodd. If that. Maybe 10 minutes away. And, Mr.
Chairman, the disparity and difference between these two
schools that are 10 minutes apart from each other in the most
affluent State in the country on a per capita income basis, in
the most affluent Nation on the face of the earth, is
startling. Like many urban schools, because of a lack of
resources--the last time I was at Bassick or Central, I think
there were maybe five or six computers in the entire school. I
think there are police officers on every floor. The buildings
are in tough shape, to put it mildly. There is not much of an
athletic complex or facilities and so forth. You meet some
remarkable students and remarkable teachers there, but students
growing up 10 minutes apart from each other, through no fault
of their own, are getting a very different educational
opportunity. As many as 38 percent of the teachers at Bassick
or Central are not certified to teach the course they are
teaching. I suspect at Trumbull High School it is probably,
what, 1 percent or 2 percent may be not certified to teach the
courses they are teaching.
I want to make sure that we do this while we are talking
about students that have the wonderful advantages to promote
these ideas, that we make a real effort somehow as well to
reach out to those students in schools that may have an
appetite and desire but for a variety of other reasons, maybe
resources, don't have available to them the same kind of a
program that exists at Trumbull as a result of Mr. Sullivan's
incredible work, the taxpayers of Trumbull who care about it,
to their great credit, who have decided this is a priority for
them. And I don't want to in any way suggest that because what
Trumbull has done that somehow they ought to feel in any way
guilty because the next town over, for all the reasons that I
have mentioned, and many, many more, are incapable of it.
But I would like to see us be able to do more, and my
question really to you goes beyond this particular proposal,
which I think is an excellent one and I am a cosponsor of it.
What can we do, Ms. Deaderick, in your mind or, Mr. Sullivan,
in your mind, as teachers? I have a harder time in urban
settings when I start talking about what I do as a Senator. And
sometimes the only way I can get it going is to get very
provocative. I will say something absolutely outrageous, if
nothing else except to try and at least promote some debate,
someone to start up and just disagree with me. And I do it
intentionally, and then things can get going. But it is much
harder for me, I find, than it is at a Trumbull or a Ridgefield
High or West Hartford at Hall or Connard, other schools where
kids come prepared, fired up with questions. Some of the best
questions I ever get--I was at a middle school, at Pulaski
Middle School last week in New Britain, CT. Mr. Chairman, 60
students in the class, 25 or 30 of them came from different
countries as immigrant children, and about three or four or
five of them came from Muslim countries, were dressed in the
clothing of Muslims. My State is so diverse in its population
and interest. But the questions were fabulous. I mean, I don't
think I have had as many good questions, most of all on the
Persian Gulf and Iraq, than I have received from, with all due
respect to my colleagues who cover me here, our friends from
the media. They were wonderful questions. And yet I know if I
go into another area, I am lucky to get any questions at all. I
really have to fight hard.
Why are we not doing as well in promoting civics and an
appreciation of American history in these areas? And what would
you recommend, could be done at a State or local level? I don't
suggest that all the answers reside here at all, but we can be
educators in the sense by providing a forum for you to share
your thoughts. So what ideas do you have about how we could do
a better job of promoting education, educational interest in
these subject matters in some of our harder-hit schools--
schools that are suffering more from some of the items that I
have just mentioned like a lack of resources? Any ideas, Ms.
Deaderick, on that?
Ms. Deaderick. Well, I think that, you know, what was said
earlier about the teachers being excited about what they are
teaching--if teachers seem really to care about what they are
teaching, then the students embrace that and are really ready
to learn so much more. And I think that one way that these
academies that we are talking about right here could help with
that is by making sure to reach into the areas that you are
describing where people have more problems with resources.
One of the things that we have done in Tennessee is made
certain that we select people from as many counties as possible
through the State as we can. And, you know, some of our
counties are affluent and some of them are very poor. And so
that tends to then spread the wealth of the information around.
And you could do the same thing with the selection of the
teachers to these programs, and the students to the programs as
well. But if you make sure to select teachers who come from the
disadvantaged areas, then that will be a help. And, of course,
if there were money to put teachers into these programs, so
many of which have been described today, some of them are free,
but many of them are ones that teachers have to pay for. And if
there were money to pay the fees for those schools, then that
would help as well.
I think that requiring people to be certified in the area
they are teaching, I think that, you know, if I am teaching
history, I think I need to have a degree in history. And I
think if we can do that, that would make a tremendous
difference.
Senator Dodd. I guess you know this, Mr. Chairman, in our
bill we have the academy for students. Do we have a
commensurate academy for teachers?
Ms. Deaderick. Yes.
Senator Dodd. Mr. Sullivan?
Mr. Sullivan. Ours is a participatory Government, and I
think that our civics education must be participatory as well.
And I think that is one of the greatest strengths of programs
like the ``We the People'' program. Russell has been preparing
all year for a competition which takes the form of a mock
congressional committee hearing and has familiarized himself
with that format, never realizing that he would have this
opportunity today to do the real thing. But the fact is, you
know, he came to me as a student at the beginning of the year
probably who had a curiosity about Government, but being
exposed to it in a unique way, it has become a great love of
his. So if there is a way make civics education more
participatory, then it should be pursued.
``We the People'' in my own State, I would love it if more
schools did it on the one hand. That would make for more
competition every year at our State finals. But, you know, the
larger goal is more important.
There are other similar programs offered at our school such
as a mock trial program, which, again, allows students to
learn, you know, the process of a trial and actually learn by
doing. So whether it be through clearly established programs
like a mock trial or ``We the People,'' that is one thing. Or
certainly in the classroom, teachers should be trained in, you
know, calling upon other means to do the same thing, even if it
is not sponsored as part of an official program. So that would
be my strongest recommendation.
Senator Dodd. Those are good ideas and suggestions. I don't
know if I mentioned to you, visiting schools, Mr. Chairman, is
something that I have found--I used to do town hall meetings,
but I found out that at those sometimes I ended up being a
referee.
Senator Alexander. That is right. [Laughter.]
Senator Dodd. I had one guy one time--the last one was
about 15 years ago, and some guy showed up dressed as Abraham
Lincoln, and another guy showed up--not dressed up, but he was
a member of the World Federalist. And they got into a fist
fight, and I ended up breaking it up. And that was the picture
on the front page of the paper the next day, not what I had to
say or anybody else. I decided that was enough.
So I started doing schools as a way of getting out and
listening to people, and I found particularly high schools,
juniors and seniors, middle schools--and we tried to mix it up
a little bit. But the value I think it has is--I don't come
unannounced, and so the schools are going to get ready because
the Senator is going to come. And so there is some discussion
about what students ought to ask. I suspect that some of the
students go home and tell their parents the Senator is going to
come, what do you think I ought to ask? And I think that may
generate a little conversation at home about what a Senator is
and what I do.
Then while you are there, it has a value, and I think after
you leave, there is usually discussion about what I had to say.
So it has this kind of ripple effect beyond just this site
visit. It has its own, I think, value. That is why I encourage
my colleagues to do more of it so that people can hear us
answer questions or say we don't know, we will have to find the
answer out for you. There is a value in that as well.
But I would encourage anything that could be done to really
reach into these communities as well, Mr. Sullivan. I don't
know how you could--you have done so well at this. We ought to
think back home on how we might get you around to go maybe
visit some of these schools and talk about the program and how
it works and how people can participate so that we can see
greater participation in this civics exercise. Maybe you and I
ought to talk about that and how we could maybe achieve that.
Maybe I will take you with me to some of these urban schools
and get you a chance to get up and talk to people about
participating next year or the year after in the program.
Mr. Sullivan. I would welcome that opportunity. I am a firm
believer in this program and would love to share its merits
with other schools.
Senator Alexander. Well, I have a suggestion, Senator Dodd.
Mr. Sullivan could--we can get this bill passed. Mr. Sullivan
can work with Russell and his other students and his fellow
teachers, and he can put in an application to the National
Endowment for the Humanities, and he can create a Presidential
academy for teachers or a congressional academy for students
and be the director of it. And in that way, he might invite
teachers from those schools. I mean, it could be aimed at
schools that have fewer resources and a greater need. That is
certainly a rationale for a school. I mean, we are looking for
many different ideas, and as I mentioned earlier, I hope that--
I see no reason why the University of Memphis with its years of
experience in operating a successful Governor's School couldn't
be a potential applicant for a Presidential academy or a
congressional academy for American history.
Ms. Deaderick. We want you to come down to the Governor's
School this summer and, you know, be a representative and show
them that you are the person who made this Governor's School
happen.
Senator Alexander. I am likely to do it, Blanche.
I thank you. We have gotten to noon, and I think unless the
Senator has other questions, let me thank you, Ms. Deaderick,
Russell, Mr. Sullivan, let me thank you for coming. You have
really helped us a great deal. We have had quite a--Senator
Dodd, we started with David McCullough at 9:00 a.m., and we had
the heads of the National Endowment for Humanities, the Library
of Congress, and the Under Secretary of Education. We had Diane
Ravitch, a distinguished historian of American history, and we
have had a teacher, an outstanding teacher, and an outstanding
student. So we are off to a good start. We have 19 cosponsors,
including the Democratic Whip, Senator Reid, who asked me to
incorporate his statement into the record, which I will do.
[The prepared statement of Senator Reid follows:]
Prepared Statement of Senator Reid
The education of America's children must be one. of our top
priorities. These children are our future, and we need to give
them the tools to be Great leaders of that future. Our schools
have several important responsibilities to achieve that end,
including providing students with the foundation to pursue
higher education, helping them develop their individual
potential and preparing them for successful careers.
America has been a nation of immigrants for hundreds of
rears. And our schools have helped instill in our diverse
population a sense of what it means to be an American and have
prepared our youth for the responsibilities of citizenship. We
need to reaffirm the importance of learning American history
and maintaining civic understanding.
As I work to make sure that all schoolchildren, and
especially those in Nevada, are connected to the Internet and
to the future, I also want them to be connected to America's
past and to know the common values and history that bind
together all who live in our great nation.
Senator Alexander. The bill is introduced in the House of
Representatives by Roger Wicker and others, exactly the same
bill, and so we hope it is enacted and we hope we can play a
role in taking all the various programs, nearly a dozen of them
throughout the Federal Government that focus on putting the
teaching of American history and civics back in its rightful
place in our curriculum so our children can grow up learning
what it means to be an American.
I would like to also place into the record the testimony of
the National Conference on Citizenship, Philip Duncan, the
executive director.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Duncan may be found in
additional material.]
Senator Alexander. I would like to add my maiden speech on
the subject, which I made a few weeks ago when I introduced the
bill.
[The prepared speech follows:]
Prepared Remarks of Senator Alexander on the Introduction of his Bill:
The American History and Civics Education Act--March 4, 2003
Mr. President, from the Senate's earliest days, new members have
observed a ritual of remaining, silent during floor debates for a
period of time that ranged from several weeks to two years. By waiting
a respectful amount of time before giving their so-called ``maiden
speeches,'' freshman senators hoped their senior colleagues would
respect them for their humility.
This information comes from the Senate historian, Richard Baker,
who told me that in 1906, the former Governor of Wisconsin, Robert
LaFollette arrived here ``anything but humble.'' He waited just three
months, a brief period by the standards of those days, before launching
his first major address. He spoke for eight hours over three days: his
remarks in the Congressional Record consumed 148 pages. As he began to
speak, most of the senators present in the chamber pointedly rose from
their desks and departed. LaFollette's wife, observing from the
gallery, wrote, ``There was no mistaking that this was a polite form of
hazing.''
From our first day here, the new members of this 108th Congress
have been encouraged to speak up, and most of us have. But, with the
encouragement of the majority leader, several of its intend also to
revive the tradition of the maiden address by making a signature speech
on an issue that is important both to the country and to each of us. I
Want to thank my colleagues who are here and assure them that I will
not speak for three days--as former Governor LaFollette did.
Mr. President, I rise to address the intersection of two urgent
concerns that will determine our country's future. These are also the
two topics about which I care the most: the education of our children
and the principles that unite us as Americans.
It is time that we put the teaching of American history and civics
back in its rightful place in our schools so our children can grow up
learning what it means to be an American.
Especially during such serious times when our values and way of
life are being attacked, we must understand clearly just what those
values are.
In this, most Americans would agree. For example, in Thanksgiving
remarks in 2001, President Bush praised our nation's response to
September 11. ``I call it,'' he said, ``the American character.''
Speaking at Harvard at about the same time, former Vice-President Al
Gore said, ``We should [fight] for the values that bind us together as
a country.''
Both men were invoking a creed of ideas and values in which most
Americans believe. ``It has been our fate as a nation,'' the historian
Richard Hofstadter wrote, ``not to have ideologies but to be one.''
This value based identity has inspired both patriotism and division at
home, both emulation and hatred abroad. For terrorists, as well as for
those who admire America, at issue is the United States itself--not
what we do, but who we are.
Yet our children do not know what makes America exceptional.
National exams show that three-quarters of the nation's 4th, 8th and
12th graders are not proficient in civics knowledge and one-third does
not even have basic knowledge, making them ``civic illiterates.''
Children are not learning about American history and civics because
they are not being taught it. American history has been watered down
and civics is too often dropped from the curriculum entirely.
Until the 1960s, civics education, which teaches the duties of
citizenship, was a regular part of the high school curriculum. Today's
college graduates probably have less civics knowledge than high school
graduates of 50 years ago. Reforms in the '60s and '70s resulted in the
widespread elimination of required classes and curriculum in civics
education. Today, more than half the states have no requirement for
students to take a course--even for one semester--in American
government.
To help put the teaching of American history and civics in its
rightful place. I introduce legislation today to create Presidential
Academies for Teachers of American History and Civics and Congressional
Academies for Students of American History--and Civics. These
residential academies would operate for two weeks (in the case of
teachers) and four weeks (for students) during the summer.
Their purpose would be to inspire better teaching and more learning
of the key events, persons and ideas that shape the institutions and
democratic heritage of the United States.
I have had some experience with such residential summer academies,
when I served as Governor of Tennessee. In 1984, Tennessee began
creating Governor's schools for students and teachers. For example,
there was the Governor's School for the Arts at Middle Tennessee State
University and the Governor's School of International Studies at the
University of Memphis as well as the Governor's School for Teachers of
writing at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Eventually there
were eight Governor's Schools helping thousands of Tennessee teachers
improve their skills and inspiring outstanding students to learn more
about core curriculum subjects. When these teachers and students
returned to their schools for the next school year, they brought with
them a new enthusiasm for teaching and learning that infected their
peers. Dollar for dollar, the Governor's Schools were one of the most
effective and popular educational initiatives in our state's history.
States other than Tennessee have had similar success with summer
residential academies. The first Governor's school was started in North
Carolina in 1963 when Governor Terry Sanford established it at Salem
College in Winston-Salem. Upon the establishment of the first school,
several states, including Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky,
and Tennessee established similar schools.
For example, in 1973 Pennsylvania established Governor's Schools of
Excellence, which has 14 different programs of study. As in Tennessee,
students participating in the Pennsylvania Governor's School program
attend academies at 8 different colleges to study everything from
international studies, to health care and teaching. Also established in
1973, Virginia's Governor's School is a summer residential program for
7500 of the Commonwealth's most gifted students. Mississippi
established its Governor's School in 1981. The Mississippi University
for Women hosts the program, which is designed to give students
academic, creative, and leadership experiences. Every year West
Virginia brings 80 of its most talented high school performing and
visual arts students to West Liberty State College for a three-week
residential program.
These are just a few of the approximately 100 Governors' schools in
28 states--clearly the model is a good one. The legislation I propose
today applies that successful model to American history and civics
education at the national level by establishing Presidential and
Congressional academies for American history and civics.
Additionally, this proposed legislation authorizes the creation of
a national alliance of American history and civics teachers who would
be connected by the Internet. The alliance would facilitate sharing of
best practices in the teaching of American history and civics. It is
modeled after an alliance I helped the National Geographic Society
begin during the 1980's to put geography back into the American school
curriculum. Tennessee and the University of Tennessee were among the
first sponsors of the alliance.
My legislation creates a pilot program. Up to 12 Presidential
academies for teachers and 12 Congressional Academies for students
would be sponsored by educational institutions. The National Endowment
for the Humanities would award 2-year renewable grants to those
institutions after applications are subjected to a peer review process.
Each grant would be subject to rigorous review after three years to
determine whether the overall program should continue or expand. The
legislation authorizes $25 million annually for the four year pilot
program.
There is a broad basis of renewed support for and interest in
American history and civics in our country.
As David Gordon notes in a recent issue of the Harvard Education
Letter: ``A 1995 surrey by the nonpartisan research organization Public
Agenda showed that 84 percent of parents with school aged children said
they believe that the United States is a special country and they want
schools to convey that belief to their children by teaching about its
heroes and traditions. Similar numbers identified the American ideal as
including equal opportunity, individual freedom, and tolerance and
respect for others. Those findings were consistent across racial and
ethnic groups.''
Our national leadership has responded to this renewed interest. In
2000, at the initiative of my distinguished colleague Senator Byrd,
Congress created grants for schools that teach American history as a
separate subject within school curricula. We appropriated $100 Million
for the Byrd Grants in the recent Omnibus appropriations bill, and
rightfully so. They encourage schools and teachers to focus on the
teaching of traditional American history, and provide important
financial support.
Last September, with historian David McCullough at his side,
President Bush announced a new initiative to encourage better teaching
of American history and civics. He established the ``We the People''
program at the NEH, which will develop curricula and sponsor lectures
on American history and civics. He announced the ``Our Documents'
project, run by the National Archives. ``Our Documents'' brings one
hundred of America's most important documents from the National
Archives to classrooms and communities across the country. This year,
he will convene a White House forum on American history, civics, and
service. There, we will discuss new policies to improve the teaching of
history and civics in elementary and secondary schools.
My proposed legislation takes the next step by training teachers
and encouraging outstanding students. We need to foster a love of this
subject and arm teachers with the skills to impart that love to their
students.
I am pleased that today one of the leading members of the House of
Representatives, Roger Wicker of--Mississippi, along with a number of
his colleagues, are introducing the same legislation in that House.
I want to thank Senator Gregg, Chairman of the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions, who has agreed that the committee will
hold hearings promptly on this legislation so that eye can determine
how it might supplement and work with recently enacted legislation and
the President's own initiative.
Mr. President, in 1988, at a meeting of educators in Rochester, the
President of Notre Dame University asked this question: ``What is the
rationale for the public school?'' There was an unexpected silence
around the room until Al Shanker, the president of the American
Federation of Teachers, answered in this way: ``The public school was
created to teach immigrant children the three R's and what it means to
be an American with the hope that they would then go home and teach
their parents.''
From the founding of America, we have always understood how
important it is for citizens to understand the principles that unite us
as a country. Other countries are united by, their ethnicity. If you
move to Japan, you can't become Japanese. Americans, on the other hand,
are united by a few principles in which we believe. To become an
American citizen, you subscribe to those principles. If there were no
agreement on those principles, Samuel Huntington has noted, we would be
the United Nations instead of the United States of America.
There has therefore been a continuous education process to remind
Americans just what those principles are. In his retirement at
Monticello, Thomas Jefferson would spend evenings explaining to
overnight guests what he had in mind when he helped create what we call
America. By the mid-19th century it was just assumed that most
Americans knew what it meant to be an American. In his letter from the
Alamo, Col. William Barrett Travis pleaded for help simply ``in the
name of liberty, patriotism and everything dear to the American
character.''
New waves of immigration in the late 19th century brought to our
country a record number of new people from other lands whose view of
what it means to be an American was indistinct--and Americans responded
by teaching them. In Wisconsin, for example, the Kohler Company housed
German immigrants together so that they might be Americanized during
non-working hours.
But the most important Americanizing institution, as Mr. Shanker
reminded us in Rochester in 1988, was the new common school. McGuffey's
Reader, which was used in many classrooms, sold more than 120 million
copies introducing a common culture of literature, patriotic speeches
and historical references.
The wars of the 20th century made Americans stop and think about
what we were defending. President Roosevelt made certain that those who
charged the beaches of Normandy knew they were defending for freedoms.
But after World War II, the emphasis on teaching and defining the
principles that unite its waned. Unpleasant experiences with
McCarthyism in the 1950's, discouragement after the Vietnam War, and
history books that left out or distorted the history of African-
Americans made some skittish about discussing ``Americanism.'' The end
of the Cold War removed a preoccupation with who we were not, making it
less important to consider who we are. The Immigration law changes in
1965 brought to our shores many new Americans and many cultural
changes. As a result, the American Way became much more often praised
than defined.
Changes in community attitudes, as they always are, were reflected
in our schools. According to historian Diane Ravitch, the public school
virtually abandoned its role as the chief Americanizing Institution. We
have gone, she explains, from one extreme (simplistic patriotism and
incomplete history) to the other--``public schools with an adversary
culture that emphasize the nation's warts and diminish its genuine
accomplishments. There is no literary canon. No common reading, no
agreed upon lists of books, poems and stories from which students and
parents might be taught a common culture and be reminded of what it
means to be an American.''
During, this time many of our national leaders contributed to this
drift toward agnostic Americanism. These leaders celebrated
multiculturalism and bilingualism and diversity at a time when there
should have been more emphasis on a common culture and learning English
and unity.
America's variety and diversity is a great strength, but it is not
our greatest strength. Jerusalem is diverse. The Balkans are diverse.
America's greatest accomplishment is not its variety and diversity but
that we have found a way to take all that variety and diversity and
unite as one country. E pluribus unum: out of many, one. That is what
makes America truly exceptional.
Since 9/11 things have been different. The terrorists focused their
cross-hairs on the creed that unites Americans as one country forcing
us to remind ourselves of those principles, to examine and define them
and to celebrate them. The President has been the lead teacher.
President Bush has literally taken us back to school on what it means
to be an American. When he took the country to church on television
after the attacks he reminded us that no country is more religious than
we are. When he walked across the street to the mosque he reminded the
world that we separate church and state and that there is freedom here
to believe in whatever one wants to believe. When he attacked and
defeated the Taliban, he honored life. When we put planes back in the
air and opened financial markets and began going to football games
again we honored liberty. The President called on us to make those
magnificent images of courage and charity and leadership and
selflessness after 9/11 more permanent in our every day lives. And with
his optimism, he warded off doomsayers who tried to diminish the real
gift of Americans to civilization, our cockeyed optimism that anything
is possible.
Just after 9/11, I proposed an idea I called ``Pledge Plus Three.''
Why not start each school day with the Pledge of Allegiance--as we did
this morning here in the Senate--followed by a faculty member or
student sharing for three minutes ``what it means to be an American.''
The Pledge embodies many of the ideals of our National Creed: ``one
nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'' It
speaks to our unity, to our faith, to our value of freedom, and to our
belief in the fair treatment of all Americans. If more future federal
judges took more classes in American history and civics and learned
about those values, we might have fewer mind-boggling decisions like
the one issued by the Ninth Circuit.
Before I was elected to the Senate, I taught some of our future
judges and legislators a course at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of
Government entitled ``The American Character and America's
Government.'' The purpose of the course was to help policy makers,
civil servants and journalists analyze the American creed and character
and apply it in the solving of public policy problems. We tried to
figure out, if you will, what would be ``the American way'' to solve a
given problem.
The students and I did not have much trouble deciding that America
is truly exceptional (not always better, but truly exceptional) or in
identifying the major principles of an American Creed or the distinct
characteristics of our country. Such principles as: liberty, equal
opportunity, rule of law, individualism, e pluribus unum, the
separation of church and state.
But what we also found was that applying those principles to
today's issues was hard work. This was because the principles of the
creed often conflicted. For example, when discussing President Bush's
faith-based charity legislation, we knew that ``In God We Trust'' but
we also knew that we didn't trust government with God.
When considering whether the federal government should pay for
scholarships which middle and low income families might use at any
accredited school--public, private or religious--we found that the
principle of equal opportunity conflicted with the separation of church
and state.
And we found there are great disappointments when we try to live up
to our greatest dreams, for example--President Kennedy's pledge that we
will ``Pay any price or bear any burden'' to defend freedom, or Thomas
Jefferson's assertion that ``all men are created equal,'' or the
American dream that for anyone who works hard, tomorrow will always be
better than today.
We learned that, as Samuel Huntington has written, balancing these
conflicts and disappointments is what most of American politics and
government is about.
Mr. President, if most of our politics and government is about
applying to our most urgent problems the principles and characteristics
that make the United States of America an exceptional country--then we
had better yet about the teaching and learning of those principles and
characteristics.
The legislation I propose today will help our schools do what they
were established to do in the first place. At a time when there are
record numbers of new Americans, and at a time when our values are
under attack, at a time when we are considering going to war to defend
those values, there can be no more urgent task than putting the
teaching of American history and civics back in its rightful place in
our schools so our children can grow up learning what it means to be an
American.
Senator Alexander. Also, I am going to put in the record,
Senator Dodd, without objection, I hope, the syllabus that I
used the last two semesters at Harvard's Kennedy School of
Government, where I taught a course called ``The American
Character and America's Government.''
[The prepared syllabus follows:]
PAL 223--The American Character and America's Government: Using the
American Creed to Make Decisions
Professor: Lamar Alexander, John F. Kennedy School of Government,
Harvard University
Spring 2002, Tuesdays, 4:10 p.m.--6:00 p.m., Classroom: L382/Kahn
Course Credit: 1, Limited Enrollment, First class: 2'5
OBJECTIVE OF THE COURSE
To help future decision-makers use the principles of the American
Creed to solve difficult, contemporary public policy problems. Students
will first explore America's ``exceptionalism'': how an idea-based
national ideology makes the United States different from other
countries-including other Western democracies. Then, each session will
analyze one value of the ``American Creed''--and how it conflicts with
other values and/or creates unrealized expectations--in the solving of
a specific problem. Students will simulate realistic policymaking
situations and produce professional products as assignments: concise
memos, outlines and briefings.
RATIONALE FOR THE COURSE
In Thanksgiving remarks President Bush praised the nation's
response to September 11. ``I call it.'' he said. ``the American
Character''. At KSG Al Gore said. ``We should [fight] for the values
that bind us together as a country''. Both men were invoking a creed of
ideas and values in which most Americans believe. ``It has been our
fate as a nation,'' Richard Hofstader wrote, ``not to have ideologies
but to be one.'' This value-based national identity has inspired both
patriotism and division at home, both emulation and hatred abroad. For
terrorists as well as for those who admire America, at issue is the
United States itself--not what we do, but who we are.
Yet Americans who unite on principle divide and suffer
disappointment when using their creed to solve policy problems. This is
because the values of the creed conflict (e.g., liberty vs. equality,
individualism vs. community and because American dreams are loftier
than American reality (e.g., ``all men cue created equal'', ``tomorrow
will be better than today''). Samuel Huntington has said that balancing
these conflicts and disappointments is what most of American politics
and government is about. That is also what this course is about.
AUDIENCE
The Course is designed for future police makers--civil servants,
and journalists. A general knowledge of American politics is helpful
but not required. It should be useful for both U.S. and international
students seeking to learn more about the American system of government
and how it differs from that of other countries.
INSTRUCTOR
Lamar Alexander, The Roy M. and Barbara Goodman Family Visiting
Professor of Practice in Public Service, has been Governor of
Tennessee. President of the University of Tennessee, and U.S. Education
Secretary. He co-founded Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Inc., now
the nations largest provider of worksite day care. His seven books
include Six Months Off, the story of his family's trip to Australia
after eight years in the Governors residence. In 1996 and 2000 he was a
candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United
States.
Office: Littauer 101, Telephone: (617) 384-7354.
Office hours will generally be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A sign
up sheet will be posted outside Professor Alexander's door.
COURSE ASSISTANT
Matt Sonnesyn will be course assistant for PAL 223.
EXPECTATIONS
This is a graduate level professional course and will have the
corresponding standards and assignments: attendance at all scheduled
classes, assignments completed on time, and evaluation according to
students' preparation of professional products--crisp and realistic
decision memos, memo outlines, and policy briefings. All briefings are
conducted in class and all decision memos and weekly outlines are due
at the beginning of the corresponding class session. There is no final
exam, but there will be a final paper.
GRADING
Briefings (2): team exercise 20%
Two times during the course each student will participate in a team
briefing on that Week's subject.
Memos (2): team exercise 20%
Two other times during the course each student will participate in
a team preparing a three-page decision memo on that week's subject. The
student may select these from among the class topics.
Weekly Outlines (6): 20%
Six other times during the course each student will prepare a one-
page analysis of the week's problem. (This will be during those weeks
when the student is not involved in preparing a team briefing or team
memo.)
As a result, for ten of the twelve class sessions. each student
will have an assignment to (other than reading) that requires
preparation outside of class--either a team briefing, a team memo, or
an individual weekly metro outline.
Class participation and attendance: 15%
Final Paper: 25%
Final grades will be determined by students' overall position in
the class as measured by performance on each of the assignments and
will conform to the Kennedy School of Government's recommended range of
grading distribution.
MATERIALS
The course relies primarily on course packets to be made available
for sale at the Course Materials Office. There will be 125-150 pages of
reading each week. There are three required textbooks:
(1) Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, translated and
edited by Harvey C. Mansfield and Delba Winthrop. The University of
Chicago Press, 2000.
(2) Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism, W.W., Norton &
Co., 1997(paperback);
(3) Samuel P. Huntington. ``American Politics: The Promise of
Disharmony'', The Belknap Press of Harvard University 1981.
All three books are available for purchase at the Harvard Coop.
Copies of all three books are on reserve in the KSG library.
Note: Readings from the three required textbooks or readings which
are readily available online are not included in the course packet.
(Hypertext links to the online readings may be found within the
syllabus that is posted on the KSG website.)
ENROLLMENT
The course has a limited enrollment. Auditors are permitted with
permission of the instructor.
COURSE OUTLINE AND REQUIRED READINGS
2/5--My ``ism'' is Americanism, American Exceptionalism
One hundred and one ways Americans are different. So what?
Alexis de Toqueville, Democracy in America, edited by Harvey C.
Mansfield and Delba Winthrop, University of Chicago Press, Chicago,
2000, pp. 2-15, 90, 585-587, 225-226.
G.K. Chesterson. What I Saw in America, Dodd, Mead & Co., 1922. pp.
6-12.
Daniel J. Boorstin. ``Why a Theory Seems Needless'', The Genius of
American Politics. 1953, The University of Chicago Press. p. 8-35.
Samuel P. Huntington, ``The American Creed and National Identity,''
American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony, 1981. pp. 13-30.
Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, 1991. The Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp. 46-58.
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations, Simon and
Schuster, 1996, pp. 40-55, 68-78, 301-308.
Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism, pp. 17-34
2/12--``. . .) where at least I know I'm free . . . Liberty
Should Congress repeal President Bush's executive order allowing
non-citizens suspected of international terrorism to be detained and
tried in special military tribunals''
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid, pp. 239-242, 246-249. 301, 639-640.
U.S. Constitution and amendments, 1787
John Stuart Mill, ``The Authority of Society and the Individual'',
On Liberty, 1859, Hackett Publishing Co. edition, 1978, pp. 73-91.
Carl Brent Swisher, American Constitutional Development, Greenwood
Press, Connecticut, 1954, pp. 276-292, 1017-1025.
Samuel P. Huntington, ``The American Creed vs. Political
Authority,'' American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony, 1981, pp.
31-60.
Richard E. Neustadt and Ernest R. May, Thinking in Time, The Free
Press, pp. 232-246, 1988.
An Executive Order of President George W. Bush, ``Detention
Treatment and Trail of Certain Non-Citizens in the War against
Terrorism'', November 13, 2001.
Jeffrey Rosen, ``Testing the Resilience of American Values'', The
New York Times Week in Review, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2001, pp. 1 and 4.
Laurence H. Tribe, Statement before U.S. Senate Judiciary
Committee, December 4, 2001.
``American Attitudes Toward Civil Liberties'', public Opinion
survey, by Kasier Foundation, National Public Radio and Kennedy School
of Government, December 2001.
2/19--In God We Trust . . . but we don't trust government with God
Christianity, pluralism and the state
Should Congress enact President Bush's faith-based charity
legislation?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid, pp. 278-288.
John Locke, ``A Letter Concerning Toleration'', Diane Ravitch and
Abigail Thernstrom, The Democracy Reader, NY: HarperCollins, 1992,
ibid., pp. 31-37.
Thomas Jefferson, ``Notes on the State of Virginia'', Ravitch and
Thernstrom, ibid., pp, 108-109.
James Madison, ``Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious
Assessments'', 1785, The Writings of James Madison, NY: Putnam, 1908.
``Separation of Church and State in American Brought about by the
Scotch-Irish of Virginia'', Charles. A. Hanna, The Scotch Irish, Vol.
II, 1985, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, pp. 157-162.
Philip Schaff, America: A Sketch of its Political, Social and
Religious Character, 1961, The Belknap Press of Harvard University, pp.
72-83.
Engel vs. Vitale, 370. U.S. 421 (1962)
Marvin Olasky. ``The Early American Model of Compassion'', The
Tragedy of American Compassion, Regnery, Publishing, Washington, D.C.,
1992, pp. 6-23.
Lamar Alexander, ``Homeless, not hopeless'', We Know What to Do,
William Morrow, New York, 1995, pp. 35-51.
Two Executive Orders of President George W. Bush. ``Establishment
of White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives'' and
``Agency Responsibilities with respect to Faith-based Community
Initiatives''. January 29, 2001.
2/19--``Leave no child behind'' Equal Opportunity
Should the federal government pay for scholarships that middle and
low-income families may use at any accredited school--public, private
or religious?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid, pp. 41-42.
Horace Mann, ``Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education,
1848'' in Daniel J. Boorstin, An American Primer, Meridian, 1995, pp.
361-375.
Charles Leslie Glenn, Jr. The Myth of the Common School, The
University of Massachusetts Press, 1988, pp. 146-158.
Lamar Alexander, ``The GI Bill for Kids'', The John Ashbrook
Lecture, presented at Ashland (O.) University, 9/12/92.
Thomas J. Kane, ``Lessons from the Largest School Voucher
Program'', Who Chooses? Who Loses?, edited by Bruce Fuller and Richard
F. Elmore, Teachers College Press, 1996, pp. 173-183.
Michael W. McConnell. ``Legal and Constitutional Issues of
Vouchers'', Vouchers and the Provision of Public Schools, The Brookings
Institution, 2000, pp. 368-391.
Eliot M. Minceberg and Judith E. Schaeffer,--Grades K-12: The Legal
Problems with Public Funding of Religious Schools', Vouchers and the
Provision of Public Schools, pp. 394--403.
Diane Ravitch, ``American Traditions of Education'', Terry M. Moe,
A Primer on America's Schools, Hoover Institution Press, 2001, pp. 1-
14.
Paul Peterson, ``Choice in American Education'', A Primer on
America's Schools, pp. 249-283.
Diane Ravitch, ``Ex Uno Plures'', Education Next, Fall 2001, pp.
27-29
3/5--Equal at the starting line . . . but what about those with
shackles? Individualism
Should the federal government pay for race-based college
scholarships?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid., pp. 326-334, 347-348; 482-488.
The Declaration of Independence, 1776
Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (1856)
Frederick Douglass, ``What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?''
Martin Luther King, Jr., address at the Lincoln Memorial in
Washington, D.C., August 28. 1963.
Excerpts from University of California Regents vs. Bakke, 438 U.S.
265 (1978)
Testimony of Lamar Alexander, U.S. Education Secretary, Hearings
before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of
Representatives, 102nd Congress, 2nd session, Feb. 20, 1992, pp. 39-46,
82-89, 99-102.
Seymour Martin Lipset. ``Two Americas'', American Exceptionalism,
pp. 113-150.
Abigail Thernstrom and Stephen Thernstrom, America in Black and
White, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1997, pp. 530-545.
Cornel West. ``Malcolm X and Black Rage'', Race Matters, Random
House, Vintage Books, New York, 2001, pp. 135-151.
3/12--A nation of immigrants . . . but all Americans E Pluribus
Unam
Should illegal aliens have Illinois driver's licenses? discounted
tuition at state colleges? free medical care? should their children
attend public schools?
Alexis de Toqueville, Ibid., pp. 29-30, 32, 34-37, 268.
J. Hector St. John de Crevecouer, ``What is an American'', Letters
from an American Farmer, 1782. Penguin Books edition 1986, pp. 67-90.
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Disuniting of America, W.W.,
Norton, New York, 1991, pp. 9-43.
Carlos E. Cortes, ``Limits to pluribus, limits to unum'', National
Forum, Baton Rouge, Winter, 1992. pp. 6-10.
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations, Simon and
Schuster, 1996. pp. 198-206.
J. Harvie Wilkinson, ``The Medley of America'', One Nation
Indivisible, Addison Wesley, 1997, pp. 3-21.
Griffin Bell, ``The Changing Role of Migrants in the United
States''. Address to the International Leadership Issues Conference of
State Legislative Leaders Foundation, Budapest, October 4, 2001.
David Cohen, Chasing the Red, White and Blue. New York, 2001, St.
Martin's Press, pp. 218-286, 250-260
Morris P. Fiorina and Paul E. Peterson, The New American Democracy,
Longman, 2002. pp. 99-108.
3/19--Suspending the constitution in order to save it. Rule of Law.
Should the governor-elect seize office three days early to prevent
the incumbent governor from selling pardons for cash?
Alexis de Tocqueville, ibid., pp. 229-231.
US Constitution, 25th Amendment
Tennessee Constitution Article 3, Section 12
Tennessee Acts Section 8-1-107
Lou Fuller, ``The Morality that Makes Law Possible'', The Morality
of Law, Yale Law School Press, 1964, pp. 33-44.
John D. Feerick. The Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Its Complete History
and Earliest Applications, Fordham University Press, 1976. pp. 3-23,
193-206.
Bush vs. Gore, 2000
Al Gore, address to the nation, December 13, 2000.
Paul F. Boller, Jr., ``Picking the Day'', Presidential
Inaugurations, Harcourt, Inc., 2001.
James W. Torke. ``What Is This Thing Called the Rule of Law?''
Indiana Law Review, Volume 34, 2001, pp. 1445-56.
Dotty Lynch, ``Back to Abnormal'', Sept. 28, 2001, from CBS News
Site,
Tim McGirk, ``Wahid's In, Megawati's Out'', Dec, 8, 2001, from Time
Asia
Gordon Silverstein, ``Globalization and the Rule of Law'', mimeo,
The University of Minnesota, 2001.
3/26--Harvard break
4/2--``Ask not what your country can do for you . . . Community
Should all high school graduates perform one mandatory year of
community service?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid, pp. 56-58. 577-78, 489-92.
Robert L. Bellah, et al, Habits of the Heart, University of
California Press, 1985, pp. vii-xxxv, 275-296.
Daniel Boorstin. ``From Charity to Philanthropy'', Hidden History.
Vintage, New York, 1989, pp. 193-209.
-209J.
Barry Alan Shain, The Myth of American Individualism, Princeton
University Press, 1994, pp. xii-xix.
Lamar Alexander, ``What's Wrong With American Giving and How to Fix
It,'' Philanthropy, Summer 1997.
Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone, Simon & Schuster, 2000, pp. 15-28,
45-64, 116-133.
4/9--Why Americans don't trust Washington, D.C. A government of, by
and for the people
Should the U.S. create a citizen congress: cut their pay and send
them home six months a year, adopt term limits and two-year federal
budgets?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid. pp. 53-55
Aristotle, ``Politics'', from Ravitch and Thernstrom, pp. 9-12.
Edmund Burke, ``On Election to Parliament'', Ravitch and
Thernstrom, ibid. pp. 50-51.
Samuel P. Huntington, ``The American Creed and National Identity.''
American Politics: the Promise of Disharmony, 1981, pp. 36-41.
E.J. Dionne, ``The Politics of the Restive Majority'', Why
Americans Hate Politics, Touchstone, New York, 1991, pp. 329-355.
Lamar Alexander, ``Cut Their Pay and Send Them Home.'' 1994,
address to The Heritage Foundation.
Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism, pp. 35-46.
Joseph S. Nye, et al, Why People Don't Trust Government, Harvard
University Press, 1997, pp. 253-281.
Mark Kim, David King, Richard Zechhauser. ``Why State Governments
Succeed'', mimeo, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard
University, 2001.
4/16--``Work! For the night is coming . . . '' Laissez Faire
Should the federal government pay all working Americans a living
wage''?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid. pp. 506-08, 555-557, 606-608.
Herbert Croly, The Promise of American Life, 1909, Northeastern
University Press, pp. 1-26.
Kevin Phillips, ``The Triumph of Upper America'', The Politics of
Rich and Poor, Harper, 1991, pp. xvii-xxiii.
C. Vann Woodward, ``The Pursuit of Happiness'', The Old World's New
World, Oxford University Press, 1991, pp. 40-62.
Seeymour--Martin Lipset, ``Economy, Religion and Welfare'',
American Exceptionalism, pp. 53-76.
David Neumark and William Washer, ``Using the EITC to Help Poor
Families: New Evidence and a Comparison with the Minimum Wage'', NBER
Working Paper #7599 March 2000, pp. 1-4. 24-27.
Charles Handy, ``DeToqueville Revisited: The Meaning of American
Prosperity'', Harvard Business Journal, January 2001, pp. 5-11.
David Neumark, ``Living Wages: Protection For or Protection From
Low-Wage Workers'', NBER Working Paper #8393, July 2001, pp. 1-7, 25-
27.
David Cohen, Chasing, the Red, White and Blue, New York, 2001, St.
Martin's Press, pp. 52-80.
Harvard Living Wage Statements
4/23--``Pay any price, bear any burden . . . Exporting American
Values.
Putin shuts down last remaining independent Russian TV station
(owned 25% by Ted Turner), expels 100 foreign journalists for
``inaccurate reporting'' including all Fox News personnel. What does
U.S. do?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid., pp. 217-220.
George Washington's Farewell Address, 1795.
John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address. 1961.
Samuel P. Huntington, American Politics: the Promise of Disharmony,
pp. 240-262.
Graham T. Allison. Jr. and Robert P. Beschel, Jr.. ``Can the United
States Promote Democracy'', Political Science Quarterly, Volume 107,
No. 1, 1992, pp. 81-89.
Henry Kissinger, ``The Hinge: Theodore Roosevelt or Woodrow
Wilson'', Diplomacy, New York Simon & Schuster, 1994, pp. 29-55.
Lamar Alexander, ``In War and Peace'', We Know What to Do. pp. 95-
107.
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations, pp. 309-321.
Samantha Power, ``Bystanders to Genocide'', The Atlantic Monthly,
September 2000, pp. 84-108.
Walter Russell Mead, Special Providence: American Foreign Policy
and How it Changed the World, Alfred A Knopf, New York 2001, pp. xv,
xviii, 3-29.
4/30--Anything is possible. Ubridled optimism
Should there be a $1000 limit on individual federal campaign
contributions?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid., pp. 187-189.
Larry J. Sabato, ``PACS and Parties'' Money, Elections and
Democracy: Reforming Congressional Campaign Finance, 1990, Boulder,
Colorado, Westview Press.
Todd Eardensohn, A Review of the Alexander for President Campaign
Budge (1995-1996).
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations, Simon and
Schuster, 1996, pp. 308-321.
Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism, pp. 51-52, 267-292.
Lamar Alexander, ``Should Tom Paine Have Filed with the FEC'',
January 21, 1998, address to The Cato Institute.
Andrew Del Banco, The Real American Dream, 1999, Harvard University
Press, pp. 103-118.
Lamar Alexander, ``Put More Money Into Polities'', August 27, 1999,
The Wall Street Journal.
Alexander, ``Keeping the Dream Alive'', We know What to Do, ibid,
pp. 165-180.
Senator Alexander. And most of the classes were spent doing
the kind of thing that you suggested, Ms. Deaderick. We would
take an issue, we would take a principle that unites us as a
country, like freedom, and a contemporary issue before the U.S.
Senate, like did President Bush go too far with the first
military tribunal, and we would divide up into teams and we
would debate that. And the next week we would take a question
like should the Federal Government pay for scholarships based
solely on race, and we would debate that.
But the way we would debate it is to try to identify the
principle that was at stake, and what we normally found was,
say, in that latter case, we had the principle of equal
opportunity on the one side and the principle of individualism
on the other side, and they are both principles that we all
agree with, but when we apply them to our current issues, we
get conflict. So most of our politics and most of our
Government is about conflicts of principles about which we
agree and about disappointments we have when we don't reach our
dreams, like pay any price, bear any burden to defend freedom.
We don't always do that. All men are created equal. They always
weren't in this country.
So those are the conflicts and those are the
disappointments that most of our history is about and which
create wonderful stories like David McCullough's book on John
Adams. And what we hope through this is not to--we want to
leave the teaching right where it ought to be, in the local
classroom in the local schools. We want to leave the curriculum
setting where it ought to be, with the State and local
governments. But maybe through these summer residential
academies we can put a spotlight on and encourage and inspire
the teaching and learning of American history and civics.
I want to thank Senator Dodd for his leadership and for
being a part of this and for inviting Mr. Berg, and thank you,
Blanche.
The hearing is adjourned.
[Additional material follows:]
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Prepared Statement of Senator Byrd
Harry Truman once said, ``The only thing new in the world is the
history you don't know.'' Given the woeful state of history education
in this country, Americans must believe that plenty of things are new.
A September 2002 report by the American Council of Trustees and
Alumni reveals a troubling lack of historical literacy among college
students. That report was based on a survey of seniors from fifty of
Americas top colleges and universities. Those seniors were given high-
school level questions. According to the report, nearly 81 percent of
the college seniors who participated would have received a grade of D
or F. Among the hardest questions for students to answer correctly were
those concerning earl, American history. For example, when students
were asked to name the ``Father of the Constitution,'' only twenty-
three percent correctly chose James Madison. And this is at the college
level!
The situation is not any better at the elementary and secondary
level. The National Assessment of Educational Progress conducted in
2001 reported that only two out of ten students in grades four through
eight, and one out of ten students in grade twelve were deemed
``proficient'' in U.S. history.
History is not only the common memory that we all share, but it is
also in excellent teacher. Too many schools today lump history together
with other subjects and package there as courses broadly titled
``social studies.'' This conglomeration certainly does not provide the
kind of focused study that history deserves and requires. Moreover, it
shortchanges our young people who will some day be the leaders of this
nation of a grounding in the basic philosophies and values that served
to form the foundation of America.
The importance of learning from history is heightened when we are
at war. It is critical that our current military leaders have studied
the great battles of history and will not repeat mistakes that doomed
battles in the past. Imagine if these generals and admirals had not
thoroughly examined the lessons of past wars, and instead took a
composite course called ``Aggressive Studies.''
I am a lifelong student of history. Even though this subject is so
important and such a rich treasure of information, I regret that
today's young people do not have a strong appreciation for it. If they
are to have any hope of being prepared to lead in the future. America's
students need a deeper understanding of this nation's past.
To help address this problem, three years ago I created the
Teaching American History Grant Program. This program has Infused $250
million--$50 million in Fiscal Year 2001, $100 million in Fiscal Year
2002, and $100 million again in this fiscal year--in the nation's
classrooms to encourage more schools to develop, implement, and
strengthen classes in American history. By helping teachers to develop
a better understanding and appreciation of American history as a
separate subject matter within the core curriculum, this program seeks
to improve instruction and raise student achievement.
Mr. Chairman [Senator Lamar Alexander], in your maiden speech
before the U.S. Senate, you sought to emphasize the importance of
restoring the teaching of American history and civics to its rightful
place in our schools so that students can grow up learning what it
means to be an American. I commend you for this, and I appreciate your
kind remarks about my Teaching American History Grant Program.
At that time, you introduced S. 504, the American History and
Civics Act, which would establish Presidential Academies for teachers
of American history and civics, and Congressional Academies for
students of American history and civics. I understand that your
legislation would also create a National Alliance of Teachers of
American History and Civics to allow the sharing of ideas and best
practices among American history and civics teachers.
I hope that your efforts will complement the Teaching American
History Grant Program that is already in place, and I would be pleased
if you would add my name as a cosponsor to your legislation.
No remarks on the subject of history would be complete without a
quote from the Roman orator and statesman Cicero. I close with his
observation that, ``History is the witness that testifies to the
passing of time: it illumines reality, vitalizes memoir, provides
guidance in daily life and bring's us tidings of antiquity.''
Cicero's words from two millennia ago still ring true today. I hope
that our efforts can help to provide students with this guidance.
Prepared Statement of Senator Cornyn
Thank you, Mr. Chairman for allowing me to make a brief statement
on the American History and Civics Education Act (S. 504). First, I
would like to say thank you to my good friend and colleague, Senator
Lamar Alexander from Tennessee, for introducing S. 504 to show the
country's commitment to educating our children about the history and
principles of American government. Young Americans deserve to learn
about the Constitution, Bill of Rights, our Founding Fathers,
Federalism, and the stories of Americans who lost their lives so we
would be able to live in freedom.
I am particularly pleased to support and co-sponsor this
legislation because it reminds me of how public schools back in Texas
teach students about Texas history. While growing up in San Antonio, I
learned about a great Texan from Tennessee, named Sam Houston and how
he influenced the Republic of Texas and the United States. Now, I have
the honor to serve in the Senate in the seat once held by Sam Houston.
American history and civics were crucial for my education. Today's
children should have the same opportunity as I did to learn about the
influential people who shaped this nation.
This legislation creates a four-year pilot program for schools to
receive grant money from the National Endowment of the Humanities. Each
year the program will receive $25 million in grant money. Although $25
million is a small amount in the beginning, I hope the program will
thrive and grow in the future. Under the proposal, grant money will
fund a two week seminar on American history and civics for teachers.
Also, students can attend a four week academy in the summer to learn
American history and civics.
Mr. Chairman, how can American children know the true meaning of
being an American without understanding the key influences and
principles in which this great nation was built? Children need to learn
about their inalienable rights found within the Bill of Rights and why
these are so important to each American. They need to learn why the
colonies demanded independence from the British. American students need
to understand how slavery impacted the country and how many Americans
fought for their freedom and equality for generations. Every American
needs to know their rights and how their government works in order to
insure their God-given rights are never infringed.
After the September 11th attacks, now more than ever, we need to
teach our young people what it truly means to be an American and a
freedom-loving person. I believe the American History and Civics
Education Act will ensure young people have a solid background on which
to build a life long interest in our nation's history. I am a proud co-
sponsor of S. 504. I thank the Senator from Tennessee for introducing
this legislation and chairing this important hearing.
Prepared Statement of Senator Thad Cochran
Mr. Chairman, I appreciate very much your invitation to participate
in this hearing.
I congratulate the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander) for his
leadership on the issue of teaching history and civics. As the
Committee considers the American History and Civics Education Act, I
hope it will be sure to carefully examine a program currently
authorized and funded through the Department of Education called, ``We
the People . . . The Citizen and the Constitution.'' This program is
the result of the work of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the
Constitution, chaired by Chief Justice Warren Burger during the years
1985 to 1992. The Honorable Lynne V. Cheney was a member, as were
Senators, Members of Congress and other prominent Americans. There was
also a National Advisory Committee for the development of the program
we know today as ``We the People . . .'' Some of its members were
Senators and Members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats.
The dual purposes of the Commission and the Committee included
developing a recommended text and accompanying curriculum for teaching
the American Constitution. The result is a set of texts that is
nationally known as one of the best, if not the best, for teaching our
Constitution to young people. ``We the People . . .'' also includes a
comprehensive teacher training curriculum and a National competitive
program for students.
One classroom set with teacher materials is provided free of charge
to every Congressional district. Additional sets are available at a
modest cost. The texts have also been adapted and translated for use in
former soviet countries.
It is important to bring attention to this program because it has
proven its effectiveness. ``We the People . . .'' has been administered
by the Center for Civic Education since its start in 1987. Studies over
the last ten years conducted by the Center for Civic Education and
independent institutions have shown dramatic effects. I'll include that
information at the end of my statement. But first, I want to share with
the Committee a poignant electronic mail message sent to a ``We the
People . . .'' teacher just a few months ago.
Dear Mr. Alcox,
About a year ago I was in your constitutional law class. I really
loved your class. I ended up dropping out of school and joined the
United States Army. I held on to your books because they were my life.
I continued studying after I got out of basic training, and thought
about going to college for law, because I enjoyed your class so much.
One day a sergeant of mine borrowed my book and we went to the
field. When I got back after a month he and my book were gone. He went
to Germany and I tried finding him so I could get my book back, but I
just kept hitting dead ends. The reason I am writing to you is because
I was wondering if it would be possible to get another copy of the
book. I will pay anything in the world to have them. The only problem I
face right now is that I am deploying overseas to fight. I leave at the
end of this month and it takes 7 days for packages to reach me from New
Hampshire. I will have my dad deliver a check or something. If
something could be worked out please write back to me and let me know
what I would have to do, and if not I understand completely. I'm still
working on the essay of what the American flag means to me. I'm up to 8
pages and it needs more work.
Thank you for inspiring me!
Sincerely,
PFC Andrea Welch
By the way, I'm told Private Welch received her books. This young
woman*s message to her teacher is a compelling testimony about what he
taught and how he taught. It is one of the best pieces of evidence we
have that teaching American history and civics will encourage young
people and help them develop their minds to better serve our nation.
Again, I thank the Chairman for inviting me to participate in this
hearing. I am pleased to cosponsor the American History and Civics
Education Act. I commend the distinguished Senator from Tennessee for
his leadership on this issue, and I am pleased to join the effort to
have this legislation considered by the Senate.
The following is a summary of research findings provided at my
request by the Center for Civic Education.
Center for Civic Education
5146 Douglas Fir Road
Calabasas, California 91302
(818) 591-9321
Increases in knowledge. We the People . . students have greater
political knowledge than their peers, political science majors, and
adults. For example, We the People . . . students:
Scored 23% higher on political knowledge test items that were a
part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
Outperformed college freshmen political science majors in political
knowledge
Outperformed adults on a knowledge index
Increases in interest and commitment. We the People . . . students
report higher levels of interest in political life and higher
commitment to staying well. For example, in comparison with their
peers, We the People . . . students showed:
Increased interest in the Constitution and Bill of Rights and
commitment to their values and principles
Greater interest in keeping up with public affairs, during their
high school years and after graduation
Greater attention to public affairs, as evidenced by regular
reading of newspapers at higher rates than peers
Improvement in political attitudes. We the People . . . students
showed greater improvement than their peers and adults in political
attitudes. For example, We the People . . . students and were found to
be:
More politically tolerant than the average American
More politically tolerant than high school students using other
curricula
More self-confident and perceived fewer limits on their own
political freedom
Less cynical about government
Increased participation. We the People . . . students showed
greater participation in all aspects of the political process than
their peers. For example, We the People . . . students and were found
to be:
More likely to participate in the political process, even in high
school
Voting in higher numbers than their peers. A study of alumni found
that 82% voted in November 2000, in contrast to 48% of their peers
More likely to work for a political campaign, to contribute to a
campaign, or to take part in a protest
More likely to discuss politics
Serving the public as public officials (one alum is mayor of
Nogales, Arizona), staffing political offices in the Capitol and in
state legislatures, clerking for justices, serving in the armed forces,
teaching in classrooms, and mentoring high school students in the We
the People program.
Prepared Statement of Bruce Cole
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and the members of this Committee, for the
opportunity to testify today.
This hearing helps raise awareness of an important issue--the need
to increase and enhance knowledge and understanding of American
history.
It is crucial that we understand the principles, events, and ideas
that have defined our past and that will shape our future. Democracy,
unlike other forms of government, is not self-perpetuating. Its ideas
and principles must be taught and transmitted. Indeed, we cannot defend
what we do not understand. But even as our country is at war, numerous
studies indicate that many students lack even a basic knowledge of
their country's past.
I'll give you just a few examples:
A recent survey of students enrolled at the 55 of our nation's most
elite colleges and universities found that 40 percent of our brightest
young people cannot place the Civil War in the correct half-century.
More than a third of these students could not identify the Constitution
as establishing our government's division of powers.
At the secondary school level, the National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) test found that over half of all high
school seniors scored ``below basic''--that is, below the bare minimum
level of proficiency in history. To illustrate what that means: 18
percent of seniors thought Germany was a U.S. ally in World War II.
Less than half correctly identified the Soviet Union as an ally.
In speaking to various groups, I have called this loss of memory
and lack of understanding of our history our American amnesia. The
consequences are serious. Citizens who do not know their rights are
less likely to protect them. And if young Americans cannot recall whom
we fought, and whom we fought alongside, during World War II, there is
no reason to expect that they will long remember what happened on
September 11.
As Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, one of my
top priorities for the agency and its able staff is to address this
challenge of American amnesia. We are aiming to do this through a new
initiative called We the People.
On Constitution Day, September 17, 2002, in a special Rose Garden
ceremony, President Bush announced the launch of the We the People
initiative, to be spearheaded by the NEH. We the People is designed to
broaden and deepen Americans' knowledge of their nation's history. We
are honored that the President has chosen the Endowment to play a
leadership role in the Administration's American history and civics
initiative, and we look forward to serving in this capacity. This
initiative is an important part of the President's USA Freedom Corps,
which is working to promote a culture of active, engaged citizens who
have a better understanding of their democratic traditions and their
duties to serve our communities and country.
We the People aims to cultivate an enhanced understanding of
American history among students, teachers, and the public at large. We
the People will enlist the efforts of scholars, professors, curators,
librarians, filmmakers and others engage in a wide variety of projects,
including the creation of model history curricula, the digitization and
dissemination of historical documents, the expansion of our acclaimed
summer seminars for school teachers, and new programs that bring
history to our citizens.
Already, the endowment has undertaken several exciting efforts as
part of this initiative. This year we launched a nationwide
solicitation of grant applications to address We the People themes and
topics throughout the NEH's divisions. On May 1, we will host the
Inaugural ``Heroes of History'' lecture, featuring acclaimed historian
Robert Remini, who was authorized by the House of Representatives to
write its official history. In addition, we recently held the first
``Idea of America'' essay contest, where more than 1,300 high school
juniors submitted essays on key events in America's history.
I should also mention that on May 15th the NEH will present the
Thirty-Second Annual Jefferson Lecture, delivered by distinguished
historian David McCullough. He is a first-rate scholar and a leading
champion of American history.
Each of these NEH efforts aims at enhancing and increasing
knowledge and understanding of American history among teachers,
students, and the general public.
This hearing is another important step. I want to express my
appreciation to Senator Alexander for his work to address this issue,
both in his home state of Tennessee, and from the Capitol. He has been
an effective and dedicated advocate for excellence in education, and I
look forward to working with him toward that shared goal.
The American History and Civics Education Act authorizes the
establishment of Presidential academies for teaching history content to
teachers, and Congressional academies for teaching history to gifted
students. It would place the responsibility for selecting those
academies within the purview of the NEH, and its highly respected merit
review system.
It is a truism of teaching that one cannot teach what one does not
know. As someone whose life was changed by the inspired teaching of a
college professor, I can attest to the transformative power of quality
teaching. But studies also show that secondary school history teachers
receive less instruction and training in their discipline than teachers
of any other subject, except the natural sciences. In fact, one recent
Department of Education study found that 58 percent of high school
history teachers neither majored nor minored in history.
There are many reasons for the ``content gap'' in history teaching.
Many education schools focus more on the theory and methods of
teaching, rather than what is being taught. The emphasis that
Undersecretary Hickok, Senator Alexander and others have placed on
teaching history content, as opposed to pedagogy, is exactly right.
Teacher certification requires that teachers take a variety of courses
on pedagogy--in other words, teaching how to teach. But all too often,
this emphasis shortchanges instruction in content itself.
But regardless of the reasons, the challenge is clear: we need to
enhance and extend the teaching of history to teachers, so that they
can pass it on to their students.
One way in which the NEH addresses this challenge is through its
widely-respected summer seminars and institutes for school teachers.
Each summer, the NEH sponsors numerous summer seminars and institutes
on a variety of humanities topics. Each seminar or institute sponsored
is selected by the NEH's rigorous merit review system, and each
concentrate on teaching the teachers history and humanities content. In
the testimonials we've received, many teachers have claimed that the
experience was extremely helpful and rewarding, and that learning more
about a subject naturally enabled them to teach it more effectively.
Mr. Chairman, the Administration and the NEH share your concern
with ensuring that our nation's history is well understood by teachers,
students, and all citizens. The ideas, ideals and institutions that
comprised our founding and form our nation should be well and widely
taught. With nearly forty years of experience as the federal
government's agency for advancing education, scholarship, public
programs, and preservation in history and the humanities, NEH is well
positioned to contribute to this important effort.
Again, I want to express my appreciation for the willingness of
this committee to address the issue of American amnesia, the work and
experience Senator Alexander has invested in this legislation, and the
opportunity to testify today. I would be glad to answer any questions.
Prepared Statement of Eugene W. Hickok
Mr. Chairman: Thank you for the opportunity to join this
distinguished panel today to discuss the teaching and learning of
American history and civics. The subject of this hearing is not only an
important education policy issue, but one that has been at the heart of
my own efforts as a scholar and teacher over the past 30 years.
In particular, I was pleased to note that the definition of ``key
documents'' in S. 504, the proposed American History and Civics
Education Act, includes not only the Constitution and the Bill of
Rights, but also the Federalist Papers. Much of my own research and
writing has focused on the proper interpretation and relationship of
these documents. In addition, it was my privilege to apply my research
as a member of a Justice Department task force during the Reagan
Administration that sought to restore the essential role of Federalism
to American political thought and governance.
One of the key benefits of Federalism, by the way, is that by
reserving key decisions to officials and citizens at the State and
local levels, Federalism promotes better and more involved citizenship.
Mr. Chairman, President Bush and Secretary Paige share your
emphasis on the growing importance of history and civics education at a
time when our Nation is at war in defense of our most deeply held
beliefs and ideals. The Department currently funds two programs that
help reinforce our shared values, and both are priorities in the
President's 2004 budget request.
TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY
The first is the two-year-old Teaching American History program,
which in fiscal year 2003 will provide nearly $100 million to promote
the teaching of traditional American history as a separate academic
subject in our elementary and secondary schools. This program makes
competitive awards to local school districts that establish
partnerships with postsecondary institutions, nonprofit history or
humanities organizations, libraries, or museums. These partnerships
support professional development for teachers of American history.
Mr. Chairman, I know you have used the phrase ``civic illiterates''
to describe the woeful ignorance of civics demonstrated by American
students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). I'm
afraid there is perhaps even greater cause to apply that description to
student knowledge of history, because only 10 percent of high school
seniors scored at the proficient level on the 2001 NAEP history test.
Much of this poor performance arises from the fact that too much of
the history taught in our schools is compressed and diluted within
broader social studies curricula. I say this not to denigrate social
studies or social studies teachers, but to recognize that it is
impossible for even the best trained teacher to do justice to the full
sweep of America's history in a curriculum that also covers such topics
as geography, the environment, conflict resolution, and world cultures.
For example, one published social studies curriculum for elementary
school students includes a ``mini lesson on American history'' as just
one of 50 lesson plans. I think all of us would agree that American
history deserves more than a ``mini lesson'' in any elementary school
curricula worthy of the name. This is why the Teaching American History
program emphasizes comprehensive, research-based professional
development focused on teaching traditional American history as a
separate subject. We want all 50 of those lesson plans to be on
American history--at least two or three times during the 12 years that
students spend in our elementary, middle, and secondary schools.
The problem of diluted curricula is compounded when, as is too
often the case, history teachers are teaching out-of-field or, even if
fully certified in social studies, were not required to demonstrate
knowledge of U.S. history as part of their certification. The Teaching
American History program, which currently supports 174 projects in 47
States, is intended to help address this lack of content training.
One exemplary project is in West Morris, New Jersey, where
Superintendent Henry Kiernan has created a new program that is helping
improve the knowledge and teaching skills of over 70 history teachers.
Participating teachers meet with eminent historians to discuss the
craft of teaching history. They also use an interactive web site to
conduct history research, distribute their research for review by
fellow educators, and use the final product in their own classrooms.
The West Morris program includes summer seminars that meet for four
days in historically significant locations. Last summer, the focus of
the seminar was on the American Revolution and was located at
Princeton. The seminar featured Dr. Gordon Wood of Brown University and
master teachers from the National Council for History Education. This
summer the focus is on immigration and the seminar will be located in
New York City, under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Jackson of Columbia
University and the New York State Historical Society.
One final note about West Morris: Superintendent Kiernan has
renamed the Social Studies Department the History and Social Sciences
Department, to reflect the stronger emphasis on history he is trying to
foster in his district.
CIVIC EDUCATION
The second major activity supported by the Department in this area
is the Civic Education program, which provides a $16.9 million grant to
the nonprofit Center for Civic Education in Calabasas, California. The
Center operates the We the People program, which consists of two
projects: The Citizen and the Constitution and Project Citizen. Let me
try to avoid any confusion here by clarifying that the Center for Civic
Education's We the People program is entirely separate from the new
initiative by the same name at the National Endowment for the
Humanities. The NEH initiative, working in partnership with the USA
Freedom Corps, is part of a concerted effort by President Bush to
encourage the teaching of history and civics and emphasize the role of
citizenship in our democracy.
The Citizen and the Constitution project provides teacher training
and curricular materials that serve elementary, middle, and high school
students. The materials are intended to promote civics understanding
and responsibility among students, including support for the
constitutional rights and civil liberties of dissenting individuals and
groups. The project also involves simulated Congressional hearings that
give students the opportunity to learn about and demonstrate their
understanding of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. At the
secondary school level, these hearings culminate in a national
competition here in Washington, DC. If you haven't met some of these
students yet, Mr. Chairman, you probably will in the near future,
because the winning class from each State and their teachers make it a
point to visit Members of Congress. In addition, you might be invited
to serve, along with other public officials, as a judge in the
competition.
Project Citizen encourages middle school students to focus on the
role of State and local governments in developing and implementing
solutions to social problems. Participating students select a problem,
evaluate alternative policies to address the problem, and develop an
action plan, which they present to school and community leaders in a
simulated legislative hearing. Project Citizen also offers an
intensive, weeklong institute to participating teachers.
The two We the People projects collectively serve about half the
States, some 1.3 million students, and almost 22,000 teachers annually.
The Civic Education program also provides $11.9 million to the
Cooperative Education Exchange program, which supports education
exchange activities in civics and economics between the United States
and eligible countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth
of Independent States, former republics of the Soviet Union, the
Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and developing democracies.
Grant recipients under the Cooperative Education Exchange program
provide educators from eligible countries with exemplary curricula and
teacher training programs in civics and economics. They also create and
implement programs for U.S. students on the culture, governance,
history, and experiences of their exchange partners. I think this is
especially important, because I believe there are few Americans who
have spent time overseas or time studying other countries who have not
come away with a deeper understanding and appreciation for our own
democratic system.
I would add that my own experience bears this out. A little over a
decade ago, I was fortunate enough to serve as a consultant on
constitutional, political, and economic reform to the governments of
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
The Civic Education program is a clear Administration priority, and
has been recognized by the USA Freedom Corps as a critical part of the
Administration's efforts to foster a national culture of citizenship
and responsibility.
BROADER SUPPORT THROUGH NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
In addition to these two programs focused specifically on American
history and civic education, the No Child Left Behind Act--President
Bush's signature education reform legislation which last year
reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(ESEA)--provides significant support for improved teaching and learning
of both American history and civics and government.
For example, the legislation defines both history and civics and
government as core academic subjects. This is important because the new
law requires all teachers of core academic subjects to be highly
qualified by the end of the 2005-2006 school year, and the definition
of ``highly qualified'' includes demonstrated subject area competence
in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches.
The reauthorized ESEA also permits States to use State Assessment
formula grant funds to pay for standards and assessments in history and
civics and government, once they have developed the reading and math
assessments required by the new law. Other State formula grant programs
provide considerable resources to help States and school districts
ensure that all teachers are highly qualified. These programs include
$11.7 billion in Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies, $2.9
billion for Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, and $385 million in
State Grants for Innovative Programs.
CONCLUSION
The Teaching American History program and the Civic Education
program reflect the strong emphasis the Department of Education places
on restoring these two disciplines to their rightful place in the
education of every American child. Together with the broader support
provided through the No Child Left Behind Act that may be used to
improve teaching and learning in these two essential subjects, as well
as other initiatives such as those at the NEH and the ``Our Documents''
project at the National Archives, I believe we are on the right course
to achieve this goal.
I would be happy to respond to any questions you may have.
Prepared Statement of James H. Billington
Senator Alexander, members of the Committee, thank you for inviting
me to testify here today on a subject that is vital to the future of
this country, on which you yourself long have worked on, and on which
you recently have spoken so eloquently.
During Alex Haley's 12 years researching his groundbreaking novel,
Roots, he traveled the globe to uncover his family's story, even taking
a slow Atlantic crossing to get some feel for what his ancestors went
through on the Middle Passage. He also spent many hours in the reading
rooms of the Library of Congress, poring over American Missionary
Society files from our Manuscript Collection.
For the first 190 years of the Library's existence, people could
access our vast collections only by traveling to Washington, DC, and by
working in our beautiful reading rooms as Mr. Haley did-or by tapping
into our rich holdings secondhand, through books that made use of our
collections.
Let me suggest the educational value of the primary materials we
have already made available free of charge on-line.
The Library of Congress is actively supporting the teaching of
history and civics in the classroom and can be a key player in your
program to establish academies for students and to create a national
alliance for teachers. Indeed, the Library has already taken important
steps in this direction.
The technology revolution of the past decade has made it possible
for the Library to reach far beyond its buildings in Washington. We now
deliver 8 million interesting and educational multimedia documents,
maps, and images of American history and culture free of charge to
stimulate curiosity and humanize the study of history. By exploiting
the power of the Internet and the incomparable resources of our
collections, the Library of Congress has emerged as the leading
provider of free noncommercial educational content on the World Wide
Web. Millions of educators, librarians, students, and lifelong learners
visit our Web sites daily for materials that once were available only
through our reading rooms on Capitol Hill.
The Library's Web sites are attracting more than 2.5 billion
``hits'' a year. They have won many awards, including the prestigious
Global Information Infrastructure Award as the best in education. The
Harvard Education Letter praised the Library's on-line historical
materials for encouraging students to question, observe details, and
think critically.
By offering easy access to the key documents, events, ideas, and
people of American history, the Library is uniquely positioned to an
port the goals of educators everywhere rough its various electronic
initiatives. Tanks to generous support from the Congress and the
American people, the Library has grown into the largest repository of
knowledge and information in the history of the world. The Library
shares its resources with educators who can use them in the classroom
to bring to life what their students have only read about in books.
American Memory was established as a pilot in 1990 as one of the
first large-scale efforts to use the Internet to disseminate high-
quality educational and cultural content.
The National Digital Library program has created an on-line
archives of more than 100 collections of important, rare, and unique
items in all formats documenting America's cultural heritage. The
materials were selected from the Library of Congress as well as from 36
other American institutions, making the National Digital Library a
truly national effort.
Students get to work with primary sources: manuscripts; maps, which
you can zoom in on and view with greater clarity than with the naked
eye; prints and photographs; and music. These are the actual stuff of
history, not about history. These resources encourage critical thinking
in students and inspire learners to further exploration. The multimedia
American Memory Collections include papers of the U.S. residents, Civil
War photographs, early films of Thomas Edison, historic speeches, the
first baseball cards, and oral histories representing our diverse
culture.
The Learning Page Web site, introduced in 1996 as a companion to
the American Memory Collections, is a key component of our educational
outreach program. Specifically designed for K-12 educators and their
students, the Learning Page helps teachers harness the power of these
primary sources with ideas and instructions for accessing the
collections on a vast range of topics. Here, the content of the
Library's digital collections is presented within an educational
context, with lesson plans, curriculum guides, ``how to'' projects, and
learning activities-making the educational experience a dynamic,
stimulating and interactive activity like reading-not a passive
spectator experience like television.
On this page teachers, at the click of a mouse, can search the
collections, try out lesson plans, engage in classroom activities,
connect with other teachers, ask a librarian for help, view a lecture
or a poetry reading, or visit more than 40 exhibitions.
Our American Memory Fellows Institute could serve in many ways as a
pilot for your program to establish a national alliance of teachers.
This institute has successfully trained a network of teachers across
the country who are teaching other educators in their localities what
they have learned at the Library about using primary sources in the
classroom. Over a 5-year period more than 300 ``master educators'' from
nearly every State participated in a year-long professional development
program highlighted by a 6-day summer institute held at the Library.
Teams of educators worked directly with the Library staff and
primary source materials to develop lesson plans and teaching materials
based on the Library's on-line materials. These teacher-developed
lesson plans were ``road-tested'' with students and colleagues. They
are now available electronically to all teachers through the Learning
Page Web site. Today, this alliance of teachers, connected virtually
through our Learning Page, is teaching other teachers how to use
primary sources to stimulate critical thinking in their students. But
we need to reach teachers in all of the nation's 16,000 school
districts.
We are already reaching children and their families directly
through our new Web site called America's Library. It is fun for
children and their families as well as for educators, and is currently
attracting more than 22 million ``hits'' per month. The site combines
child-friendly graphics with the incomparable American collections of
the Library in more than 4,600 stories about our nation's past.
Interactive elements on the site teach searching with a ``scavenger
hunt,'' offer a virtual tour around America, and give the opportunity
to ``send a postcard' on-line.
The Library is also lining the world's resources with America's
schools through its Global Gateway Initiative. This Web site represents
a collaboration between the Library of Congress and the national
libraries of Russia, Brazil, Spain, and the Netherlands. Our growing
collaboration with the greatest libraries and universities in the
world, combined with the power of the Internet, puts the Library in a
pivotal position in the new era of global education. And through the
Portals to the World section of the site, the Library's area-studies
specialists provide links to vetted and reliable materials from more
than 130 countries. When completed, this project will bring free to
America's classrooms resource materials from all the nations of the
world.
Our new monthly magazine, The Wise Guide, offers articles that
encourage newcomers to our Web site to explore the wealth of the
Library's on-line educational programs.
By being the largest provider of free noncommercial high-quality
content on the Internet, the Library is reaching students, their
teachers-and all learners-with the documents, sounds, films, maps,
music, and other artifacts that tell the story of America. This can be
an inspirational as well as educational enhancement for the new
initiatives this committee is considering.
Prepared Statement of Blanche Deaderick
Good morning Senators: I am so glad to be here today supporting
Senator Alexander's proposed legislation to establish American History
and Civics academies. Enhancing instruction in these areas is critical
right now. We have to provide remedies for the problems Senator
Alexander has identified: civic illiteracy, problematic textbooks, and
the lack of requirements in some States for American History and Civics
classes. Our student population is increasingly diverse, and we must
enhance understanding of what it means to be an American for all those
whose families have lived here for generations, but also for those new
arrivals who have made a conscious choice to make their homes here in
the United States.
I have been invited here to explain how the Tennessee Governor's
School for International Studies can be a model for these academies. In
its structure our school is very similar to what is proposed in this
legislation. We have a director and a diverse core faculty chosen for
expertise in the subject and for their teaching skills. Because
international studies is such a broad field, we decided to make student
teams focusing on different areas. We expect them to interact and share
information. This year we have four teams, one studying Latin America
and Portuguese language, another focusing on Sub Saharan Africa and
Hausa language, a third dealing with East Asia and Chinese language,
and the fourth studying Eastern Europe and Russia with Russian
language.
Additionally, each morning all students address issues of major
significance in today's world. This summer we will have a strong focus
on the Middle East, other current flash points, environmental issues,
development issues, human rights, and NATO and other alliance systems.
This is not an exhaustive list. After lunch students attend issues
analysis classes where they deal with foreign policy decisionmaking,
democracy and the conditions necessary for its survival, political
systems, leadership, and other similar topics.
At this point we dive a little free time from 3:30 until 6:30,
unless there is a visit to museum or exhibition. We also have an
international arts emphasis. For 1 week in the afternoons, visual and
performing artists provide hands on instruction, culminating in a
production. Evening activities include lectures, simulations,
international dancing, Model United Nations, foreign films, and
international dinners. When the time really is free, participants swim,
do their laundry, read, catch up on assignments, or just talk. You can
see how intense this program is. We want to fit as much as possible
into four short weeks. Our schools were designed to serve gifted and
talented young people. I don't know what direction the admissions
process for these academies will take, but it is key that students who
really care about participating be selected.
A school for American History could be developed along these same
lines. There are so many ways to individualize instruction. Students
might concentrate on specific periods of history or on topics like
foreign policy through our history, the development of immigration law,
or civil rights growth. Senator Alexander spoke of the principles of
American citizenship: liberty, rule of law, laissez faire,
individualism, e pluribus unum, and the separation of church and State.
Each could be an area of study for a small group at the academies,
culmination in grow presentations. These are merely suggestions.
Academy faculties will develop stimulating curricula. The important
point is that instruction be unique, individualized, and unpredictable.
At the Tennessee Governors School our primary goal has been to provide
experiences which would not ordinarily be found in schools. We
encourage our faculty to live in the dorms with students and interact
with them as much as possible. There is never a day when students
aren't around asking questions, engaging in debates among themselves
and with faculty. Sleep deprivation is the norm. But then they return
to their schools exhilarated, ready to share all their new-found
knowledge.
This same scenario applies to the teacher academies. I'm sure you
all know how little time teachers have today. School teaching has
become an all inclusive operation-teaching a subject, guiding, teaching
manners and ethics, paper work, guarding against litigation, coaching,
hall monitoring, mastering the newest computer programs for attendance
and parent contacts, lesson line, curriculum maps-the list is endless
and what suffers is preparation in the subject. Teachers hardly have
time left to read and keep up to date. This is why these academies are
essential. When these teachers go back to their schools, they will have
been involved in scholarly pursuits and will have developed lessons
which reflect depth, and these lessons will be ready to teach. This can
even help with textbook problems. I can't imagine anything better than
to spend weeks in a stimulating environment with other people focused
on history and government, while someone else is taking care of the
day-to-day responsibilities. Teachers will return home more
knowledgeable, rested, and ready to inspire students and other faculty.
Again and again, I encounter students who have attended Governor's
School or who know someone who has, and I hear how their lives have
been transformed by experiences in our classrooms and during late night
talk sessions. Our students are now in the U. S. Foreign Service, in
State Government, in teaching, in all kinds of leadership positions,
probably even in your offices; and many, many say that Governor's
School was the shaping event in their lives. With this legislation you
can make these same life changing experiences possible for even more
students and teachers.
Prepared Statement of Diane Ravitch
My name is Diane Ravitch. I am a Research Professor of Education at
New York University and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings
Institution. I am a historian who specializes in the history of
American education. It was my honor to serve as Assistant Secretary for
the Office of Research and Improvement in the U.S. Department of
Education from 1991 to 1993.
I strongly an port this proposed legislation.
In these perilous times, with our men and women engaged in combat
on the other side of the globe, knowledge of history is clear. We rely
on a volunteer force of men and women to protect our freedoms and our
way of life. We rely on them to know what they are fighting for. They
are on the battlefield and risk their lives because they love our
country and what it represents in the annals of human freedom.
Although it is customary for people of a certain age to complain
about the inadequacies of the younger generation, such complaints ring
hollow today. Many Americans have been surprised to see the character
of our young people on the battlefield. Many of us believed the image
so often projected in the movies of a younger generation that is self-
centered, lazy, shallow, and lacking in purpose. Certainly our
adversaries believed this portrayal and believed that we as a people
were soft and fearful, caring only for material comforts.
Now we know that the moviemakers' depiction of mass narcissism said
more about Hollywood than it did about our young men and women. What we
have learned in these past few weeks is that this younger generation,
as represented on the battlefields of Iraq, may well be our finest
generation. We have daily, almost hourly, seen demonstrations of
remarkable courage, self-discipline, compassion, and strength. Free
peoples everywhere should sleep better at night knowing that we are
protected by a strong fighting force committed to the ideals of freedom
and democracy.
Our nation has time and again been required to stand up for its
ideals. Each time we do, we promise those who serve that their
sacrifices will not be forgotten. We must keep our promises. The best
way to keep our promises is to make sure that we teach the history of
freedom and democratic institutions and that each generation learns
again about the ideas, the heroes, the events, and the controversies
that have made it possible for us to live in a free society. We must
not forget those who have served on our behalf, nor forget why they
served.
Each generation needs to learn about such important principles as
equality, freedom, equal justice under law, individualism, separation
of church and State, popular sovereignty, and limited government. Each
generation needs to understand the rights and freedoms that we hold
dear. Each generation needs to know how our nation was created and the
struggles that it has endured in order to breathe life into our
Constitutional guarantees and institutions.
History education is one of the most important responsibilities of
our schools. Unfortunately, for many years, the teaching of history had
a low priority. In the 1970's and 1980's, history in many schools was
replaced by a mishmash of ill-defined social studies courses that
taught things like group decisionmaking, consumer education, and social
science concepts. In 1983, for instance, the New York State Education
Department intended to replace the chronological study of history with
a thematic approach in which events were merged with big concepts and
taught without regard to cause and effect. A popular outcry prevented
that from taking place.
In many States, history was submerged into social studies programs,
and States adopted social studies standards that ignored chronological
history. Civics too suffered when it was separated from the study of
American history. The study of history has been making a comeback in
recent years. Ten years ago, only four States--California, Virginia,
Massachusetts, and Texas-had history standards to guide teachers.
Today, after 10 years of popular support for academic standards, about
half the States now have history standards.
We know from the tests given by the National Assessment of
Educational Progress that our students, especially in their senior
year, have low scores in American history. In fact, the performance of
seniors on the NAEP in U.S. history is worse than in any other subject,
whether science, reading, or mathematics.
The greatest need in history education today is for well-prepared
teachers who have studied history and who know how to make it vivid for
youngsters.
Too many States have very low requirements for those who plan to
teach history. In part, this is because of a longstanding tradition
that anyone can teach history; just stay a few pages ahead of the
students in the textbook, and you too can be a history teacher. That
method is not good enough for teachers of math or science, and it is
not good enough for history teachers either.
Our young people should study history with teachers who love
history, who can go far beyond the textbook to get youngsters involved
in learning about the exciting events and controversies that bring
history to life; we need teachers who know enough about history to
awaken the curiosity of their students and to encourage them to read
more than the textbooks tell them and even to question what the
textbooks tell them.
Sadl the majority of those who teach history in our schools are
teaching out of their Field. According to data from the U.S. Department
of Education, a majority of history teachers in grades 7-12 lack either
a college major or minor or graduate degree in history. In many cases,
they majored in education, not in an academic subject. The only field
that has more out-of-field teaching than history is the physical
sciences, that is, physics and chemistry.
Many States recognize that they must make extraordinary efforts to
reach out and recruit qualified teachers of physical sciences, but
there is no comparable awareness of the conspicuous shortage of
qualified teachers of history. In part, the problem is one created by
short-sighted State policies, which put more emphasis on pedagogical
degrees than on knowledge of one's subject. The young person with a
history degree who wants to teach may be required to take many courses
in pedagogy, even another master's degree in pedagogy, whether relevant
to teaching ability or not.
Another reason for the shortage of qualified history teachers is
that our universities have not addressed this need. With few
exceptions, their history departments have become highly specialized;
in addition to narrow specialization, university professors tend to
pride themselves on taking a highly critical, adversarial attitude
toward American history and culture. Nor do university professors
believe that it is their role to teach civics along with history. Few
universities have programs geared to produce teachers of history and
civics for the K-12 classrooms; they leave that to the social studies
educators, who see history as only a small part of their very large and
diffuse subject.
This is a case where Congress can help with very clear and specific
goals: Supplying academies for teachers of American history and civics,
as well as programs for motivated students of American history and
civics.
The need is clear. We simply do not have enough teachers who are
well prepared to teach these basic subjects. The legislative program is
equally clear: to provide academies where teachers can gain the
knowledge and skills to teach American history and civics effectively.
Many teachers today would be grateful for the opportunity to
strengthen their knowledge of American history and civics in a 2-week
summer institute. Many who seek to deepen their understanding of these
subjects would leap at the chance to participate in a Presidential
Academy. The models of teaching and learning developed by these
academies would supply an important service to our nation's schools.
There are many talented young people who would eagerly respond to
the chance to attend a Congressional Academy in American history and
civics. For those who love history, this would be a wonderful
opportunity to inquire deeply into a field that is usually far too
compressed. Many of these young people may well become the history
teachers of the future.
One of the responsibilities of a free society is to teach its young
peoples the principles of freedom and democracy. These principles do
not exist in a vacuum. They have a history. They evolved over time.
They were won with the sacrifices and struggles of generations of
Americans. Students are not born understanding what they need to know a
bout our government and way of life. They runs to be taught. This
legislation will make an important contribution toward improving and
strengthening our teachers and students of history and civics, and
through them, will enrich the classrooms of America.
Prepared Statement of Russell Berg
Mr. Chairman, it is an honor to testify before this Committee on
this most important issue of civic education. By promoting civic
education in our schools, you and the cosponsors of this legislation,
including our Senator Christopher Dodd, have proven that education is
not an issue to be sidelined in the face of pressing current issues.
Your actions have shown us that education is a pressing current issue.
Unfortunately, to many Americans, our government seems intimidating
and difficult to understand. Civic education is the key to
comprehending, appreciating and eventually participating in our
democratic process. The ``We the People, the Citizen and the
Constitution'' program, which is administered by the Center for Civic
Education and funded by the United States Department of Education by an
act of Congress, takes the logical approach to understanding our
American government, by tracing its manifestations to their source, the
Constitution.
Our Constitution provides government with powers and limitations,
to ensure congruence with the Founders' greatest hopes of a benevolent
government ruling under popular consent. To many Americans, the
Constitution is a revered document, written on browned parchment with
faded ink. But to my class, the Constitution is a living gold mine of
philosophical, political and social history.
Our State champion Trumbull, Connecticut ``We the People'' class is
led by the knowledgeable and charismatic Mr. Peter Sullivan. The most
incredible achievement that our class has made, and that Mr. Sullivan
has in no small way facilitated, is the critical mass of constitutional
knowledge we have learned. My favorite moments in education occur when
concepts and new information can be integrated into an overall
framework of the issue. A beautiful symphony of debate and exchange
miraculously manifests every morning in our class. Mr. Sullivan might
bring up an issue currently on the Supreme Court docket, or ask the
class for any news they heard the night before. An opinion is expressed
by a student, a rebuttal by another. A particularly progressive member
of the class might apply the issue to its broader social ramifications.
A more critical member of the class would then appeal to our logic and
the realistic implications of the Court's decisions.
Here, in a brew of free, creative thought, coupled with a solid
foundation of constitutional knowledge on which to anchor our
arguments, lies true learning. Not learning without any application to
our lives, but knowledge that sheds light and understanding upon issues
affecting a government that is involved in so many issues that concern
our daily lives.
``We the People'' was a class I signed up for at the end of my
junior year, with great expectations in mind. I had heard from many
older students that the class was more than a class. It was hard work,
to be sure, but the rewards extended beyond grades and test scores.
In two weeks, our team will be competing in the National Finals for
the ``We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution'' program.
Throughout the year, a common goal has driven us together, and together
forward. I have seen miraculous things this past year. I have seen
quiet, reserved students suddenly emerge, citing complex Court cases
with confidence and vigor in our daily debates. Students who many
dreaded would succumb to the great demands of the program have only
flourished to become our leaders and exemplars. Simply put, well-
designed programs in civics, such as ``We the People'', taught by
teachers like Mr. Sullivan, make a difference in the classroom.
Surely, such changes in our young people can only be for the
better. A civic education, as buttressed by the ``We the People''
program, does not merely press rote facts into receptive minds. It
challenges us to use this information as support for our own arguments
and opinions. Undoubtedly, everyone in our class has learned more than
they bargained for about the U.S. Government and her Constitution. But
the benefits of this civic education extend beyond learning. This
program has allowed us to become involved in the government that we
spend so much time studying.
The Constitution is associated with words which reflect the
importance of the American citizen, such as `popular sovereignty',
`consensus', and `majority'. It is clear who was intended to captain
the ship of America; her people. Our nation is designed to be
accessible, to its citizens and to incoming immigrants. To those who
have ambition and a dream. For me, this lesson has only been confirmed
by my experiences this year. ``We the People'' is not merely a mental
exercise, or a contest of effort and knowledge. By learning about the
government, one automatically becomes involved in it. I am here today,
in front of the nation's leaders, speaking with a message I hope to
convey. I have learned in class that we are blessed with a
participatory government. Now it has been proven to me.
The importance of developing these fundamental principles and
values among my generation and future generations was noted by Judge
Learned Hand in an article on liberty, published by the Yale Alumni
Magazine on June 6, 1941:
``I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon
constitutions, upon laws, and upon courts. These are false hopes,
believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men
and women, when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can
save it; no constitution, no court, no law can even do much to help it.
While it lies there it needs no constitution, no law, no court to save
it . . . .''
Mr. Chairman, I thank the committee for giving me the opportunity
to testify.
Prepared Statement of Philip D. Duncan
Chairman Gregg and Senator Kennedy, I am pleased to have this
opportunity to submit written testimony on behalf of the National
Conference on Citizenship on the important issue of teaching civics
education in the classrooms of our Nation.
As the Committee knows, there has been a lack of focused civics
education at all levels of schooling in the United States for several
decades. As President Bush recently noted, tests and studies have
demonstrated that 28 percent of 8th graders do not know why the Civil
War was fought, one-third of 4th graders did not know what it means to
``pledge allegiance to the flag,'' and 20 percent of high school
seniors believed that Germany was an ally of the United States in World
War II. Meanwhile, there has been a trend of disengagement from
political affairs among college-age students and recent graduates.
There is a need for innovative educational programs that will
foster informed, thoughtful and active citizen leaders among our
younger generations. We believe that bipartisan legislation such as S.
504, the American History and Civics Education Act of 2003,
demonstrates that Congress is prepared to tackle the challenge of
reinvigorating classroom discussion on the events, ideas and historical
figures that unite us all as Americans. We commend Senator Alexander
for taking a leadership role on this issue, reflecting his career as
public servant, educator and innovator.
Over the decades, the National Conference on Citizenship has
undertaken a variety of programs and projects aimed at promoting civic
involvement and civil dialogue. The National Conference on Citizenship
is a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1946 by
citizens who gathered in Philadelphia and sought to preserve the spirit
of civic unity that prevailed in the U.S. during World War 11. In its
early years, the Conference received financial support from the Dept.
of Justice and the National Education Association. Congress enacted
legislation in August, 1953 granting the National Conference on
Citizenship a federal charter, directing it to ``assist in the
development of more dynamic procedures for making citizenship more
effective . . .'' Public Law 257, 83rd Congress, 1st Session. Past
Honorary Chairmen have included former Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Lyndon Johnson and Harry Truman, and former Supreme Court Chief
Justices Earl Warren and Warren Burger, and former Justice Tom Clark.
Our Nation's ability to raise ``effective'' citizens is linked
inextricably to what goes on in our classrooms from the earliest ages
of our children. Over the 56 years that the National Conference on
Citizenship has been in existence, there has been a great fluctuation
in terms of the content of curricula at all levels. Our organization's
mission includes efforts to commemorate Citizenship Day and
Constitution Week each September and thus raise awareness of the United
States Constitution. As our Nation has faced unprecedented challenges
in the post-September 11 environment, there has been increased
discourse as to the range of Constitutional freedoms--privacy, rights
of prisoners, the death penalty, free speech, just to name a few. How
can we as a society have intelligent and reasoned discourse if our
young people aren't fully aware of the origins and nature of such
rights?
Now, more than ever, it is essential that Congress support the
notion of improving civics education at all levels of schooling. Our
organization is undertaking new initiatives designed to reach K-12 and
college-age students and to inspire them to become active, enlightened
citizens. And, we are very pleased that this Committee is taking the
time to learn more about the current state of affairs in civics
education and to consider legislation such as Senator Alexander's
comprehensive bill.
Statement of Lawrence M. Small
INTRODUCTION
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: Thank you for the
opportunity to testify before you today to express the Smithsonian
Institution's commitment to American History education. Americans need
to be aware of the key events and issues of our history in order to be
engaged and effective citizens in a democratic society. And now, more
than ever, a knowledge and understanding of our nation's foundation is
vital for every citizen.
Every day at the Smithsonian, Americans benefit from seeing our
nation's historic, artistic, and scientific treasures. These original,
iconic objects have a power to educate, enlighten, and inspire that is
truly unique. From them, visitors learn stories of American courage,
sacrifice, and triumph. They are reminded of our willingness to fight
for the values we hold dear, our ability to overcome adversity, and our
responsibilities as citizens to participate in the democratic process.
Within our great democracy, they are able to think about, freely
discuss, and even argue their nation's history.
As the largest museum complex in the world, the Smithsonian spans
sixteen museums and galleries, the National Zoo, world-class research
facilities, and extensive education and outreach programs. We are
privileged to be the steward of millions of objects that preserve the
memories and experiences of the American people. We are home to The
Star Spangled Banner, Gilbert Stuart's famous 1796 ``Lansdowne''
portrait of George Washington, the desk on which Thomas Jefferson
drafted the Declaration of Independence, the microphone FDR used for
his fireside chats, and countless other American icons. Our exhibitions
tell stories of people and events that shaped our nation, from The
American Presidency: A Glorious Burden, to GI: World War II, to Apollo
to the Moon, all the way up to September I1: Bearing Witness to
History.
As guardians of our nation's greatest treasures, we at the
Smithsonian are continually asking what we need to do to assure that
today's generation and the next generation of Americans can learn about
our nation's history, challenges, achievements, and values. One way is
through museum exhibitions and programming. Another way is through a
greater emphasis on American history and civics education in our
schools. Museums and schools share similar-and complementary-
educational goals.
Bringing American History to Life
The great public mission at the Smithsonian is to create
experiences that educate, excite, entertain, and inspire Americans. The
next Neil Armstrong may be moved to reach for the stars by our new
Apollo 11 website for students. A young person who visits the
Greensboro lunch counter in our National Museum of American History and
hears the story of four African American students who sat down there
and politely asked for service in 1960, might be drawn to a life of
activism. Or seeing the New York City Fire Department cap that Rudolph
Guiliani wore during his visits to Ground Zero might inspire a child to
a career in public service. By visiting Smithsonian exhibitions, our
young people can find these stories and those of other American heroes
who have made great contributions to this country.
Our approach is comprehensive-in our museums, in our traveling
exhibitions, our publications, our teacher training, and our websites.
A good example is the Smithsonian's groundbreaking American Presidency:
A Glorious Burden exhibition, which gives visitors a greater
understanding of public service and leadership, as well as a sense of
pride in the history of the institution of the American presidency. It
includes a permanent exhibition in Washington and a traveling
exhibition currently touring across the country. We have also conducted
teacher workshops, hosted an American Presidency Family Day, published
a family guide and an interactive website, and produced print and web
K-12 teaching guides.
COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION
The Smithsonian is far more than just a place to visit. The
Institution was established in 1846 for the ``increase and diffusion of
knowledge.'' For 157 years, we've been working to fulfill this dual
mission. Last year alone, we reached tens of millions of Americans
through our education programs. But we're committed to doing even more.
Our Center for Education and Museum Studies conducted an institution-
wide survey of education, identifying the thousands of programs that
the Smithsonian offers for teachers, students, and families, and laying
the groundwork for strategic planning. We have made worldclass
education a top priority at the Smithsonian. Our staff is working
together as never before to set new educational programming standards
and to better serve teachers and students. And we are making a real
difference.
Nearly 15 million students have benefited in the past year from
Smithsonian educational programming, including publications, docent-led
tours, museum and classroom enrichment activities, distance learning
classes, visiting scholars, websites, and publications.
In addition, we reached 1.5 million K-12 educators through
publications, resources, and training designed specifically for them.
Educators are clearly looking to the Smithsonian for teaching
resources. Of the 65 million visits to the Smithsonian's websites in
the past year, one in four is searching for educational materials.
We're working hard to fill their needs; we have more than 300
educational websites at the Smithsonian, and dozens more are under
development right now.
IMPROVING THE TEACHING OF AMERICAN HISTORY
Smithsonian resources are found in every middle and elementary
school in the nation. Our teaching guide to American history,
Smithsonian in Your Classroom, is sent biannually to more than 82,000
schools. We have recently launched a major central education website,
which brings together nearly 1,000 Smithsonian educational resources
that can be used in the classroom. It helps users find such notable
teaching resources as our award-winning ``George Catlin Classroom''
website; our Advanced Placement site, which shows educators how to
teach American history through documents and artifacts; and our
``George Washington: A National Treasure'' site, which shows children
how to explore the most important visual document of our nation's
founding-Gilbert Stuart's famous 1796 ``Lansdowne'' portrait of George
Washington.
The Smithsonian is also actively partnering with schools to make a
real and quantifiable difference in the teaching of American History.
Thanks to legislation introduced by Senator Robert Byrd, the
Smithsonian is participating in two Teaching American History grants
provided by Congress and the Department of Education. The Smithsonian
is providing advanced techniques for teaching American history in two
school districts: Montgomery County in Maryland and Charlotte-
Mecklenburg in North Carolina. The teachers are learning how to use
primary and secondary sources, develop model lesson plans, and improve
student performance. These three-year grants are breaking new ground in
showing how museums can make positive contributions to the teaching of
American history. After just one year, Montgomery County formally
adopted the Smithsonian's materials into its fourth-and fifth-grade
history curriculum, and its teachers have shown significant gains in
their history-teaching skills, as well as in their personal and
professional interest in American history.
Through partnerships such as these, the Smithsonian is uniquely
positioned to see the real need for resources and training in the
teaching of American history and civics. Our partner school districts
report large percentages of teachers who have never been given the
necessary training in American history. For example, in Montgomery
County, one of the strongest school districts in the state, teachers
have taken an average of only three history classes in college. Less
than thirty percent have taken an American history class in the
previous five years. And more than forty percent have never had any
training in how to teach history.
These data are cause for concern. If teachers don't have the
training they need, our students will not receive an adequate
understanding of the history of their own nation. Schools clearly need
direction and assistance in developing the necessary expertise within
their teaching ranks. And we know they are looking for this direction
and assistance because of the hundreds of requests the Smithsonian
receives each year for materials, assistance, and potential
partnerships.
CONCLUSION
The desk on which Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of
Independence is on display in the Smithsonian's National Museum of
American History. If you look carefully, you can see ink stains from
the first pen strokes that shaped our democracy. In these same halls,
you can find the remains of a bullet-riddled tree that once stood at
the Battle of Spotsylvania during the Civil War. Now more than ever,
this tree is a reminder of the sacrifices required by liberty and
freedom. These are more than objects; they are tangible symbols of what
it is to be an American.
Understanding our history is fundamental to being a good citizen.
The Smithsonian Institution and the American History and Civics
Education Act of 2003 share a common goal: to ensure that our young
people have a solid historical foundation so they can understand
American history and democratic principles and be prepared to exercise
their civic rights and responsibilities. As a guardian of a large
portion for our nation's most significant historic treasure, the
Smithsonian is eager to contribute to the teaching of American history
and civics. Museums have so much to offer schools, and we know that we
can do so much more by working together.
Statement of Robin Butterfield
PUTTING NATIVE AMERICANS BACK INTO AMERICAN HISTORY
Introduction. Chairman Gregg and Members of the Committee, thank
you for this opportunity to submit testimony on behalf of the National
Indian Education Association with regard to the American History and
Civics Education Act of 2003, S. 504.
The National Indian Education Association (NIEA) is the oldest and
largest national organization representing the education concerns of
over 3,000 American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian
educators, tribal leaders, school administrators, teachers, parents,
and student members. Founded in 1969, the NIEA works to support
traditional Native cultures and values and to provide American Indians
and Alaskan Natives with a national voice in their efforts to improve
access to educational opportunities.
The role of Native Americans in the development of the American
democracy often has been overlooked or misrepresented. For years,
American History and Civics textbooks did not do justice to the role of
Indians in American history, nor their part in the development of the
American government. Instead, to the extent Indians were mentioned at
all, they were either romanticized as the ``Noble Savage'' or described
as impediments to the realization of the Manifest Destiny of the United
States to extend its reach from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Fortunately, in recent years, a number of states, including California,
Montana and Minnesota, have required curriculum changes to include
teaching on American Indian history. Hopefully, more will do so in the
near future.
For Indian people, the link between education and culture is
fundamental. Unfortunately, this can work for good or for ill. For
years, the Federal government used education as a tool to force
assimilation on Indian peoples, most notably during the period when
Federal Indian policy required Indian children to attend boarding
schools where they were prohibited from speaking their native
languages. The motto of the Federal government during that time was:
``Kill the Indian, Save the Man.'' This policy was morally repugnant
and did great harm to Indian culture and identity. In this context, it
is all the more important that when the Federal government promotes the
teaching of American History and Civics that it specifically include
the role and contribution of Native Americans. From our standpoint, it
is not possible for Americans to fully understand American democracy
unless they also understand the rich traditions of precontact Indian
societies, the roles Indians played directly in the development of
American democracy, and the devastation of forced assimilation and the
loss of tribal lands, which all contributed in one way or another to
the development of that democracy.
Native Americans have played a substantial role in the development
of the key institutions and democratic heritage of the United States.
American democracy was not developed in a vacuum. The American
colonists had to look no farther than their next-door neighbor, the
Iroquois Confederacy, to find a working ``federal'' system of
government. The Iroquois Confederacy consisted of a federation of five,
and then later six, Indian nations governed by a United Council of
elected tribal leaders under the Great Law of Peace. The sophisticated
tenets of governance that sustained the Iroquois Confederacy-equal
rights (including full rights for woman, something not realized by the
United States until the early 20th Century), freedom of speech,
religious tolerance, balance of power, a mix of individualism combined
with concern for the common welfare-provided a sharp contrast to the
tyrannical system of George In and the divine rights of European
monarchies. Benjamin Franklin, who incorporated many of the same
governing principles into his draft of the historic Albany Plan, stated
``It would be a strange thing . . . if Six Nations [the Iroquois
Confederacy] . . . should be capable of forming such a union and be
able to execute it in such a manner that it has subsisted for ages and
appears indissoluble, and yet that a like union should be impractical
for ten or a dozen English colonies, to whom it is more necessary and
must be more advantageous . . .'' It only makes sense that the
colonists and the Native peoples would exchange not only trade goods,
but ideas. Indeed, in October 1998, the Senate and the House passed
Congressional Resolution 331 which formally acknowledged ``the
contributions of the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations to the development
of our Constitution.''
Another example of Indian contributions to American democracy is
the caucus. The word ``caucus'' is taken directly from the Algonquin
language. The colonists adopted both the word and the idea from the
Algonquin Indians.
American Indians have made great contributions to the defense of
the United States. Despite the often tragic history between the United
States and its Indian peoples, American Indians have made major
contributions to the defense of this land and to the preservation of
American democracy. American Indians per capita have received the Medal
of Honor and have volunteered in larger numbers for the armed forces
than any other group in this country. Native Americans were granted
U.S. citizenship in 1924 as a direct result of the overwhelming number
of Native American volunteers who signed up to defend the United States
during World War I. Today, Native Americans are proud of both their
U.S. citizenship and their tribal citizenship. In 2001, President Bush
awarded Congressional Gold Medals to the Navajo Codetalkers for their
extraordinary service in the Pacific Campaign during World War II
relaying encoded messages in the Navajo language. The Japanese never
broke this code. Military historians have indicated that these secure
communications contributed enormously to U.S. successes in this
theater.
American Democracy Includes a Respect for Tribal Sovereignty. The
inclusion of Native American history in any discussion of American
History and Civics is also essential for understanding the unique
relationship between the United States government and federally
recognized tribes that exists today. The Constitution of the United
States, treaties, federal statutes, Executive Orders, other agreements
and Supreme Court rulings define the Federal government's trust
obligations to protect the interests of Indian peoples. They also set
forth Federal recognition of Indian tribes as sovereign nations with
inherent powers of self-governance.
Proposed Amendments to S. 504. The National Indian Education
Association supports the goals of S. 504. It is critically important
for Americans to have a deeply grounded understanding of American
history. This includes, however, the often forgotten history of Native
Americans. The NIEA would like to see S. 504 amended to specifically
provide for recognition of Native Americans, their contributions to
American democracy, and their ongoing contributions to American
history. Specifically, NIEA recommends the following amendments:
Section 2(1): Adding to the end of the definition of ``American
history and civics'' the following: ``, including Native American
contributions.''
Section 2(4): Adding to the end of the definition of ``key
documents'' the following: ``the Great Law of Peace.''
Section 2(7): Adding to the definition of ``key persons'', after
the words ``elected officials'' the following: ``Native American
leaders,''
Section 5(d)(3): Adding at the end of this paragraph the following:
``including Indian tribes and tribal education departments.''
Conclusion. We hope that these comments are helpful. The NIEA looks
forward to working with this Committee to achieve the laudable goal of
increasing the understanding of American history and civics.
[Whereupon, at 12:03 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]