Government And Citizenship Must Be Taught In Colleges

To the editors:

Re: “A Crisis in Citizenship?” editorial, Oct. 2.

I am a little disturbed that you would argue colleges should not require civics courses as part of the Core. Texas is the only state in the country that mandates college graduates from public institutions complete six credit-hours in American Government to graduate, and as an instructor in this field, I can attest to the level of ignorance rampant in my classroom among freshmen and sophomores.

Teaching government in college is an imperative for ensuring a well-rounded education. While research clearly shows that as age, education, and income rise, so do levels of participation; how can we in good conscience send a college graduate out into the world who has little or no operating knowledge of the government which will regulate the rest of his or her life? You might assume I am operating from a position of self-interest here, and perhaps there is some of that; however, I would like to believe that my position is based on a far loftier idea about transmission of democratic values and ideas at a time in young adults’ lives when they are open to considering the philosophical underpinnings of their beliefs.



CHRISTY W. KAUPERT

San Antonio, Texas

October 4, 2006