Liberal arts colleges pride themselves on providing an exhaustive and diverse education. That’s what Ron Meyer received from his liberal arts college.
In a recent piece published at Red Alert Politics, Meyer mentions he was “required to take four science classes, two literature classes, two art classes, a Bible class, a writing class, and two ‘humanities’ classes.”
Despite that lengthy course list, Meyer, the editor of Red Alert Politics, notes a few important topics were missing from his core curriculum. Namely, classes on civics and financial literacy were absent. He argues it’s time for all college students to receive an education on the U.S. Constitution.
From the article:
Most colleges and universities required a diversity of classes in order to provide a ‘balanced’ education, yet academia has largely excluded government and basic life skills from these requirements. I learned how to properly dissect a squid, but never learned how credit works or how to balance a checkbook. Had I not elected to take a ConLaw class with my major, I wouldn’t have learned about the Constitution either.
In the 21st century, this is no longer acceptable. If colleges are going to require general education courses, they ought to require a course on the Constitution and civics.
One university’s regents are considering such an idea. According to the Daily Camera, “a handful of University of Colorado regents hope to implement a civic literacy requirement to educate the college’s students on the founding principles of the United States.”
Meyer asserts a course on the Constitution is critical because “it is what has made America great.” And the timing for this type of course is perfect, he adds, because the recent violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, has exposed the ignorance of those across the ideological spectrum regarding American history:
The reason and the need for this education couldn’t be more clear than after the Charlottesville attack. In the ensuing debate over statues and monuments, we have seen Republicans equate Confederates with the Founders and watched those on the far-Left target the Founders’ monuments because some participated in slavery.
Both of these opinions are so devoid of the history of the Constitution and the Founders that I wish we could require all politicos to take a real history course.
Meyer admits that requiring a civics course doesn’t necessarily mean college students will get a perfect education in American history, but he argues it’d be a step in the right direction.
“Of course, mandating a class doesn’t ensure proper teaching, especially with the major left-wing bias on most campuses. However, making students think and understand our history is a noble goal, and more university systems should join the University of Colorado’s consideration of this new requirement,” he concludes.
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