Discussion and reply to two peers: Civics, Citizens, and Public Policy
Topic: Civics, Citizens, and Public Policy
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! ”
— Emma Lazarus
Every year hundreds of thousands of immigrants become citizens of the United States. One of the requirements for naturalization (obtaining citizenship) is the Naturalization Test. Immigrants are provided a Naturalization Test Study Guide to which ten questions at random are asked during the examination. In order to pass the test an immigrant seeking citizenship must answer six out of ten questions correctly.
As you know, American citizens do not have to pass any such citizenship test in order to partake in this great republic. Unfortunately, many Americans are not conversant about the basic functions of their own governmental institutions. According to the Annenberg Public Policy Center only one out four citizens can name the three branches – Legislative, Executive, and Judicial — of U.S. government. Nearly one out of three citizens could not name any branches of the U.S. government (Annenberg, 2016).
Additionally, according to the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, “Only one in three Americans (36 percent) can actually pass a multiple-choice test consisting of items taken from the U.S. Citizenship Test” (WWNFF, 2018).
Directions: Using the required, academic readings and the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services Practice Test, please address the following while adhering to the Discussion Board Rubric:
- Take the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services practice test.
- What content would you include within the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services practice test that could help citizens understand their role in the public policy?
- How does an understanding of U.S. civics help citizens vote and engage in the public policy?
References:
Research and engagement that matter. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/
Riccards, P. (2018, October 3). Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation | National Survey Finds Just 1 in 3 Americans Would Pass Citizenship Test. Retrieved from https://woodrow.org/news/national-survey-finds-jus…
Mason Cowan posted Oct 21, 2020 4:02 PM
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After taking the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration practice exam, I realized that I am not as knowledgeable about my own country as I would like to think. I got a 75% which is quite embarrassing given that I try to stay knowledgeable about our Government and constitution. I do believe that America is the center of freedom and opportunity, and with that reputation we should afford every opportunity for immigrants to gain citizenship into our great country. Without immigrants we would not be nearly as successful regarding advancements in technology, pharmaceuticals, and collegiate education. Because America attracts the brightest minds in the world, we are able to be competitive in these categories.
With that being said, I do not think it’s feasible to simply open the borders and allow everyone in. I would love if that were a possibility because I truly care about people suffering in other less successful countries, but if we allowed everyone to move to America, we would crash our own economy aSind be far less successful. As far as the written test for immigration, I appreciate that we require immigrants to understand American constitutional law and some American history. If I were to add anything, I would express the importance of community. America isn’t perfect by any means, but I believe as a society we make an honest effort to be inclusive. Having been to many countries in Europe, Southwest Asia, the Indo-Pacific area, and Australia, I believe the majority of America truly values social progression and being kind to our neighbors. Many other countries are not so accepting to other lifestyles due to religious beliefs or learned morals. I think that our immigrants should also have to have a common understanding in the different beliefs and cultures in America, so hopefully America as a whole can continue to fight against homophobia, racism, xenophobia and other unfair treatment towards the many different individuals in this country.
As American citizens it is everybody’s civic responsibility to hold each other accountable. Society is constantly evolving, and I hope that we evolve to be more inclusive and allow everybody to feel comfortable with their neighbors. The more I have educated myself on other cultures, the more I understand the vital importance of accepting other people’s beliefs. Once upon a time in America, women weren’t allowed to educate themselves or work in “a man’s” job. We wouldn’t have landed on the moon without women. This is just one example of how voting and progressing can make an enormous impact on our future. By educating our citizens and immigrants on the processes in place to move our country forward, we can continue to prosper.
Raina Pape-Spencer posted Oct 21, 2020 12:31 PM
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To start off, I did take the test and got a 70% on it. Some of the questions that I got wrong were one or the other, others I just guessed. With the information within that quiz I wouldn’t say they are putting in necessarily information that should decide if you should be an American citizen or not. In general from the prompt above the discussion board I would say many of do not know what we really should about our own country. I know that there are a few who could not give a basic run down on how our government works today. With that being said I think the information that should be asked on the quiz and in the study guide are how our government works, how the judicial system works and how do basic day to day things as an American like taxes, how to build a resume, how to build themselves up so they can become great citizens and achieve what they want. I don’t think knowing what president fought in what war will set them up to be prepared for our economy and our world. They should understand taxes before asking some obscure question that you won’t need in your day to day life unless you are playing trivia. Also, I think that we should provide more help to those trying to become a citizen, they can memorize an answer but they might not understand what they’re reading really means and if we had tutors at centers set up to help explain and prepare people they would be the dream citizen our country wants out of all of us.
Understanding U.S. Civics help those understand what tools there are to be able to vote, gaining knowledge on who their parties are, who is running around them and what their platform is. Knowledge is power and the more we understand the more likely we are to participate in conversation about civics with each other and the more we are to seek out more information and make informed decisions on what we want to make our lives and country better. An understanding keeps us together and talking, not allowing things to slip through the cracks and using our voices to be heard and make change
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