If you hear young adults talking about politics and making fools of themselves in television and radio interviews you might wonder why. The answer isn't hard: many no longer learn much history in school, they no longer study "civics" (the way our form of representative government functions) and they are ignorant of the crucial cultural legacies of our civilization (from the Bible to Shakespeare to you-name-it). They always were ignorant of basic economics, and, of course, still are; but that is another story. USA Today has word on the latest study here.
What can be done about it? Amazingly, there are few resources. The general paucity of philanthropic interest in the transmissiion of traditional culture shows up with a vengeance here. There are lots of grants for ethnic studies, but few for what unites us. The government is not much interested, either.
A quick check by one exceptional young adult--Hans Zeiger, an accomplished writer studying at Pepperdine University--comes up with this short resource list on one element of the subject, education in representative government:
1) Hoogland Center for Teacher Excellence, Hillsdale College, MI (Dr. David Bobb: hillsdale.edu/seminars/oncampus/cte/default/asp)
2) TeachingAmericanHistory.org and Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs, Ashland College, OH (teachingameericanhistory.org/about/html)
3) Center for the American Idea, TX (americanidea.org/index.html)
4) McConnell Center, University of Kentucky, KY (louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/civicseducation/)
There have to be more resources, naturally, but they don't exactly leap to mind, do they?
The USA Today story speculates that current emphasis on basic reading and math skills may drive out attention to the humanities, but that cannot be correct. For almost two centuries American students were drilled in English and math skllls, and still had ample time for history and civics education.
A better explanation is that today's political correctness emphasis and feel good, everyone-is-a-winner psychology drive out attention to traditional humanities studies. Not only is class time lacking for teaching the history and culture of our civilization, there sometimes is almost a hostility to these topics ("dead white males" and all that). As a result, our children have been cheated of their cultural birthright as Americans and newcomers are not exposed to the best in our system of government--the things that make "E Pluribus Unum" a meaningful commitment.
Thomas Jefferson, who developed and spread the principle of free education, argued that instilling good citizenship was the very first argument for such public expenditures. Jefferson's argument often is not even regarded as relevant now.
We may be squandering the finest heritage in history. We could be left culturally and politically vulnerable to all manner of extremism and unreason. For virtue to prevail in public life, it has to prevail in the polity, and that virtue has to be taught and made a habit of the mind.