Letters

I agree with Rosemary C. Salomone that today's young people and, indeed, the country as a whole, are suffering from a lack of understanding of the underlying principles of our constitutional, republican form of government ( "Education for Democratic Citizenship," March 22, 2000.) I wonder, however, whether the solution is an increased focus on teaching "civics" in public schools.

The current fashions in public education that focus on feelings rather than knowledge, psychology rather than reality, and the promotion of relativism and collective consciousness (secular mysticism) rather than the pursuit of objective truths make K-12 classrooms look more reminiscent of Weimar Germany before World War II than a republic based on enlightened reason, the rule of law, and individual liberty. The resemblance is compounded if one adds to the mix the current obsession with the German system of focusing on "career pathways" for all students, rather than a solid liberal arts education with high academic standards. At this point, less "teaching" may be better.

Students probably get better civic values from their families and surroundings outside of school than they could get from teachers using pop psychology and chaotic mock legislatures. The same can be said of oxymoronic "volunteerism" mandates that are usually either not voluntary because they are required, or are not voluntary because they...