By Elizabeth Cuvelier
Charles Dickens began his classic writing A Tale of Two Cities with this profound passage:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way–in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
These prophetic words were written about the year 1775, a year where governments were being challenged, revolutions mounting, and spiritual minds awakening. Dickens described polar degrees of existence, where one truly had to make a choice between good and evil, wisdom and foolishness, and light and darkness. The period we currently live in is far from the polar world described by Dickens. We have so confused the lines between the morals and bounds of our existence that our culture and government is on the verge of changing forever to become something the Founders would have never tolerated.
Our country is close to celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and our fight for freedom from British tyranny. The ideals for which they fought have been redefined and become ambiguous because of the lack of knowledge concerning our country’s real history. Many of the men and women who revolted for freedom have been rejected based on the revision of our history, and many powerful stories of American history’s “hall of faith” are completely unknown. Our citizens have little knowledge of the Christian influence on the founding of America, and do not understand the founding documents which were written based on Biblical principles.
Statistics show that most students today do not have an understanding of civic education, such as how our government works.* In a world where there are those who seek to change the very foundation of government as outlined in our Constitution, and with our older generations passing, it is incumbent upon us to teach the next generation the founding principles of America. The reason I teach is to inform the minds of this generation to help them think for themselves based on the true facts and information they learn from original primary sources.
This year there is a federal election unlike any other in our country’s history. This provides an excellent opportunity for students to learn about the election process and the importance of exercising their civic responsibilities. There has never been a more important time for civic and Constitutional lessons. Dickens might well write of today: It is the best of times….to study American government!
*“Eighth-grade students continued a decade-long score decline on a national U.S. history assessment and posted the first-ever decline in scores on a national civics assessment, according to results released Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics.” “These data are of national concern,” said Peggy Carr, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, the research arm of the Education Department. “A well rounded education includes a grounding in the democratic principles,” she said. “These assessments challenge students to show their knowledge and skills as they prepare to become engaged citizens in a democracy. Too many students are struggling to understand and explain the impact of civic participation and how our government works and the historical significance of events. This is concerning. Quite honestly, I was shocked.”
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