Gwu-participants-gans - Revision history

72.79.223.244 at 19:40, 21 May 2009

2009-05-21T19:40:01Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:40, 21 May 2009
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	any newspapers at all. Most college freshmen fail civics tests and most now think they should be expected to be knowledgeable about politics and public affairs. Fewer than one third read a newspaper.		any newspapers at all. Most college freshmen fail civics tests and most now think they should be expected to be knowledgeable about politics and public affairs. Fewer than one third read a newspaper.

			Restoring a knowledgeable and engaged citizenry, resuscitating newspapers and a newspaper reading habit and perhaps providing legitimate subsidy
	Restoring a knowledgeable and engaged citizenry; resuscitating newspapers and a newspaper reading habit and perhaps providing legitimate subsidy
	for both begins with the one institution which has the capacity to do all of this -- America's schools.		for both begins with the one institution which has the capacity to do all of this -- America's schools.

72.79.223.244 at 19:39, 21 May 2009

2009-05-21T19:39:14Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:39, 21 May 2009
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	Curtis Gans is [http://www1.american.edu/cdem/about/staff_gans.cfm director of American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate] and was a reporter for a wire service and a major city newspaper in his earlier professional life.		Curtis Gans is [http://www1.american.edu/cdem/about/staff_gans.cfm director of American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate] and was a reporter for a wire service and a major city newspaper in his earlier professional life.

	Gans argues that ~~a major part of what’s hurting~~ the ~~American newspaper industry~~ is ~~the decline in civic education in the nation’s elementary~~ and ~~secondary schools. He says this means young adults are not encouraged in school or~~ in ~~home to develop a newspaper-reading habit and that~~ this ~~is hurting circulation. And colleges, he says~~, have ~~become focused on graduate~~ and ~~professional education at the expense of undergraduate education and teaching citizenship.~~		Gans argues that the central problem afflicting newspapers is declining readership, which has led to declining advertising, declining rates that
			newspapers can charge for advertising and, in this severe recession, companies which have previously advertised no longer exist and those that
	~~“Below the level of college, students have been likely~~ to ~~get~~ no ~~more than one civics course and one United States history course in their 12 years of primary and secondary education,” says Gans~~. ~~“Where once the overwhelming majority~~ of ~~students read either newspapers or weekly news magazines and studied, debated and were tested on current events, today only a few schools carry on that tradition~~.”		continue to exist no longer can afford to spend as much. None of this will be reversed until readership can be rekindled.

	As a ~~result~~, ~~says Gans, most~~ college freshmen fail civics tests and most now think they should be expected to be knowledgeable about politics and public affairs. Fewer than one third read a newspaper.		Gans argues that the decline in readership has been progressive and generational -- partly due to new technology, but also, in large measure, to
			the abandonment by America's educational institutions in seeing the development of citizens as one of their primary missions. Colleges have
			focused on graduate and professional education and in schools below the level of college, students are lucky if they get one civics course and one
			U.S. history course in 12 years of pre-college education. The number of schools who use newspapers for the study, teaching, debate and testing on
			current events has dwindled to a precious few.

			Civic engagement, civic knowledge and thoughful consideration of current issues have all suffered. But relevant to this conference is the fact
			that newspaper reading has suffered. A diminishing percentage of the young have developed a newspaper reading habit and less than 30 percent read
			any newspapers at all. Most college freshmen fail civics tests and most now think they should be expected to be knowledgeable about politics and public affairs. Fewer than one third read a newspaper.


			Restoring a knowledgeable and engaged citizenry; resuscitating newspapers and a newspaper reading habit and perhaps providing legitimate subsidy
			for both begins with the one institution which has the capacity to do all of this -- America's schools.

	Gans offers a five-point solution:		Gans offers a five-point solution:

Bill Densmore at 10:57, 21 May 2009

2009-05-21T10:57:00Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:57, 21 May 2009
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	==DISCUSSION: Saving newspapers: The case for "civic literacy" testing in America's schools==		==DISCUSSION: Saving newspapers: The case for "civic literacy" testing in America's schools==
	Curtis Gans is director of American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate and was a reporter for a wire service and a major city newspaper in his earlier professional life.		Curtis Gans is [http://www1.american.edu/cdem/about/staff_gans.cfm director of American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate] and was a reporter for a wire service and a major city newspaper in his earlier professional life.

	Gans argues that a major part of what’s hurting the American newspaper industry is the decline in civic education in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools. He says this means young adults are not encouraged in school or in home to develop a newspaper-reading habit and that this is hurting circulation. And colleges, he says, have become focused on graduate and professional education at the expense of undergraduate education and teaching citizenship.		Gans argues that a major part of what’s hurting the American newspaper industry is the decline in civic education in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools. He says this means young adults are not encouraged in school or in home to develop a newspaper-reading habit and that this is hurting circulation. And colleges, he says, have become focused on graduate and professional education at the expense of undergraduate education and teaching citizenship.

Bill Densmore: New page: ==DISCUSSION: Saving newspapers: The case for "civic literacy" testing in America's schools== Curtis Gans is director of American University’s Center for the Study of the American Elect...

2009-05-21T10:55:31Z

New page: ==DISCUSSION: Saving newspapers: The case for "civic literacy" testing in America's schools== Curtis Gans is director of American University’s Center for the Study of the American Elect...

New page

==DISCUSSION: Saving newspapers: The case for "civic literacy" testing in America's schools==
Curtis Gans is director of American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate and was a reporter for a wire service and a major city newspaper in his earlier professional life.

Gans argues that a major part of what’s hurting the American newspaper industry is the decline in civic education in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools. He says this means young adults are not encouraged in school or in home to develop a newspaper-reading habit and that this is hurting circulation. And colleges, he says, have become focused on graduate and professional education at the expense of undergraduate education and teaching citizenship.

“Below the level of college, students have been likely to get no more than one civics course and one United States history course in their 12 years of primary and secondary education,” says Gans. “Where once the overwhelming majority of students read either newspapers or weekly news magazines and studied, debated and were tested on current events, today only a few schools carry on that tradition.”

As a result, says Gans, most college freshmen fail civics tests and most now think they should be expected to be knowledgeable about politics and public affairs. Fewer than one third read a newspaper.

Gans offers a five-point solution:

*Make civic and current events knowledge part of what is tested under the “No Child Left Behind” program.

*Testing, in turn, would force the development of a longitudinal civics and current events curriculum beginning in the third grade.

*Such a curriculum could and should include newspaper reading as the source for information and analysis of current events.

*This, in turn, would make possible government subsidies to newspapers for school circulation which would not impinge on editorial freedom and would substantially boost readership and likely substantially increase advertising revenues.

*If this program were carried out over the 10 years from grades three through 12, it would promote a newspaper reading habit which could last a lifetime.

Gans favors focusing on print newspapers for civic literacy programs because he says news delivery on the Internet is not commercially viable, and because online news readers spend far less time on the news than do print newspaper readers. “People graze the Internet,” he says. “They read newspapers.” The Internet encourages headline and single-story reading and fragmentation, he argues, while newspapers provide guidance, analysis, commentary across stories.