Democracy in Practice – Thurs 9/29
by admin - September 27th, 2016
Assigned reading this week: GC Ch 3-4 and RV Ch 4
Due Thurs 9/29: Citizenship Exam Reflection Paper
At this point, you have taken some version of the US citizenship test twice, and studied for it using the entire set of 100 Civics, History and Geography questions. Compare your scores on the two tries. Write a short reflection paper (2 pages, double-spaced) on what this experience has meant to you, or what you found instructive or surprising about taking the exam.
Some questions you could consider:
How (and when) did you learn the answers to these questions?
Do you think these are the right questions to ask? If not, what else do you think naturalized citizens should know, or do, to demonstrate their fitness for American citizenship?
Would you advocate for a test like this to be a qualification for voting even for naturally-born citizens? If so, how often should it be taken – once, or renewed at certain intervals, like a drivers license? What would the logistics of that look like? If someone challenged such a program as unconstitutional, by what reasoning would you defend it? What might be the consequences if such a policy were instituted?
