What Should Be The #1 Subject Taught In Our Schools?

What Should Be The #1 Subject Taught In Our Schools?

By Scott P. Swain

Some people wonder if patriotism should be taught in public schools today. Some say that
diversity, multiculturism, and tolerance must be our watch cry and that we must see the world
globally. Many say it is egocentric to view America as anything special and that we must
embrace all nations as equals with ourselves. These philosophies sound good and are good in
many respects, but not at the expense of teaching our students that we are Americans and that we
have a responsibility, at all costs, to uphold our republic and protect it for future generations. The
manifest destiny of America is still that we are the last and best hope of bringing freedom to the
world!
Thomas Jefferson laid upon education the grave assignment of equipping tomorrow’s adults with
the knowledge, values, judgment, and critical faculties to determine for themselves what “will
secure or endanger” their freedom and their country’s well-being. The U.S. Supreme Court was
right half a century ago when, in the epoch-shaping Brown decision, it declared education to be
“the very foundation of good citizenship” (Finn, 2003).
So what should be taught in our public schools and what is the purpose of our schools? In 1796,
George Washington stated:
A primary object . . . should be the education of our youth in the science of government.
In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? and what duty more
pressing . . . than . . . communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the
liberties of the country? (Richardson, 1896).
The Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville, observed the following in his famous 1835 study called
Democracy in America:
If you question [an American] respecting his own country . . . he will inform you what his
rights are and by what means he exercises them . . . You will find that he is familiar with
the mechanism of the laws. . . . In the United States, politics are the end and aim of
education (De Tocqueville, 1835).
Politics are the end and aim of education and we had better be about teaching more, not less, on
this subject if we expect our republic to survive.

References

De Tocqueville, A. (1835). Democracy in America. Retrieved January 28, 2006 from
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/home.html
Finn, C.E. (2003). Terrorists, Despots, and Democracy: What Our Children Need to
Know. Retrieved January 28, 2006 from
http://www.edexcellence.net/institute/publication/publication.cfm?id=316
Richardson, J.D. (1896) A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents
Retrieved January 28, 2006 from
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/metabook?id=mppresidents

Scott Swain is the President of the Roots of Freedom Foundation, a non-profit educational foundation. Roots
of Freedom and the Roots of Freedom Foundation educates and inspires youth, families, and all citizens to
understand, respect, and preserve for future generations the values, freedoms, and ideals established by the

Founding Fathers and fundamental documents of the United States of America.
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