Our knowledge is not up to par
Americans need to focus more on learning
COMMENTARY
Jessica King

Remember the old joke? What do you call someone who knows three languages? Trilingual.

What do you call someone who knows two languages? Bilingual.

What do you call someone who knows one language? American.

This is admittedly a cheap laugh at our expense, but there definitely is some truth to it.
It pains me to ask this, but must Americans be stupid? Seriously, the ignorance of America looms over us like a giant monster.

I’ve had instructors from other countries disparage the knowledge of the youth of today. They laugh at how little we really know about the world around us.

How many of us can name the prime minister of Canada or the queen of England? If we can’t even get the titles of our closest allies’ leaders right, how is anyone supposed the take us seriously in matters of war and trade?

This isn’t some random tirade; the assertion of American stupidity has scientific backing. A 1996 survey by the National Science Foundation determined only about 9 percent knew what a molecule was, and only 21 percent could define DNA.

A 2002 National Geographic-Roper study on geographic literacy among young adults found 83 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 could not find Afghanistan on a world map. Remember, this was after the United States began bombing that country. The same study found that three in 10 young adults couldn’t find the Pacific Ocean on a map either. The United States ranked lowest in geographic knowledge among all the countries studied.

Ignorance extends to even younger Americans as well. Fifty-nine percent of 13-to 17-year-olds identified Moe, Larry and Curly, while only 41 percent correctly cited the legislative, executive and judicial branches, according to a 1998 Luntz Research survey. The National Constitution Center found 24 percent of adults cannot specify a single right guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Why don’t Americans know simple facts about our world? Well, for one, our brain waves are clogged with spoon-fed advertisements and mind-numbing sitcoms.

Come to think of it, I bet plenty of us could name every “Brady Bunch” kid and the cast of “Friends.”

We can name 20 different kinds of cookies and five reality dating shows. We can name the contenders in the Super Bowl, the last American Idol winner and every flavor of soft drink offered by Coca-Cola. We page through the Abercrombie and Fitch catalog while eschewing classic novels.

So now that the root of all America’s problems has been discovered, the question arises — what shall be done about it?

Perhaps the government could pump millions more into schools, and demand more foreign language education and higher test scores from students.

Perhaps the government could regulate the media, and demand more intelligent programming.

Perhaps the government could force every adult American to read a book and write a report on it before receiving a tax rebate check.

Ha, that’s a good one.

Alas, when it comes to working solutions to the biggest dilemma facing this country, I am as ignorant as the rest of us.

Jessica King is a columnist for the Northern Star at Northern Illinois University. This column was distributed by U-Wire.