By LAURA HAMMACK, guest columnist
Happy Independence Day!
The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I enjoy stopping to reflect on the great gift that I have been given to be a citizen of the United States of America. I’m one of those saps who gets teary every time the Star-Spangled Banner plays. Red, white and blue bunting gives me a spring in my step and don’t get me started on the apple pie.
But on top of the spirit of patriotism that this holiday brings, this holiday also reminds me of the deep responsibility that we as educators hold for teaching the principles of our government. We do this so our graduates have the foundations to be thoughtful, productive and engaged citizens of our society. The responsibility is significant and we take it very seriously.
When I walk the halls of our schools and visit the classrooms of our social studies, history and government classes, I am consistently touched by the level of respect that our teachers bring to delivering this course content. Students in Brown County Schools are being educated by world class teachers who ensure that the principles for which the founders of our country formed our government are understood, applied and appreciated.
We truly have some of the greatest teachers of history and government that I have ever seen. Because of that, we have students who are deeply civically engaged and working to affect policy on local, state and national platforms. I am often struck by their expansive commitment to advocacy.
Our students are connected and engaged in a way that I didn’t even come close at their age. It is thrilling to witness them continuing to advance the principles for which this great nation was founded.
To that end, one of the bills that was passed in the last legislative cycle was a requirement for all Indiana students to take the United States Naturalization Examination as part of their United States Government class when they are in high school.
Lawmakers wanted to ensure that Hoosier students had a broader understanding for civics. And while students are not required to pass this test, they are required to take it. Are you surprised to know that the naturalization test is made up of 100 questions?
I thought it might be fun to take this test in advance of the holiday to ensure that my foundation for civics was intact. With many thanks to my high school Government Teacher, Mr. Duke, I did fairly well. However, it was humbling to really have to think through the answers to many of the questions.
Here are 10 of the 100 questions that you can use to test your friends and family as we near the holiday:
Q: How many amendments does the Constitution have?
A: 27
Q: Name your U.S. Representative.
A: Representative Trey Hollingsworth
Q: Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
A: Chief Justice John Roberts
Q: Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
A: To print money; to declare war; to create an army; to make treaties.
Q: Name one right only for United States citizens.
A: Vote in a federal election; run for federal office
Q: Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
A: Thomas Jefferson
Q: When was the Constitution written?
A: 1787
Q: What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
A: The Louisiana Territory
Q: Who was President during World War I?
A: Woodrow Wilson
Q: Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
A: Missouri River; Mississippi River
How did you do? If you would like to see the entire naturalization examination, a quick Google search will lead you to the test in its entirety.
I wish you all a very happy holiday and hope that you are able to spend extra time with the people that you love and doing the things that you enjoy. I’d also like to offer my sincere
Thanks to those who work to keep up safe and protect this great nation from harm. It is an honor to enjoy the freedom we have today because of your sacrifice. Please know we are doing our very best to ensure our students understand the same.
Laura Hammack is superintendent of Brown County schools. She can be reached at 812-988-6601 or [email protected].
