Elementary school, grades, tests, and a meme for good measure

[gerisullivan]

Back when I was in elementary school, we were graded on "citizenship" as well as the usual subjects of math, English, geography, and such. A good citizenship grade didn't mean you knew anything more about U.S. citizenship than a bad grade did. It was really just a reflection of how easy it was for the teacher to deal with you, how cooperative you were, and how well you adapted to being in school. There were no tests, quizzes, or worksheets that measured your citizenship knowledge; your grade was whatever the teacher's gut suggested it should be. It always seemed like a dumb, unimportant, arbitrary grade to me.

Fast forward 45 years, and we have memes and quizzes to answer the question those grade school report cards never did. Tonight I found my way to this one via dave_gallaher's posts from last November:

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

I'm pleased, and surprised. I guessed on a couple, and figured I'd missed at least one of them. Sure, they're very basic, but the devil's in the details, don'cha know?

Comments

[redbird]

No, the point is that the mere fact that he was called "president" doesn't make him "president of the United States" in any meaningful sense, any more than Ezra Stiles was president of the United States (he was president of Yale College). Not only was the title different, the powers of the office and how he was selected were entirely different.