Political science professor finds that many of his college students lack basic knowledge about US government



Suffolk Community College political science professor Nicholas Giordano tests his students' knowledge about basic issues related to U.S. government when class begins, and the tests have served to demonstrate a shocking dearth of knowledge among the students.

In a piece posted on Campus Reform, Giordano explained that one of the tests he gives students includes questions such as, "Who is the Speaker of the House?" and "How many Supreme Court Justices are there?" The educator noted that after a dozen years of giving students the quiz, just 348 out of 2,176 have passed. He described those results as a "shameful indictment of our K-12 education system." This semester, just 11 people passed in a pool of about 175 individuals.

\u201cNew piece is up @campusreform explaining why I give my students a citizenship exam & have them do a #Constitution exercise. \n\nThe results are abysmal, but there is a method to the madness. \n\nhttps://t.co/RZnWLoE4d9\u201d
— Nicholas Giordano (@Nicholas Giordano) 1663330222

Giordano said that he also supplies students with an altered version of part of the Russian Constitution, where he swaps out the terms "Russian Federation" for "United States" and "Duma" for "Congress" — he then instructs the students to write a paragraph discussing what they think about it.

"Realistically, their response should be one sentence: this is not the United States Constitution," Giordano noted. "Instead, many will write how they never actually read the U.S. Constitution, which is horrifying given the number of years they have attended school prior to taking my course. Others will reference Article 7 where it explains '…guaranteed minimum wages and salaries shall be established, state support ensured to the family, maternity, paternity and childhood, to disabled persons and the elderly, the system of social services developed, state pensions, allowances and other social security guarantees shall be established,' and praise the foresight of the founding fathers."

"Needless to say, when I reveal the results and my deception, the look on the students' faces is priceless. The shock, embarrassment, and shame can be seen in their expressions. These exercises, however, have proven to be an invaluable tool to make my classes more successful, and they dramatically improve student engagement," Giordano wrote.

"After 'The Great Shaming,' they are eager to learn," he noted.

University professor posted ‘Blow up Republicans’ on Facebook, will reportedly keep his job



A professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington openly called for violence against members of the Republican Party on social media last month. But amazingly, he does not appear to be in danger of losing his job.

What are the details?

Dan Johnson, an associate professor in the university's School of Health and Applied Human Sciences, wrote "Blow up Republicans" in a Facebook status update on May 17, according to Campus Reform.

The post has since been deleted, but not before several students reportedly saw it and complained — and not before the conservative news outlet captured a screenshot.

EXCLUSIVE: UNC Wilmington prof posts 'Blow Up Republicans' on Facebookhttps://t.co/OwbLDNKEnT

— Campus Reform (@campusreform) 1624543327.0

Two days after writing the post, Johnson reportedly updated his Facebook status again, this time saying, "Time for my summer break from Facebook."

Evidently, Johnson's original post was seen not only by students, but by officials at the university. Andrea Monroe Weaver, the university's communications officer, confirmed to Campus Reform that "the university was made aware of the post and has appropriately addressed it."

Weaver did not go into further detail about what actions the university took to address the incident; however, the university later confirmed to the news outlet that Johnson is slated to continue teaching in the fall.

TheBlaze reached out to the University of North Carolina Wilmington for further explanation on the matter.

What else?

At least one student at the school, Haylie Davis, feels that the university is not handling the incident with the proper level of seriousness.

"Putting away any personal political preference aside, I think this matter should be addressed and dealt [with] in the same manner that it would be if the word 'Republican' was replaced with any other word. If the post stated 'Blow up women,' 'Blow up homosexuals,' 'Blow up Catholics,' etc.," Davis told Campus Reform.

"He not only represents a major university in the state of North Carolina, but he also represents a program of the university that prides itself in inclusivity," she added. "That statement is not something that represents an inclusive and accepting environment. In his position, political preference should not be expressed in such an aggressive manner that lacks the 'empathy' that is expected and valued in today's society and on college campuses."

According to his biographical page on the university's website, in addition to teaching, Johnson serves as the "partnership liaison between UNCW and [Accessible Coastal Carolina Events Sports and Services] of Wilmington providing student applied learning, research, and program development."