Passing the citizenship test

A proposal is rumored to be circulating in the Valley (well, at least around my desk) which, if adopted, could have profound implications for school districts & students nationwide.   It goes something like this:

To graduate from high school, all students must be able to pass the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s official Citizenship Test.

Yep, no diploma — not even for ‘natural born’ U.S. kids who have passed chemistry — unless they can pass the test required all immigrants seeking to become 100% AMERICAN CITIZENS!

Such a requirement could certainly motivate students to become at least as knowledgeable about America, its history, culture and how it works as are aspiring immigrants and their children ‘yearning to be free,’ many of whom arrive at our borders & shores unable to speak English.

In the process of preparing for the test, all kids might be inspired to become active and contributing members of their communities, to vote, and even understand who and what they are voting for.

Besides . . . how hard could it be? In order to pass, Testees only have to correctly answer 6 out of 10 random oral questions about America.  Yep, that’s all.  Kids who make it to school awake most days should be able to get a “D” on the citizenship civic exam by the time they graduate.

That said, some study is nonetheless required. Imagine trying to become a citizen of another country, say. . . Mongolia . . . ,and having to answer questions about its government, culture, and history, such as:

• What is the Ikh Khorig?
• Which officials report to the Prime Minister?
• What is the capital of Mongolia?
• What was the name of Genghis Khan’s #1 wife?

If your high-school Mongolian was a little rusty, you’d probably have to brush up

Fortunately for every kid, all 100 possible U.S. citizenship civic exam questions — and the answers — are posted for all to see at: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/questions-and-answers/100q.pdf.  There it states:

“The 100 civics (history and government) questions and answers for the naturalization test are listed below. The civics test is an oral test and the USCIS Officer will ask the applicant up to 10 of the 100 civics questions. An applicant must answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly to pass the civics portion of the naturalization test.

On the naturalization test, some answers may change because of elections or appointments. As you study for the test, make sure that you know the most current answers to these questions. Answer these questions with the name of the official who is serving at the time of your eligibility interview with USCIS. The USCIS Officer will not accept an incorrect answer.”

To make learning fun, what then follows are all the questions AND all the answers.

So, the next time that annoying drunk at the bar rants about “all them #%@!!* foreigners flooding over the border,” ask him if he could pass the citizenship test and, should he fail, buy the house a round.  When the Proud American brazenly accepts, take out your cellphone, dial the website and pop him with ten random questions.

Flush with free drink, weave your way to the next board meeting of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District and demand that passing the U.S. Citizenship Test be made a graduation requirement.

Oh, . . . and Börte.   Genghis Khan’s first wife was  Börte.  By all accounts, one didn’t dare let Genghis catch one looking.