Numbers adding up with new Civics Literacy options

As Ian Ripple jokes, his latest project has nothing to do with his accounting major, but the numbers may still affect many Purdue University Fort Wayne students.

A senior, a husband, and the father of two, Ripple has been inspired to help make the Civics Literacy Requirement more interesting by proposing new curriculum options. Each PFW student must meet the requirements before graduation, including passing a 50-question civics knowledge test. Options include attending specific campus events, taking one of seven courses, and listening to four hour-long recordings on Brightspace.

Ripple would like to spice up the Brightspace recordings, which, unlike him, lack any sense of humor.

"The content I always use as an example is not very interesting," Ripple said. "I don't know about you, but hearing a one-hour lecture of someone talking about the filibuster is not necessarily the most interesting topic."

Not buying that one? Ripple said another option is a lecture about redistricting. While important, neither topic is going to inspire students to consider future involvement in the governmental process.

"Those are not really something that I feel like students are going to be interested in doing," Ripple said. "My idea is to create content that would grab students' interests and maybe encourage them to get it completed quicker than two weeks before they graduate."

Utilizing PowerPoint presentations to add pictures and digital content, Ripple has already started recording lectures he believes will be more interesting. He even signed up for history courses as electives to provide ideas and greater depth to his research. He already submitted one to the Civics Literacy committee for feedback. They liked it and will consider approval this semester after some minor changes.

As a topic example, Ripple has completed his first project on the founding of the United States Navy. Among the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson opposed it, but Alexander Hamilton and John Adams favored it, which led to the Naval Act of 1794.

"I was looking through Amazon for books, and this one came up, and it's been very interesting reading about it," Ripple said.

For added context, Ripple talks about the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804, after Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied for the vote in 1800, requiring the House of Representatives to break the tie. Jefferson won after 36 ballots. Previously, the two candidates with the most votes were elected president and vice president, meaning representatives of two different political parties could be elected.

Ripple is considering an episode about building the transcontinental railroad, which includes aspects of the country's early immigration history. He's also looking to this fall's history class for more inspiration.

"I want to make it as engaging as possible," Ripple said. "My goal is to produce four new episodes for students to pick from, and maybe they'll learn something as well."