—Hello Dana! I am happy to see and talk to you again! Last time I saw you was in October when my family and I visited the Museum of American Revolution...But first things first. Could you please introduce yourself to our immigrant community?

—Certainly. My name is Dana Devon. I project manage the Citizenship Initiative at the Museum of the American Revolution. 

—Great! Thank you. Last time we met on Zoom, you were teaching the American History and Civics to residents on the way to citizenship. Could you please tell us more about the Initiative? 

—The Museum of the American Revolution’s Citizenship Initiative supports Philadelphia’s growing immigrant community to become U.S. citizens by offering a series of free workshops centered on teaching American history and civics portions of the U.S. naturalization exam’s Test. We teach this course using the Museum’s collection of objects, art and stories to provide historical depth and context to the questions covered in the citizenship exam. 

For those who are not familiar with the naturalization (or citizenship) test, it is administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a part of Homeland Security. The Test comprises two parts: English and civics. The English exam requires applicants to read, speak and write a few sentences in English, as well as respond to the civics question, which are asked orally, in English. The civics test comprises 100 questions covering U.S. history and government. Applicants must answer six of ten randomly generated questions correctly to pass the Test.

—Who, do you think, will benefit most from the classes?

—I think anyone who is considering becoming a U.S. citizen would benefit from the course, provided they have intermediate-level English proficiency. What makes our citizenship classes unique is that by teaching American history and government with stories, documents and art, we provide the connective tissue that ties together the 100 generalized questions that comprise the citizenship test. And in a post-COVID universe, we will return to holding the course at the Museum, where students will divide their time between the galleries and the classroom. 

—How many groups of students have you taught the course to so far?

—We are approaching the 100 students mark.

 — What are their age ranges?

—We don’t have information regarding people’s ages, but I would estimate that we have students ranging from their early twenties through their mid-seventies. 

—Wow! It is always so touching to see an elderly lady or gentleman accomplish such an ambitious intention of becoming an American citizen!

—I agree. Becoming a citizen is a long and somewhat challenging process. So, we are impressed with everyone who takes on this challenge. But I think many people would say that the rewards of achieving citizenship outweigh the obstacles of becoming one.

—Do you have statistics on how the Initiative influences the rates of residents passing the Test?

—Unfortunately, no. We ask students to keep us posted on their test results, but only a handful do so. However, I have every reason to believe our students do as well, if not better than the average passing rate for all immigrants on the citizenship test, which is 91 percent. (This stands in stark contrast to the 37 percent passing rate for American-born citizens.)

—So if an American-born citizen takes the Test, he/she, will, most likely, be unable to pass it?

—That’s right. According to the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, two-thirds of American-born citizens would fail the U.S. citizenship test. 

—I would like to applaud your teaching technique. Our 2 hour sessions twice a week flew by in a split of a second! All due to a great teaching quality of yours—getting all students involved and engaged in the lecture by offering to solve “a puzzle” or answer questions. Besides being a brilliant teacher, you are one of the most vibrant pro-immigrant people I have met. What do you think about the immigration policies and laws of the United States?

—I am not an expert on immigration policy, but I am heartened by the series of executive orders the Biden administration has issued since assuming the Presidency in January. I hope that these executive orders, which address a wide range of immigration issues, will become codified in federal legislation, so their effect continues beyond this administration.

—You, probably, know your family tree. Where did your ancestors come from? When did they immigrate to the United States?

—My mother’s side is German and immigrated to the U.S. in the late 1800s. My father’s side is Polish and came to the U.S. around the early 1900s as political refugees. English was not spoken in my father’s home, and he and his brother were the first in the family to attend college. 

— After the events on January 6 in Washington, do you believe, America is divided right now? Is there any easy fix to it?

—That’s definitely above my pay grade, Olena. Of course, it’s divided. I think one of the biggest challenges we face today as a nation is the steady stream of unchecked, unverified information that flows freely across wide-ranging media channels. A core component of civic literacy today should encompass how to identify, source and verify information. We need to better equip our students with the ability to discern fact from fiction.

More generally, the nation’s civic illiteracy pointed to by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation study, and others, imperil our future. It is easy to lose faith in our civic institutions when we understand so little of their purpose or practices. All citizens, not just immigrants preparing to take a citizenship test, must have a working knowledge of democratic traditions, principles and political institutions. All citizens need to have more than a passing familiarity with the rights and responsibilities that go along with membership in a democratic society. Ultimately, civic illiteracy is dangerous; we are not inclined to defend what we do not know or understand.

—I have nothing to add. You always cover everything! Can you please tell us when the next cohort of students will start the Citizenship Initiative course? How to enroll?

—I am so glad you asked that! The new one starts on May 3, please go to our website:

https://www.amrevmuseum.org/at-the-museum/programs/citizenship-initiative 

and register for our spring 2021 course!