As The Daily Show's youngest correspondent,
I'm most qualified to report on the fact
that civics education in America sucks.
It's so bad, only one in nine schools require
a year of civics classes.
But young activists, like members
of the Providence Student Union,
are demanding higher standards.
Which is why I'm here at a small Rhode Island school
to interview students who are fighting
to fix their education
and their futures.
After-school spesh.
-What's lit, fam? -Who are you?
I'm the new transfer student.
My name is Chad. I am 17.
You're old as (bleep).
No, I'm not.
-You-you smell old. -I'm not old!
After some convincing, I gained the trust
of Ahmed and Aleita, the student organizers asking
for better civics education in Rhode Island.
Civics is important to me because... I still see
that there are people that are like, "Voting isn't important."
And I think that young people especially
should also understand, like, the way how systems were built
and how the world works.
Like, how can you go about life not knowing
your rights or how to pay taxes or anything like that?
Okay, but you don't actually have to pay taxes.
That's a myth.
No, you-you... you have to pay taxes.
Like, you have to pay taxes.
Is this real?
That's why we need civics class in high school.
But I mean, I do... I do civics all the time.
I'm, like, constantly sending out civic tweets.
I'm like, "#GreenNewDeal," "#202020."
Sometimes, if I just need to get all my civics in one tweet,
I'll just say like, "#woke."
And then...
boom. Civics.
That's not even close.
-Wow. -You basically just talked about social media.
I mean, let's face it. We're teens.
There is nothing that we can do
to make our school teach us civics.
Um, I kind of have to disagree with you on that.
One-- me and Ahmed are teens.
The shirt's not fooling anyone.
Two-- me and Ahmed are suing the United States government
for civics classes in all schools.
Wow.
You heard that right.
My same-age friends were suing the government
for civics education in schools.
Aleita and Ahmed are making their case with the help of
Columbia Professor and oldest person I know, Michael Rebell,
who's been fighting for education equity
most of his career.
The U.S. Supreme Court said every child in this country
has a right to an equal educational opportunity.
But kids who come from low-income backgrounds,
many kids of color don't have meaningful opportunities.
So why did you decide to sue Rhode Island
and not a state that everyone hates like New Jersey?
We looked at what states have the worst education system
when it comes to civics,
and also where would the community be supportive?
If we get the Supreme Court to declare
that there's a national right to education,
state legislatures and school systems will act on it,
it'll make a huge difference.
You know, 50% of the American public
cannot name the three branches of government.
Can you do it?
Uh... Federal,
Executive and
the Supreme Court, Notorious RGB.
She's one of nine justices.
Yeah. Nine, yeah.
There RGB, uh, Chris Evans,
Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson...
Wait a minute. You're mentioning all the actors in The Avengers.
They are not Supreme Court justices.
I left one off. The Hulk.
Do you even know who your representative in Congress is?
It doesn't really matter about my representative
because I know who my senator is.
It's Bernie Sanders.
I don't think Chuck Schumer's gonna like that answer.
Who the (bleep) is Chuck Schumer?
He's your senator from New York.
I think you've got a long ways to go
on civic knowledge, I'm sorry to say.
Did I not get an education?
That's the kind of unfortunate reality
that, uh, we're trying to grapple with.
Thank you... for teaching me
that I'm dumb.
Wait a minute.
That is not the message I'm trying to get across.
-You are... -I hear you loud and clear. I'm a dumbo.
I'm dumb. I'm dumb. I'm a dumb head.
You're obviously very smart from our conversation, but...
Oh, my God, they were right.
Boys do go to Jupiter and get more stupider.
-I'm gonna be right back. -Okay.
This wise old man made me realize I...
Do you have a hall pass?
We're not in a school building right now.
Okay. Well, then, can I go to the bathroom?
You can go to the bathroom.
I'm sorry. May I go to the bathroom?
-Of course. -Okay.
So maybe us teens do need better civics education.
And though this case still has a long way to go, its success
will ensure future generations the education
Aleita and Ahmed missed out on.
The ultimate goal for me is that people are more
civically engaged,
and, you know, we have government representation
that reflects the population.
Wow.
I learned so much today.
And I hope you did, too.
Teach out.
Thought you were a teen.
Class dismissed.
(rhythmic beeping)
(beeping)
Shit. (bleep)
(cheers and applause)