WASHINGTON – “You need a civics lesson!” How many people over 60 have ever barked that one at you for forgetting a history fact?
Seth Andrew, superintendent of a charter school focused on active citizenship in Harlem, said public schools are "fundamentally, profoundly, and disturbingly broken." He suggested aiming studies toward civic dispositions is a good place to start fixing. (Megan Neunan/Medill)
Jokes about civics-savvy Baby Boomers and AARP-cardholders may have led the day Monday at the Brookings Institution’s discussion of civics education, but experts delivered tangible reasons that civics need to matter to the millennial generation.
“Far more American teenagers today know the Three Stooges than know the three branches of American government,” said David Feith, editor of the book Teaching America: the Case for Civic Education. Feith was joined by the superintendent of a Harlem charter school focused on civics, an education policy expert who drew Oprah’s attention to the dropout crisis and the chairman of the Civic Education Initiative to push the need for strong civics education in U.S. schools.
When asked what a twentysomething would not be able to do without strong knowledge of civics, the experts came up with the following:
Peter Levine, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement: “Read and discuss the quality of news about current events …. The evidence that people are better off if they’re civically engaged is very powerful.”
Seth Andrew, superintendent of Democracy Prep Public Schools in Harlem: “The first thing is that it’s going to be harder to get a job. … We are always discussing issues and current events with our kids and with our staff, in the faculty room and every other place, and that’s true of pretty much every workplace … I don’t think you can change the world unless you have a real concept of civic knowledge.”
John Bridgeland, president of Civic Enterprises, a public policy firm in Washington: “My sister, who’s a nurse, tells me that when she works with the dying that they think about two things upon their death. One is family and loved ones, and the second is the impact they left on the world. And without civic skills, and knowledge, and dispositions, you’re not going to be able to have an impact on the world.”
The panelists said the reason for the lack of civics education can be traced to passage of the No Child Left Behind education reform law that celebrated its 10th anniversary Sunday. Rigorous testing requirements often lead educators to skirt harder-to-test subjects like civics, they said.
However, the panel noted several federal civics initiatives already in place or in the works that may remedy the problem. After saying how well he remembered playing Dred Scott’s lawyer in a childhood U.S. history class, Bridgeland cited the joint initiative between the White House and the National Archives called Our Documents, which provides resources for instructors to teach about important U.S. documents.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan will join other education leaders at the White House Tuesday to talk about civics. The discussion will run from 2 to 6 p.m. and stream live on the White House website.
