March 30, 2023

As the government passes an extra $50 million injection to civics education, I wonder how we take advantage of this opportunity to ensure that every student actually receives a quality experience—and that we don’t just repeat what we did before. My fear is that this injection will once again focus (as it has for decades) on the passive teaching of government mechanics and how it functions with little emphasis on the skills needed to help our students be engaged citizens or the conditions teachers need to effectively teach the subject. 

While there seems to be an abundance of dialogue and initiatives around the topic, I can’t help but wonder how we thread some of these ideas together to actually make them a reality in every classroom. Nonprofits and museums have more leeway, but the classroom tends to have limitations. Civics curriculum is often not holistic in its approach to effectively educating students, ignoring some of the ingredients needed to support students as they engage in the subject—emotional intelligence, digital literacy, communication skills, systems thinking, and futures literacy just to name a few. It’s more important than ever that we define what a quality civics education is, and what success might look like, and ask teachers what they need to be successful. 

There was a recent article in The Atlantic titled Why We Need Civics that made me wonder why people would think that civics is an easy topic to teach.  The article claims that a civics course need not be controversial—we simply need to discuss how the government functions and review key documents. As much as I wish that statement might be true, it clearly demonstrates naivete when it comes to teaching our youth about a topic like civics. It seems that many without experience in the classroom seem to be unaware of what teaching civics actually looks like, and the obstacles that hold us back. It’s an alarming reminder that it’s not enough to throw money at the problem—we need to ensure we’re addressing it effectively. 

I’ve taught civics before, starting my career in the political hotbed that is Virginia. As good as it might sound to teach students the basic fundamentals of our government, we need to be honest as to how our government functions. A starting point is certainly the three branches, but one might only scratch the surface to find the cracks in our foundation that may lead to controversy. The curriculum often assumes students will engage with content positively, but students aren’t robots and get emotional when learning about the intricacies of our government. SEL skills like self-regulation come into play as do conversation skills as we take on difficult discussions. 

For instance, let’s talk about the price tag to run for president. The 2020 election saw over $14.4 billion in spending. Students want to know where candidates get their money to run. That quickly leads into a conversation about lobbies which segues into a conversation about Citizens United. It does not take long for them to connect the dots that companies have a lot of power to spend money on their interests. That can spark outrage. 

Let’s talk about voting. The concept of the Electoral College often upsets students. They usually don’t understand why this body still exists. Many find it unjust. Gerrymandering is another contested issue. Students are shocked to find out how this system sometimes gets manipulated. 

Finally, let’s examine current events. The Supreme Court has lost its honor in the eyes of some students who don’t understand how it’s possible that certain justices were welcomed into, what should be, such an elite circle. Others question how much we actually uphold rule of law in our country when politicians seem to get away with what should be punishable offenses. 

These topics alone make civics a complicated subject. It is virtually impossible to talk about civics and our government without getting into some touchy subjects. Unfortunately, kids don’t necessarily feel proud of our government when they learn how it works. And that should be okay. Sometimes students’ anger is actually just the passion they feel for their people, communities, and countries. The civics classroom should be a place where they learn to funnel that caring and concern into something constructive. That’s how you make a proud and engaged citizen, but teachers need support to make this possible. 

While I completely agree with many that are preaching the need to emphasize civics and ensure our youth have access to a civics education, we need to be realistic. Civics is controversial because we’re asking our youth to not just understand the “body” of civics but to learn the “soul” of civics—the drive they need to play an active part in our society. The civics classroom should be a low-stakes environment where students have the chance to not just learn about how our government functions, but to discuss if they like how our government functions, and how it might need to evolve so it works in their favor. This takes a range of skill-building and pathways to be effective. 

If we want our youth to believe in the government, to trust it, we need to make civics relevant and future-focused. They should understand how they can engage in the system, and know that giving up on it can have disastrous effects. If how our government functions or the policies we are passing upsets them, we should challenge them to seek alternatives or ways to correct inefficiencies or injustices. Students need skills like self-awareness, empathy, and good decision-making when exploring issues and communicating with others about what they want their world to look like. Big questions like “Do we live our values as Americans?” or “Does our government support its people?” merit very different responses from the students you might ask—and that should be okay. They are worthwhile questions to ponder. 

Pretending that civics is a dry and straightforward subject is not helping teachers receive the support they need to be effective. It is incredibly difficult to have these conversations because indeed some will find them controversial. What we need to get over is the discomfort of not talking about things, and ensure we’re communicating with parents and other stakeholders as to why it’s unacceptable to prevent students from learning the key skills that can help them to step up as citizens. We need the voice of educators and students so civics can be taught in a way that’s actually effective. To me, this stifling of communication and dialogue is one of the greatest threats to our democracy, and throwing money at a watered-down curriculum is not going to fix that.

You may also be interested in reading more articles written by Michelle Blanchet for Intrepid Ed News.