Civics education needs a boost in the United States
Our neighbors to the north have long chuckled about how little the denizens of the United States know about Canada.
In fact, Canadian broadcasters once put together a program, “Talking to Americans,” which featured on-the-street interviews with Americans that showcased how completely in the dark they were about the land that has brought the world poutine and Justin Bieber. Americans quizzed by the hosts nodded earnestly when informed, for instance, that elderly Canadians were set loose on ice floes at the end of their lives and former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was going to be added to Mount Rushmore.
No, Americans don’t know much about Canada, and our knowledge of the rest of the world is also pretty shaky. But what’s even more dispiriting is how little many Americans know about the history of this country, its traditions and how its government is supposed to operate.
Poll results that show Americans don’t know who the vice president is at any given time are commonplace, or that there are three branches of government. Even more disturbing are the poll findings that indicate a not inconsiderable subset of Americans believe it would be OK for the government to stop peaceful marches or for the military to rule the country.
It can be safely asserted that this represents a breakdown in civic instruction in our schools. Educators have sounded warnings about it in recent years, and offered as evidence increasing emphasis on high-stakes tests in reading and math that have crowded out grounding in such areas as the Constitution or how the presidency functions. Some teachers also report that they are reluctant to even broach current events out of fear that parents will raise a ruckus. If we are to remain a healthy, functioning democracy, we need an engaged and knowledgeable public, and that takes constant effort – more than we seem to be putting in right now.
Researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts believe they have an answer to this dilemma. They recently outlined a proposal that would broaden the teaching of civics across the country, with the help of $100 million they say they are in the process of raising. Peter Levine, a professor of philosophy at Tufts, explained to NPR that “we know that if you study civics in high school, you are more likely to be an informed voter… If they are engaged in their community, they are more likely to vote.”
Another aspect of this initiative that is of particular importance to us and other media outlets is its plan to help students boost their media literacy, and be able to distinguish solid sources of news from a welter of internet sites that offer little more than propaganda or fabrications.
The Tufts researchers urge that students be allowed to discuss current events and controversies both in their communities and in the wider world. This engagement will continue as they get older and make them more likely to vote. They also recommend student participation in community service projects that allow them to get directly involved in their communities, have students work together on group projects and engage in activities like the Model U.N. or student government.
Robert M. Hutchins, an educational philosopher and onetime president of the University of Chicago, once observed that democracy’s death “is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.” Strengthening our civic education is one way to ensure that this doesn’t happen.