Growing Young Voters (Without Boring Them)
If the casual mention of a high school social studies class makes your eyes glaze over, you aren't alone. The stereotype of the throw-away, easy A class taught by the football coach is there for a reason.
But you also aren't thinking about civics the way that education scholar Peter Levine thinks you should. "In 1948, 41 percent of American kids took a class called Problems of Democracy. It was reading the newspaper and discussing the issues and writing papers about it, which is pretty much what I would want to happen. ...It's basically gone now," said Levine, who runs the civic engagement organization CIRCLE.
Levine worries a lot about how kids learn to become citizens. He says schools aren't teaching them about civics in any consistent or meaningful way. CIRCLE's research on government curriculum finds that all states require some form of social studies, but most states don't test on it and those that do use the cheapest multiple-choice tests. "That's why everybody knows how old you have to be president," he said. "It's often required but only taught in senior year when senioritis has set in when a lot of students have dropped out already."
Without context, knowing about the Constitution's separation of powers or how a bill becomes a law seems is to a lot of kids, particularly those from disadvantaged areas whose parents may be less likely to vote. The Senate's filibuster threshold makes a lot more sense if you're looking at it in terms of food stamps in the farm bill or the Dream Act for undocumented youth. Young adult high school dropouts say that the main reason they left school is that what they were learning had nothing to do with their everyday problems. On the other hand, at-risk youth who have taken part in "service learning" programs that confront current issues within their communities are more likely to stay in school. That means they are more likely to get jobs, stay healthy, and vote.
Some critics blame educators' increased focus on math and reading for the demise of civics studies in classrooms. One doesn't necessarily cancel out the other--reading and writing about current events can be just as useful as reading and writing about Shakespeare. (No offense to the Bard.) Unfortunately, Levine says that the most disadvantaged schools tend to be the ones that hunker down around reading and math basics, perhaps forgetting that there is an election happening, because they fear being labeled as failing. No one can blame them, but the narrower focus creates a vicious cycle of inequality about teaching the role of citizens in a democracy. The kids who miss out on meaningful civics classes are the most at risk of alienation to begin with.
Where do civics or government studies fit in schools? What is the best definition of a meaningful civics education? What questions about civics studies remain unanswered? What sorts of investments are needed to foster a robust study of government? How important is it to prepare high school students to cast their first vote? Is it the school's responsibility or someone else's?
October 23, 2012 12:32 PM
Use the World to Create Better Citizens
By Tony Jackson
Civics and government has a very important place in U.S. schools. This course is typically focused on the principles and beliefs on which the United States was founded and on the structure, functions, and powers of government at the national, state, and local levels. Civics courses can involve memorization of facts and developments, but it shouldn’t be limited to that. Project-based learning allows students to tackle substantive issues in real-world ways.
One real-world application is to add a comparative, global aspect to these projects. Should America promote democracy and nation-building overseas? What are the rights of non-citizens? By tackling complex issues that are also part of real-world discourse, students become engaged, both in their civics class and in society as a voter. A recent World Savvy survey showed that recent graduates who discussed world events in their high school classes were more likely to vote in local and national elections. And 75% of those surveyed wished their high school curriculum had a more global approach.
Yet there is a perc...
Civics and government has a very important place in U.S. schools. This course is typically focused on the principles and beliefs on which the United States was founded and on the structure, functions, and powers of government at the national, state, and local levels. Civics courses can involve memorization of facts and developments, but it shouldn’t be limited to that. Project-based learning allows students to tackle substantive issues in real-world ways.
One real-world application is to add a comparative, global aspect to these projects. Should America promote democracy and nation-building overseas? What are the rights of non-citizens? By tackling complex issues that are also part of real-world discourse, students become engaged, both in their civics class and in society as a voter. A recent World Savvy survey showed that recent graduates who discussed world events in their high school classes were more likely to vote in local and national elections. And 75% of those surveyed wished their high school curriculum had a more global approach.
Yet there is a perception that the teaching of a U.S. government course within a comparative context may, in some way, diminish its significance. The exceptional development and trajectory of the United States can be upheld and reinforced while simultaneously promoting students’ understanding of the mutual impact that the world has on the United States and the United States has on the world. It is through a comparative lens that students are able to place U.S. development and ideas within the broader array of governmental structures and ideologies, as well as world events, which allows students to understand the depth of principle and practice that is needed to support our nation’s democracy.
At Glastonbury High School in Glastonbury, Connecticut, all seniors take a year-long Civics and Current Issues course that weds the study of the U.S. government with a curriculum covering some of the chief global challenges facing American citizens today and possible ways of addressing those issues. The course changes from year to year based upon national and world events, but has included issues such as a case study of Iraq and U.S. foreign policy, challenges of Latin America, U.S. foreign policy series, and issues of global interdependence. The course is team-taught and offers, as a key feature, guest speakers from the fields of government, economics, religion, and education.
Many schools provide students a traditional U.S. government or civics class paired with a course such as A.P. Comparative Government and Politics in order to provide both the U.S.-focused and comparative perspectives on government and citizenship. At the Metropolitan Learning Center in Bloomfield, Connecticut, the state requirement for civics is met through a 10th grade course entitled “Emerging Civil Societies” which explores the origin of government, the emergence of representative forms of government, and civil society as a global system. While the U.S. case is an important part of the course, it places it in a broader historical context. Students begin with a modern case study and analyze the political, governmental, and diplomatic elements. Once the elements of the case are identified, students engage in an investigation of the nature and origin of forms of government, international relations, representation, religion, and civil society through role play, simulations, and research.
These are just two examples of ways to make civics more engaging and relevant to today’s students. With the increased focus on non-fiction text in the Common Core State Standards, classes such as these can not only meet the civics requirement, but also help students meet the CCSS in English language arts.
We want our students to talk about U.S. elections and how to create a more perfect union. But in a global age, we also need our students to talk conversantly about what’s happening in Burma and Iran and Afghanistan. Civics courses are a great place for that type of education.
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