Civic Education: A Positive National Conversation

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Robert Brescia
May 2, 2021

In this article, I review some proven methods to fulfill civic education and provide examples of each of them. There is currently a building momentum and groundswell of activity around civic education. I believe this is because of the growing complexity of our public landscape and the obvious knowledge gap of many who are charged to bring progress to the fore. When I did some basic research about civic education, I discovered some successful exemplars. I believe these initiatives and approaches are worthy of consideration.

Civic education in our K-12 systems has traditionally been lurking under various curricula sporting other names, such as Government, U.S. History and others. First, what exactly is civics? Civics may be briefly described as, “The study of the rights and duties of citizenship.” Although our chosen civics definition is short and understandable, the attempts to operationalize that definition have been long and obtuse.

Here is an example of how civics education manifests in high school: Under current structure, I teach World Geography as an individual branch under the composite of Texas Social Studies. My certification enables me to teach World Geography, World History, U.S. History, Government / Civics / Political Science, Economics and Behavioral Sciences—all at the 7-12 grade level. To achieve that eligibility, I had to pass a content exam (knowledge of those areas) and a Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) exam (general teaching concept knowledge). I also had to attend and pass an Educator Preparatory Program (EPP) at an approved university departmental program. Therefore, the bar is set rather high to be able to undertake classroom teaching responsibilities in civics.

It would be beneficial to examine the past to illuminate our current and future desires to strengthen civic education in the United States. In 2014, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) published the, “Guidebook: Six Proven Practices for Civic Education.” In summary, these are the six practices:

1. Provide instruction in government, history, law and democracy. Traditional approaches may have included the 1976 Schoolhouse Rock! Episode “I’m Just a Bill”—today, we need vibrant, internet-based student engagement in learning the hard structure of government and democracy. One of the great programs that schools can use to focus on these areas is Constituting America—a Dallas-based nonprofit admirably led by Janine Turner and Cathy Gillespie. The organization offers instruction on the U.S. Constitution in compelling, 21^st century ways. They can provide in-classroom lessons not only from their own ranks but from nationally acclaimed experts in the field.
2. Incorporate discussion of current local, national and international issues and events in the classroom, particularly those that young people view as important to their lives. Once students have understood the structures, history and rationale comprising our government and all its workings, it is then time to apply current controversial issues against those structures—analyze, employ critical thinking, discover findings and make conclusions and recommendations. We should embrace controversy and push the envelope with our students in these areas. These might include tackling the national debt, evaluating courses of action to address aging infrastructure or conducting a meta-analysis of immigration laws, comparing ours against other developed nations.
3. Design and implement programs that provide students with opportunities to apply what they learn through performing community service that is linked to the formal curriculum and classroom instruction. This translates largely into service learning and is a critical component of civics-engagement. Students can design their own service projects by examining community needs and challenges. They can exercise more choice over their own learning in this manner and do some valuable community outreach.
4. Offer extracurricular activities that provide opportunities for young people to get involved in their schools or communities. For example, Texas has created an Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO) Council that studies and makes recommendations concerning expanded learning opportunities for public school students. Such expanded learning opportunities may take a variety of forms and may include civic learning opportunities for students. For example, the San Antonio based Summer of Service (SOS) program started SOS from Home, allowing local youth to participate in philanthropic projects and earn service hours while schools were closed.
5. Encourage student participation in school governance. For example, a youth advisory council in Colorado drafted legislation that was unanimously passed by that state’s legislature to reform teacher licensing laws to include suicide awareness prevention training.
6. Encourage students’ participation in simulations of democratic processes and procedures. Current events could be backdrops for mock trials and elections, following explicit and appropriate instruction in the subject matter. Care must always be taken to avoid getting mired in political ideologies; I believe most civics teachers can handle those constraints.

My personal wish list for any good civics program would include leadership and public speaking. There is a noticeable gap in these areas, and they are skills that can bolster students’ self-confidence. What can you do to help the civics effort? Find out what your state legislators are doing to advance civics education in your elementary and secondary schools. Join those efforts in supporting legislation designed to improve civic education of young Americans. Lead by example!

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Author: Dr. Robert Brescia respects the wisdom of generations, promotes the love of learning, teaches ethics to university students, geography to 9^th graders, and leadership to organizations. The Governor of Texas recently appointed him to the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC). Bob has a doctoral degree with distinction in Executive Leadership from The George Washington University. Contact him at [email protected].

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