Thoughts About Increasing Civic Learning...From Massachusetts

Today I came across Massachusetts' Senator Richard T. Moore's February 13, 2013 article in the MetroWest Daily News concerning current failings in civic literacy.  He highlights that the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress in Civics and History reported that one quarter of students were adequately taught civic engagement issues, and less than 10% of eighth graders had knowledge of checks and balances, yet only one third of teachers cover issues of civics in their classes. He targets readers towards  a December 2010 report entitled "A Report of the Special Commission on Civic Engagement and Learning," the production of a commission formed in July 2008 by the state legislature, and presents other observations about the lack of civic knowledge in society.  His conclusion is that there is a "lack of effective, high quality, student-centered civic learning opportunities in our schools" explaining that " civic learning and democratic engagement are not staples of every student‟s education today, as they have been in the past and must be for our nation‟s future. In too many schools and on too many college campuses, civic learning and democratic engagement are add-ons, rather than an essential part of the core academic mission."

He asserts that prior to the 1960s, the study of civics and the role of the citizen were common in American high schools and are no longer today, replaced with a course on American government.  Although I cannot personally attest to what education was offered prior to the 1960s, I can attest that during the time of my schooling and since, much education on democracy has been focused solely on government structure and not on citizen engagement.  In my high school and those of my successors, community service has far too often been defined only by contribution of time to service and care projects such as soup kitchen, Habitat for Humanity and park clean ups.  Indeed society might break down if students were not encouraged to participate in acts of charity and kindness--but our democratic tradition can also break down if students are not encouraged to consider their role in democratic institutions.

Senator Moore, citing to the Campaign for Civic Mission of Schools, cites to six elements of civic education (or civic learning as he calls it), namely:  (1) student-centered classroom instruction in civics, government, history, economics, law and geography; (2) service learning linked to classroom learning; (3) experiential learning; (4) learning through participation in models and simulations of democratic processes; (5) guided
classroom discussion of current issues and events, and (6) meaningful participation in school governance.  His website includes citation to a December 2012 report Renewing the Social Compact: A Report of the Special Commission on Civic Engagement and Learning that proposes ways for states and town to incorporate these educational goals. It also presents an analytic way of considering the aspects of civic learning.

I am encouraged to see this discourse on state levels. I am hoping schools curriculum are altered to affect the findings discussed by Senator Moore. I also hope that teachers are given the encouragement and freedom to bring civics into their existing curriculum.  A tour through the standard middle school and high school curriculum present numerous opportunities for civic engagement education.  For instance, an existing government teacher can have its student consider a social issue, perhaps one they care about, and attend and community meetings of two or more organizations seeking to address the issue and report back on their findings.  An English teacher could have their student readers of the Tale of Two Cities, the Scarlet Letter, and the Odyssey consider how the stories influence or reinforce their perspective on life in contemporary America.