Recent events underscore the idea that we should bring back civics as a required subject. Or, perhaps even better, maybe we should extend the requirement beyond classrooms and into the very fabric of American life, where we get to make informed choices.

We’ve witnessed a former president — and the presumptive candidate seeking to regain the Oval Office — convicted of a felony; the rejection of a ceasefire in Gaza, where a catastrophe among innocents continues to unfold; and a clash between the constitutional rights of speech and assembly and the peacekeeping presence of city police on college campuses.

A grounding in civics gives us context with which to think about what is happening, a sense of how to respond and an idea of whether or where best to engage further. Hint: Social media posts only dab at any of the three.

Even for those who eschew major world or local events, preferring to keep their distance and opt for disengagement, a good civic grounding can be useful, perhaps even enlightening. Choosing to stay on the periphery of an issue is still a choice, one made more clearly with a working knowledge of civics.

The push to bring back civics into school curricula is a good idea, the subject having gone the way of the humanities, lost perhaps in the political rush toward accountability and measurable outcomes.

Civics may very well be measured with tests, but its real value is not simply giving an individual information about how the government works, what the limits of its power are, what citizens’ responsibilities in a representative democracy entail or any of the bedrock of a basic civics focus. More than that, however, the goal of civics education should be to prepare citizens to be engaged, responsible and well-informed members of their neighborhoods, cities, states, nation and the world.

Still, knowing a few ideas in civics such as the three branches of government (famously unknown by a sitting U.S. senator), the system of checks and balances, the separation of power, the rationale underpinning constitutional tenets and how elections work serves us well, especially today, in a world where the uninformed, the unrepentant, even the unhinged vie for our attention, our money and our votes

Civics education’s connection to history and law also allow us to put into context the major events of our time, comparing them to previous political, cultural or social shifts or upheavals. We can, for example, then better understand the difference between a state jurisdiction and federal one in a recent historic court case, the limits and levers of American influence in ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine and the dynamics at work as more than a few school boards and state legislatures try to rewrite history.

Nebraska requires high school students either to write a paper on a civic-based holiday, attend a public hearing or take the United States citizenship test to graduate. It does not ask students to pass a standalone civics class, one of 11 states without that requirement.

State Sen. George Dungan’s Legislative Bill 225, which was postponed indefinitely in the 2024 Nebraska Legislature, would offer a fourth option to meet the civics requirement: Serving as a poll worker on Election Day, followed by a paper or project detailing the experience. The bill would also require school boards to have a student on an “American civics committee,” a body charged with assuring that the social studies curriculum is aligned with state standards and “… teaches foundational knowledge in civics, history, economics, financial literacy, and geography.…”

The train moving toward more emphasis on civic education is on the right track … and not a moment too soon. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), its National Report Card for 2022 showed that for the first time ever, student scores in civics fell, losing 2 percentage points from 2018.

Of course, civic understanding and civic engagement differ. The good news is that understanding can lead to further engagement and — as is surely the hope in some of the school requirements above — engagement can also bring greater understanding.

Responsible and responsive American citizens obviously have more than a grounding in civics going for them. Plus, we all have the option, as mentioned above, of throwing up our hands in frustration and “checking out” of the process … political, social, cultural, whatever.

That said, an understanding of civics neither dissuades engagement nor dilutes disengagement. Having such an awareness and knowledge of how this thing we call representative democracy and government works gives us informed options.

Imagine a place with no choice.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/06/10/civics-gives-us-informed-choices/