Want Civic Literacy? Quit Focusing on D.C.
By: Justin Spears|Published on: Jun 15, 2019
If we truly want to engage young people in the political process, we need to stop incessantly talking about Washington D.C. and focus on issues closer to home.
I have been teaching U.S. Government in the state of Indiana for four years now. The first half of my teaching career I spent teaching business, but social studies disciplines are my passion.
When I tell people I teach Government I get a variety of responses. The predominant reaction usually involves people ranting about the current generation’s abysmal understanding of “civics.â€
You’ve probably seen the typical “man on the street†interviews with these people. They have no foundational basis for what they believe or why it is right – or in most cases wrong. I see it on a daily basis. I ask probing questions as I begin the class, such as: What is the Bill of Rights? How many branches of government are there? How many senators does each state have? Many of these questions get met with blank stares or wild guesses.
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2019/06/15/want-civic-literacy-quit-focusing-on-d-c/
