TLTW poster
There’s a hearing tomorrow to restore civics as a mandated course in public schools. Learn more about Teens Leading the Way here and check out their FaceBook page to learn more.
Then check out the Members of the Joint Committee on Education to see if your Rep or Senator are on it and call them to vote to get this bill S 00183 out of Committee “Ought to Pass”.
Then you can watch this video rap from Truly Something titled Civics is a Movement” (who knew?) with a special shout out to lead Sponsor Senator Harriett Chandler Truly Something from Teens Leading the Way
Please share widely!
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itemize the importance of young people learning how to participate in the decision making processes of their local, state and federal governments.
There are many many courses my kids don’t have the time or opportunity to take. Making civics a requirement would cut out something more important.
First, you have never shown in the past that you care at all whether kids get to study physics or not. Second, while I think Physics is a cool subject, the vast majority of kids who take it will never have an opportunity to apply their knowledge. Civics, on the other hand, is valuable for all citizens. Third, Physics and all lab courses are more expensive to teach and would be taught by different teachers than civics in most cases, so it is not a good counter argument. Most probably, any added civics coursework would come out of time allotted for study of history. Perhaps kids could spend a little less time studying ancient cultures for instance.
our Founding Fathers would argue
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There is absolutely no reason that you cannot teach civics in an intellectually demanding fashion, of course.
You know what it would turn into. Even I could get an A.
As I said, you can teach civics as an easy course or a hard course. I have no doubt you could pass the easy version, but who cares? This is a lazy straw man argument.
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I don’t understand this at all. In what way is learning about government “liberal indoctrination”? Or is it simply that you assume that all teachers and course designers have a strong “liberal” bias, which they will apply to the course? I have absolutely no doubt that civics could just as well be taught with a strong conservative bias. Hopefully, it would be neither.
Many years ago when I was a freshman at Rockport HS, Civics was a required course. We studied the Constitution. Part of the course was devoted to consumer issues, teaching us not to be fooled by unscrupulous marketers.
The course was not a “gut.” Calling it so is yet another example of Republicans trying to avoid the real issue, which is that citizens in a democracy need to be well informed.
During my three year tenure on the Cambridge School Committee as a student representative I tried in vain to get Civics mandated to be taught, though I give credit to several members that stood with me. Most people know what the President does, who he is, and how to vote for him, but few know who their most local representatives are from Congress on down to school committee. It is local civic education that is most important to get people engaged in the process. That and understanding their constitutional rights, far too many adults do not understand the role of the courts or the various arguments for and against certain decisions and the media doesn’t help making the court seem like a plebiscite on social issues and a third branch of Congress. And in Cambridge particularly, learning how to vote in local elections is vital. Its where participation is lowest and ironically where it would have the greatest impact.
Typically a high school kid takes 6 classes. And let’s assume a typical 9th grader in Boston, Lawrence, Holyoke. She can’t read at grade level, or even close to it. She cannot add fractions. Doesn’t know that water is made of two molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen. Okay.
The question is: who decides what courses will help her the most? You. Or her school’s board/principal/teachers.
Are you sure that civics should trump other options — additional course in reading, writing, math…or perhaps art, music, drivers ed, vocational class, an elective, gym, civics, health, computer programming, media literacy?
When you fight to elevate civics for ALL children above all other plausible choices, do you even acknowledge the inherent tradeoffs (and still think they’re worth it), or do you have a “we can do it all, there are no tradeoffs” view?
Yes civics should be mandated, and we understand the tradeoffs of not studying Greek or nunclear physics or Howard Zinn version of American History. I know, they were being fresh, but were a little put out by your assumptions that they needed remedial help..
Finally they would like to add to your list of those who should decide what courses they tale…..principals , school committee, teachers a whole new voice
Themselves….
Gotta go….they’about to go on…..thanks for learning opportunity….