Dear Friends and Colleagues,
The purpose of schooling is, of course, to educate students and equip them for the future. And, as education pathfinder, psychologist and philosopher John Dewey reminds us, education is also about cultivating the knowledge, skills and dispositions essential to a thriving democracy.
The topic of civic engagement has drawn national attention among educators, policymakers and beyond. This is long overdue. In 2022, just 14 percent of eighth graders nationwide scored “proficient” in U.S. history, according to recent data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Less than one-quarter reached that benchmark in civics.
As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, it is a particularly good moment to ask the people sitting at our kitchen tables, in our classrooms and in boardrooms: How well are we preparing young people to sustain and strengthen our democracy? What more might we do to nurture civic readiness, so young people are not only career-ready but democracy-ready?
The urgency of these questions is underscored by Rick Hess in his piece for Education Next, where he argues that students often receive the “wrong kind of civic education,” as news coverage may be teaching them more about political dysfunction than about the core principles of democracy itself.
Two close conspirators, Pam Cantor and Fernande Raine, with colleague Susan Rivers, recently co-authored a piece in the NASBE State Education Standard titled “The Science of Experiential Civics.” They argue that the disconnect between high school students and civics stems from young people not seeing their perspectives and ideas reflected or included in the systems that affect their lives. They recommend an elegant solution: experiential civics. The model is grounded in neuroscience and developmental psychology, and it transforms civic learning into something engaging, personal and participatory.“ Just like in other academic subjects,” the authors write, “teens become active, engaged learners of civics and history when they are invited into and challenged in environments that nurture their sense of self, belonging, curiosity, agency, and purpose.”
Even more exciting are efforts to make these ideas accessible and actionable in every classroom in the nation. This month, Raine’s team at History Co:Lab released a powerful set of recommendations that educators can use to bring experiential civics to life. In essence, they’ve developed 18 Civic Learning Journeys that every adolescent should experience before adulthood. This framework draws on decades of research in the learning sciences and was co-constructed with teachers and teens. It is an incredible distillation of how to help young people become democracy-ready. If you’re curious about this subject, and you do one thing today, look at this blueprint for experiential civic learning.
We all want young people to develop their civic selves—to recognize their power to shape the world around them. To do so, we must create rich learning experiences that connect them to the core principles and practices of democracy. Raine and team have given us a beautiful, practical path for how to do precisely that.
John Dewey is celebrating somewhere.
In partnership,
%20(2).png?upscale=true&width=450&upscale=true&name=CAR%20logo_INTER_Black@4x%20(1)%20(2).png)
.png?upscale=true&width=600&upscale=true&name=CFN_600x400_Feb24_v4%20(2).png)
