Although a number of topics have been discussed in relation to the realities of the presidential election in 2024, civics education—or the lack of it—has received the greatest attention. Many argue that democracy is in danger because it is not taught in public schools.
Some people are trying to alter that fact.
Black women pushing the pause button, missing-in-action Black allies, and the Democratic Party’s message problems are topics that are rightfully discussed in both barbershop talks and cable news shows. However, civics education is the final destination of all those discussions.
However, what is civics education exactly?
CIVICS ED
Children and adults alike learn about their rights, duties, and participation in democratic processes through civics education. Civics education actually emphasizes that without citizens doing their share of the work, such as voting, educating themselves on problems, and keeping elected officials responsible, a democracy cannot function.
It covers the fundamentals, such as the three branches of government and the distinctions between elected officials at the municipal, state, and federal levels (as well as their varying responsibilities). Because it instructs students on which elected offices and/or branches of government should be held accountable for which issues, the last section is crucial.
RELATED: How educators in grades K–12 can influence future voters
WHY IMPORTANT
The League of Women Voters’ president, Dr. Annie Benifield, believes that civic education is what keeps America’s shaky democracy together.
According to Benifield, it’s crucial that each individual understands their place in the community and how the government works to implement changes based on citizen input. It is therefore crucial.
Rep. Harold Dutton of the state agrees.
According to him, if we don’t prioritize civic education, we’re doing our democracy a disservice since it encourages more people to participate in it. Additionally, it is undoubtedly better for everyone in a democracy when more people engage.
LOCAL EFFORTS TO REVIVE
Houstonians are taking action to revive civics education for local adults and children in the spirit of Freedom Summer 1964.
Under the direction of members of the Congress of Racial Equality and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, more than 40 Freedom Schools operated in Mississippi that summer of 1964. Their goal is to use civics education to empower Black residents and their kids.
INCLUDE A FREEDOM SCHOOLS VIDEO HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I792Qeyur5Q
Benifield is hard at work setting up Voters College, a mobile civics education initiative that will bring courses to people wherever they congregate, in collaboration with political organizing icon Pam Gaskin.
The Houston Voting Initiative (HVI) will host both in-person and online webinars at community centers, churches, and other organizations throughout the city to increase public participation and educate people about the role of government and the part that each citizen plays in enacting public policy. Particularly considering that the congressional session is scheduled for January 3 and the legislative session will start on January 14.
HVI, Benifield and Gaskin’s idea, will harness the strength of the Black population, particularly Black women.
Gaskin, who has been active in voter advocacy since her freshman year at the University of Texas in 1966, stated, “We’re going to do [Voters College] as a collaborative with the Divine Four, the female part of the Divine Nine: Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta, and Sigma Gamma Rho.” For heaven’s sake, we will do it if the schools refuse to.
IMPACT OF ABSENCE
The Pleasantville Historical Society’s president, Mary Fontenot, is acutely aware of the harm caused by a lack of civics instruction.
“The lack of education and understanding of the political process was one of the scariest things I saw in this recent election,” Fontenot remarked. The fact that the people in our Black and Brown neighborhoods lack education is what hurts the most. They lack an understanding of the significance of civic involvement, what it entails, and how to get involved.
It’s gone. And we must regain it in some way, and quickly.
The figures support Fontenot’s assessment of the situation.
According to a 2016 survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, one in four Americans cannot identify the three branches of government.
A detrimental snowball effect is started by this ignorance of the fundamentals of how government operates. Citizens’ growing lack of confidence in elected leadership is facilitated by a lack of civics education. For example, as of March 2019, only 17% of Americans believe that the Washington administration will act morally.
A lack of civic engagement (i.e., voting, holding elected officials accountable, actively keeping informed about issues, and lower participation in community organizations) is correlated with a lack of faith in the government. Younger voters are particularly affected by this.
In other words, ignorance kills the citizen acts that sustain democracy.
DN VIDEO: Sharon Watkins Jones and Pam Gaskin, voting champions, discuss civics education.
NOT ABSENT, BUT LOW QUALITY
Once more, Black folks frequently reiterate that civics instruction has been eliminated from K–12 classrooms. However, in practice, it hasn’t kind of.
According to a 2017 National Education Association (NEA) research, it was typical for American high school students to take three distinct civics and government classes prior to the 1960s. However, as the curriculum became more limited over the following decades, civics options were drastically reduced.
But according to that survey, about 90% of children take at least one civics lesson, and all 50 states mandate some kind of civics and/or government education.
The NEA discovered that, like most things in America, there is a noticeable racial disparity in the quality of civics instruction, not that it has vanished.
On the NAEP Civics Assessment, just 25% of American students achieve the proficient level.According to the NEA analysis, the likelihood of Black and Hispanic students from low-income households surpassing that threshold is four to six times lower than that of white, affluent pupils.
Why? Because compared to kids in majority-minority and low-income schools, pupils in wealthier public school districts are much more likely to receive high-quality civics instruction. Along with the usual civics lesson plans, they also receive experience-based learning opportunities such as guided debates, community service, critical discussion of current events, and democratic process simulations. Students that are economically challenged, Black, or Brown frequently do not receive those extra civics education resources.
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