Learning civics spurs more involvement

In 2012, the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement released the seminal report, “A Crucible Moment: College Learning & Democracy’s Future.” The report opens with a pretty bleak civic landscape for the U.S.: low voter participation as compared to other world democracies, dismal approval ratings for Congress, and relatively small numbers of citizens who contact public officials. The central point of “A Crucible Moment” though is that our educational system, particularly institutions of higher education, can help address this crisis.

The report calls on educators from across the country to “advance a 21st century vision of college learning for all students – a vision of civic learning and democratic engagement as an expected part of every students’ college education.” Not only would the civic health of the country be improved if this vision was achieved, but as was outlined by NASPA, the leading higher education student affairs professional association in the U.S., students would be educated to be active citizens who embody “democratic participation in their communities, respect and appreciation of diversity, applied learning and social responsibility.”

Essentially... Q: Why is it important to integrate civic engagement practices throughout our educational system? A: The future of our country depends on it.

It seems a bit dramatic and pretty daunting, but as an educator in a local college, this call to action deeply resonated with me. How can education tackle this? Across the country K-12 schools have civic-focused curricula. A product of a public education, I remember taking a government class in high school. Colleges and universities offer courses with titles like “Issues in American Politics” and “Basics of U.S. Political Economy.” The foundation is out there. In classrooms across the country, from elementary school on up, students are learning about our country’s political processes.

And while that’s incredibly, incredibly important, it’s only part of the solution. The key to really creating an active and engaged citizenry is to help young people understand not just how the political process works, but that they can and need to actually be a part of it to impact social change. The process needs to be more accessible to them. They need to see themselves in it.

Consider voting. While there are many ways to participate in the democratic process, voting is particularly relevant right now with the presidential election process underway. When it comes to voting however, oftentimes young people are portrayed as uninterested and apathetic. But they’re not. If you’re following the news coverage, young people (classified as 18-29 year olds) are turning out in record numbers to these current primaries and caucuses.

According to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), the youth vote matters for a variety of reasons: This demographic, 18-29 year olds, make up 21 percent of the eligible voting population here in the U.S. and their voice is important. Not only that, but as a significant portion of the electorate, their participation can impact election results. Additionally, CIRCLE says that “voting is habit-forming... getting young people to vote early could be key to raising a new generation of voters.” When young people are engaged in the voting process, they are exponentially more likely to continue to do so throughout their lives.

I find this last point to be extremely meaningful. Providing students the tools they need to be informed participants as engaged voters in their democracy is a crucial step in creating a more active citizenry not just now in the present moment, but for generations to come. As educators, if we can integrate civic practices throughout our curricular and co-curricular experiences, then we can positively impact this outcome.