Educating for Democracy

 

When I was in high school in the first half of the 1960s, the idea of democracy was integral to the curriculum. We were still in the midst of the Cold War—a situation made more dramatic by the space race.  But the country was also facing a Civil Rights battle, the early stages of the War in Vietnam, and the beginning of the youth rebellion, as early Baby Boomers reached their teen years inspired by the achievements of role models who had come of age in the late fifties.  Many of our teachers were WWII veterans or had family who fought in that war or in Korea. 

The post-war goal of creating citizens who could protect democracy and solve social problems was built into the social studies curriculum.  Ninth grade social studies devoted one semester to Pennsylvania history and another to the structure of government.  Tenth grade was western civilization.  Eleventh was U.S. history.  Twelfth grade was Problems of Democracy, a year-long focus on the Constitution and historical and current Constitutional issues. 

We graduated into the chaos of Vietnam, youth rebellion, the civil rights movement, rock and roll, and the technology revolution.  Interesting times, for sure.  That high school curriculum helped us steer our way through the social changes that surrounded us.

When I look around at the world today, I worry whether young adults in the 2020s are being prepared by their high school curriculum to respond to the social challenges of a multicultural, global society in a global information-based economy.  I checked out the social studies curriculum at my high school alma mater.  It looks like this:

            Ninth Grade:               Western Civilization

            Tenth Grade:               U.S. History

            Eleventh Grade:          Civics and Government, plus an Elective

            Twelfth Grade:            Electives

Elective choices include:  Western Civilization, Advanced Western Civilization, U.S. History, Advanced U.S. History, Civics and Government, World Cultures, Human Geography, Social Issues, and Psychology, along with some dual enrollment opportunities.

            I use my own alma mater as an example, confident that it is not too far from the norm. The curriculum potentially covers a lot of ground when you include electives.  The question, though, is whether everyone gets the basics needed for a graduating senior to successfully participate in the social, political, and civic environments of today’s global information society.  That is:  Are we educating our students to be effective citizens?

It is a question that came home to roost yesterday, when a large number of extremists invaded the U.S. Congress in a insurrection prompted by the sitting U.S. President that took four lives and embarrassed our nation internationally.  How do we, as a nation, educate ourselves out of this situation?  After January 20, the educational community should come together to ask what we can do to better educate our citizens—all of our citizens—to succeed in their role as citizens of a constitutional democracy.