Reporter Greg Jaffe wrote:
“Like most civics teachers, Salter wanted her students to believe that their voices and opinions could shape the nation’s future — that their participation in politics was essential to improving their country, their neighborhoods and their lives. A big part of her job, as she saw it, was persuading her students to vote.”
For most students across the United States, civics is a one-shot deal in a semester-long high school course: 37 states require a stand-alone class for graduation and only 6 require a full year (see CivxNow State Policy Scan). Only 10 states require a middle school civics course. Required civics instruction is all but absent in grades K–5.
The status quo is unacceptable: Civics should be woven throughout students’ K–12 trajectory.
Moreover, a diverse generation of young people must see themselves in the story of our country and its civic life. The challenge Salter and other civics teachers face is stark: “To these students, American politics (is) an ego-driven, aimless mess.”
However, Salter is right to note, as characterized in The Washington Post article, that:
“Public school is one of the few American institutions where people from all sides of the country’s political, social and cultural divides still come together. In her view, it (is) the place where a new generation — the most diverse in the country’s history — (can) learn the skills needed to revive America’s creaking system of self-governance.”
Voting is but one of many forms of civic engagement. Volunteering, contacting public officials, following the news, discussing current issues with friends and families, and working with neighbors to address community issues are other avenues to participate meaningfully in our constitutional democracy.
Civic engagement also varies over a life cycle, generally starting slowly in early adulthood, increasing as one becomes embedded within a community and assumes career and other responsibilities; and peaking as older adults. Just because some of Salter’s students are reluctant to vote this fall, it does not mean this will always remain the case.
As civic educators and champions, we should heed the recommendations of coalition member CIRCLE, the Center for Information Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, in their “Growing Voters” initiative:
- Study community voting patterns and barriers (CIRCLE offers a helpful mapping tool);
- Provide explicit, nonpartisan instruction on the when, where, and how of voting;
- Tap into parent and peer networks, given their influence in students’ lives and prominence as sources of information about elections;
- Capitalize on preregistration as prescribed by CivxNow’s State Policy Menu and partnerships with local election authorities for students to serve as elections workers; and
- Ensure youth engagement is among your principal strategies in order to broaden civic engagement, voting included.
Our collective work is not a quick fix, but plants the seeds for a lifetime of informed civic engagement. In what has only become a more tumultuous political season since this article was published, we salute Salter and civics teachers throughout the nation for their commitment to students’ civic development. We invite you to share similar stories of trial and triumph as we collectively make the case for stronger K–12 civic education in this teachable moment, Election 2024 and beyond.
Yours in civics,
Shawn Healy
Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy, iCivics
See All