By Carolyn Jones
The national political climate may be polarized and combative, but California is taking steps to ensure K-12 students learn to have respectful debates, get involved in their communities and understand their rights.
The State Board of Education is poised on March 11 to add civics to the California School Dashboard, the primary accountability tool for the state’s public K-12 schools. The aim is to encourage more students to excel in their government classes, show a strong understanding of the Constitution and the foundations of democracy, and get involved in civics-related extracurricular or community activities.
In addition, the state is promoting a wide range of civics activities commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States and the 175th anniversary of California becoming a state. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has convened a group of experts to come up with lessons, events, field trips and other activities for students and communities. The idea is to inspire students to get involved, become regular voters or even run for public office.
‘Something that has to be taught’
The moves couldn’t come at a better time, advocates said.
“The issue is urgent. There’s a lot of concern right now about the state of democracy and the role of schools,” said Michael Matsuda, former superintendent of Anaheim Union High School District. He’s long been a champion of civics education. “Who’s responsible for making sure the next generation upholds democracy? It’s not in the air — it’s something that has to be taught, and schools have to teach it.”
For decades, civics education has been sidelined in California schools, largely due to the intense focus on reading and math brought forth by the No Child Left Behind initiative in the early 2000s. Even though it’s woven throughout the state’s History-Social Science Framework, civics is not included on standardized tests and only required for one semester senior year. Some schools and individual teachers have strong, vibrant programs, but many don’t.
To boost civics education, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill in 2017 creating the Seal of Civic Engagement, similar to the state’s Seal of Biliteracy, recognizing students who excel in the subject. Students who earn the seal receive a gold seal on their diploma or transcript.
The program got off to a slow start, as researchers found that lower-income students and those in politically “purple” areas typically had fewer options for a robust civics education. In politically mixed communities, teachers were reluctant to discuss current events or bring up controversial topics for fear of parent pushback. And low-income schools were less likely to have student governments, student newspapers, field trips to the Capitol or other activities that enhance civic learning.
In the first year of the program, just 1% of high school graduates earned a seal and only 103 high schools — out of 1,200 — offered it. But the numbers have been climbing. Last year, more than 23,000 students earned a seal, representing just under half of all high schools.
Boosting accountability
Under the proposed dashboard changes, civics will be part of schools’ accountability measurement for the first time. Schools will receive credit under the “college and career” metric depending on the success of their Seal of Civic Engagement program.
But it won’t be obvious to the public: civics will be part of a larger stew of metrics that include the number of students who complete a career pathway or finish the courses required for admission to California’s public universities.
Still, it’s a step forward for a subject that some say rarely gets the attention it deserves.
“Civic engagement is an important skill for any adult in a democracy,” said Elizabeth Sanders, spokesperson for the state Department of Education. “(By boosting the Seal of Civic Engagement) we can engage in an important conversation about what it means to prepare our young adults for full, empowered participation in our communities and society.”
Competing curricula
Meanwhile, at the federal level, policy shifts have led to some confusion as to what constitutes civics, what patriotism is, and what the foundational principles of the country are. Civics education has traditionally been nonpartisan, but the Trump administration has steered funding and curriculum-creation to right-leaning advocacy groups while eliminating funding for long-established organizations it deemed “divisive.”
Along the same lines, the U.S. Department of Education in September convened a coalition of about 50 conservative groups to come up with patriotic ways for schools to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary. The group is led by the America First Policy Institute, which pushes schools to minimize the role of slavery and racism when teaching U.S. history. Other groups in the coalition promote religion in public schools and want restrictions on the rights of transgender students.
The effort draws largely from the Freedom 250, one of two federally created organizations to commemorate the country’s semiquincentennial. Freedom 250, backed by the White House, offers a conservative take on American history, with a focus on God and the values set forth in the Declaration of Independence.
The other federal organization, America250, is a nonpartisan group created by Congress. Less political than Freedom 250, America 250 encourages students and others to visit American landmarks, volunteer in their communities and contribute videos documenting their own “American story.”
California is weighing in with its own website and lesson ideas. Newsom invited a group of experts to create a California version, wrapping in the state’s 175th anniversary. So far, the 175 Years of California Dreaming website includes a summary of the state’s history, videos focusing on different regions of the state, ways to volunteer, and text about what California has meant to the country and world. Eventually it will include lessons and activities for classrooms and community resources, Marissa Saldivar, assistant deputy director for communications in the governor’s office, said.
The multiple America at 250 curricula only make life harder for civics teachers, who are already “treading lightly” in the current era of hyper-polarization, said Michelle Herczog, former history and social science coordinator for the Los Angeles County Office of Education and former president of the National Council for Social Studies.
“How do you talk about the elephant in the room without mentioning the elephant?” said Herczog, referring to the Trump administration. “It requires a very special skill set for teachers to stay out of the political fray.”
Ideally, she said, students can learn about the promise of the Constitution and then ask themselves if the founders’ goals have actually been realized, and where should the country go from here.
“Do we really have liberty and justice for all? Do all Americans really have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?” she said. “How can we keep the fight going? I want them to commit to that.”
Giving students a voice
Civics teachers interviewed by CalMatters said they were sidestepping the America 250 hoopla and focusing instead on the ideas they’ve always taught: why the Constitution matters, how to think critically about policies and ideas, why it’s important to vote and how to get involved in their communities. There simply isn’t enough time in a one-semester class to delve deeply into new curriculum, some said.
At Cypress High School in Anaheim, government teacher Teresa Shimogawa has her students examine a problem in their community and explore solutions. Students also participate in Social Justice Day, a science-fair type of event where they give speeches, do art projects and create exhibits inspired by policies they’re interested in.
“I don’t focus too much on what Congress did this week, or what the president said. It’s too depressing, and kids feel hopeless,” Shimogawa said. “Instead, I try to make them feel like they have a voice, and give them the tools to advocate for good.”
Amber Bradley, who teaches government at River City High School in West Sacramento, said that regardless of the dueling America-at-250 curricula, it’s a stressful time to be a civics teacher.
“Being a civics teacher right now is complicated,” Bradley said. “We teach kids about their rights, but then they see the federal government ignore those rights. It’s discouraging for everyone.”
Like Shimogawa, Bradley gives her students plenty of hands-on projects that allow them to feel empowered. And she tries to keep her classroom nonpartisan, so students feel comfortable expressing their opinions and ideas — no matter what they are.
“It’s an overwhelming time for them and me,” Bradley said. “But I know my kids will make a difference. They’re going to change things for the better.”
Free speech and open inquiry
At Futures High School in Rio Linda, a charter high school north of Sacramento, students said they want civics class to be a place where they can ask questions about current events and express their opinions freely, without feeling attacked or embarrassed. They also want to learn what their rights are, how the legal system works and how they can protect them.
More than half the students at Futures are immigrants, with most coming from Russia and Ukraine. Nikita Artemov, a senior who immigrated from Russia, said that he highly values free speech and wants to hear other students’ viewpoints, not just in civics but in all classes.
“I want teachers to encourage discussion between students, promote an open environment,” said Artemov, who along with his classmates attended a civics education conference in Sacramento recently. “I want to hear students from different countries with different perspectives.”
His classmate Zinat Nabizada, an immigrant from Afghanistan, agreed.
“Just hearing someone else’s opinion is a really big thing,” she said. “If people want to ask a question or say what they think, they should be able to.”
A personal quest
Matsuda, the former Anaheim superintendent, now devotes himself full time to promoting civics education. For him, it’s a personal passion: his parents, U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry, were interned during World War II.
He sees similar threats to civil liberties happening now in the U.S., making civics education all the more important at this point in history. Students need to learn about real-world problems, who is responsible, and how to use democratic systems to address those problems, he said.
“The Constitution is being challenged almost every day. It’s easy to talk about democracy, but what does it mean on the ground?” Matsuda said. “We need to teach civics in a way that is non-partisan and not imposing adult opinions. If that doesn’t happen, our country will become more divisive than ever. This is absolutely vital for the next 250 years.”
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.