‘Civics that sticks’

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The recent passing of Jimmy Carter led to a flood of media commentary related to his governance of the U.S. from 1976 to 1980, as well as the governance of various predecessors and successors. These articles described the fickle nature of the voting public and the total ignorance at times of elected officials of how to implement the workings of America’s Constitution.

The current bewilderment in the Houses of Representatives in Washington and St. Paul adds to the growing fear of a total lack of understanding of why the founding fathers adopted federalism (sharing of power between the states and the federal government) as the basic governing system, and why they spelled out required safeguards (e.g., separation of powers) and various freedoms (e.g., speech, religion and assembly) in our Constitution.

These are complex concepts that have served America well for more than 235 years. It is clear we must make sure these key concepts are understood and safeguarded by future generations of American citizens.

While there is no simple way to do this, there are existing programs that work, and dynamic new approaches are being developed and implemented to improve civic education in our schools. A greater depth of understanding of our constitutional concepts and safeguards will result.

“Civics that sticks” is the slogan that best captures this goal. Here are some of the changes that have been implemented or are being actively considered to “make civics stick”:

The Minnesota Legislature in 2022 took a step toward civic improvement by requiring that all high school students in Minnesota be given nonpartisan voting information about how and where to register and vote. The League of Women Voters and its hundreds of volunteers, along with Secretary of State Steve Simon, have added that procedure to their longstanding efforts to teach the responsibility of voting. The result is that Minnesota continues to be the leading state in the nation in voter participation.

This change also assisted in increasing mock elections in schools. For example, in a collaboration between the YMCA’s Center for Youth Voice and the Secretary of State’s Office, more than 525 schools held realistic mock elections last fall. Across the state, more than 300,000 students cast ballots in some type of mock election. This experiential learning provides lasting impressions and should be expanded.

During this same time frame, new education social study standards were being developed by many citizens, teachers, school administrators, the Department of Education, the Minnesota Humanities Council, tribal leaders and other relevant organizations. These standards were recently approved for use in all Minnesota schools and will be fully implemented in the 2026-27 school year. The standards describe in general terms what is to be taught in the teaching of social studies, including history and civics. Local schools will develop the actual curriculum and local school boards can have a major say on the content. Classroom teachers then prepare detailed lesson plans using their creativity, training and experience to engage the next generation of voters in thinking about what it means to be a citizen in America.

In the 2023 session, the Legislature took an additional action in its advancement of civics education. Led by Republican Rep. Dean Urdahl (who has since retired) and DFL Sen. Steve Cwodzinski, civics became a required for credit course in all the 325 public school districts and 175 charter schools in the state. This course must be taught in either the 11th or 12th grades. While some schools do this now, many do not.

There are more 70,000 students in each of the 11th and 12th grades. Civics will be more meaningful to these soon-to-be voters, since they are beginning to seriously consider more education, career options, military service and a variety of other choices in life. This new requirement goes into effect in the 2027-28 school year.

The combined result of all these changes is a major opportunity to add tens of thousands of informed citizens to the public square annually. To assist the teachers and improve the understanding of civic matters, a first-time gathering of people and organizations interested in this civics opportunity is being held Feb. 22-23 at St. Cloud State University in connection with the annual Conference of the Council for Social Studies.

This “Minnesota Civics Summit” will explore with teachers methods to help bring about a cohesive system to help young Minnesotans truly understand the significance of our Constitution. These possible methods include getting students involved in the curriculum writing process, having students attend or view video clips of the emotional naturalization ceremonies for new citizens, and reviewing the oath of allegiance all new citizens must take. The use of various art forms such as writing or performing plays involving civic themes, and doing this in cooperation with artists and college students from a nearby state college on one of the 54 campuses in the state, will be discussed, as will the creation of a “clearinghouse” for teachers to easily find out about these possible teaching tools.

People and organizations interested in registering to attend or who want more information can check lwvmn.org/civics.

Tom Berg is a former state legislator, a former U.S. Attorney, and author of “Minnesota’s Miracle, Learning From The Government That Worked.”