When you鈥檝e been around as long as I have, one gets all manner of intriguing questions. While I usually respond to such queries in private, some seem likely to be of broader interest. So, in 鈥淎sk Rick,鈥� I occasionally take up reader queries. If you鈥檇 like to send one along, just send it to me, care of Greg Fournier, at greg.fournier@aei.org.
Dear Rick,
Last fall, I saw you wrote a piece that seemed to suggest we 蝉丑辞耻濒诲苍鈥檛 care whether civics education encourages students to vote. With presidential primary season upon us, I found myself thinking back on the piece. At the time, I thought that was a pretty odd stance, especially for someone who once taught high school civics. Did I misunderstand you? If not, that strikes me as a dubious stance at a time when democracy is under threat.
Sincerely,
Dubious
Dear Dubious,
Thanks for your thoughtful query. Let鈥檚 see. First off, let me provide readers with a bit of context for your question. Last fall, the American Educational Research Association touted a new study that found, as the declared, 鈥淪tate-Mandated Civics Test Policy Does Not Improve Youth Voter Turnout.鈥� In discussing the results, I that the tendency to regard voting and advocacy as the aim of civic education is misguided.
Why would I think it鈥檚 misguided to focus on voting? Well, self-government also requires knowledge, a respect for rules, personal responsibility, patience, and a willingness to work with those who see things differently. My concern is that these things have gotten neglected amid the focus on 鈥渆ngagement.鈥� After all, let鈥檚 note that 鈥渄emocracy is under threat鈥� at a time when voting is easier than ever (due to mail-in ballots, same-day registration, et al.) and at a time of . There鈥檚 an obvious disconnect here.
Once upon a time, as you note, I taught high school civics. So, it鈥檚 no surprise that I want graduates to vote. But we live in an era when 鈥渟mall money鈥� donors have eclipsed party leaders in their influence on candidates, Americans consume political tirades as social media entertainment, and the most extreme voters call the shots in party primaries. The problems we confront are not, I鈥檇 argue, due to a lack of political participation but to a lack of restraint, trust, knowledge, and respect for institutions and norms.
Self-government depends on our accepting electoral outcomes or court decisions even when we disagree vehemently with the result. It depends on presidents and voters understanding that the executive branch isn鈥檛 empowered to spend billions of dollars (on a border wall or a student-loan jubilee) without a law that empowers them to do so. It depends on respect for due process, free speech, canvassing boards that faithfully review vote tallies, independent courts, responsible legislators, and limits on executive authority. That鈥檚 the stuff that should be at the heart of civics education.
Today, civics education has strayed pretty far afield from such notions. Heck, in 2022, the RAND Corp. that, when asked about the purpose of civics education, more K鈥�12 teachers emphasized environmental activism than 鈥渒nowledge of social, political, and civic institutions.鈥� Teachers who say they鈥檙e more concerned about environmental activism than civic institutions when asked about civics education are probably not focused on exploring why things like federalism or the separation of powers might be good (especially when they impede one鈥檚 preferred environmental agenda).
As I see it, the critical part of civics education isn鈥檛 students learning how to be heard; it鈥檚 their learning to be responsible, reflective citizens. And voting doesn鈥檛 require that voters be either responsible or reflective. Rather, it鈥檚 mostly an opportunity to tell office-seekers, 鈥淭his is what I want.鈥� That may be a crucial part of citizenship, but it鈥檚 also the easy part.
I鈥檒l go further: The hard part is understanding why we 蝉丑辞耻濒诲苍鈥檛 always get our way. That applies equally to Trump backers who refuse to accept that he lost in 2020 and student-loan borrowers who want the Biden administration to ignore all those legal niceties and just 鈥渇orgive鈥� the hundreds of billions they owe the U.S. Treasury. In these cases (as in many others), the guardians of self-government have not been the voters. Civic education should help students grasp the role of institutions and norms in safeguarding self-government and checking illiberal impulses, whether those are found on the right or the left.
I鈥檓 far less concerned with teaching students to get their way than with helping them understand how anti-majoritarian arrangements like the Bill of Rights, the federal system, the separation of powers, and judicial review can protect us鈥攅ven in those moments when we鈥檙e furious about the results. Civics should teach students how democratic institutions actually work and what it takes to maintain them. And it should prepare them to be the kind of officials and citizens who will stand up to bullies, mobs, and demagogues in the years to come.
