番茄社区

A from the Goldwater Institute says that civics education in Arizona needs improvement and that students are graduating without the necessary understanding of the principles of American government.

Investigating the state鈥檚 social studies standards as well as the civic knowledge of graduating students, the report鈥檚 authors conclude that not only are students graduating without an understanding of American government and the principles that underlie it, but that too much curriculum is being presented through an 鈥渁ctivist鈥� lens.

Current standards teach little about federalism, an underpinning philosophy of the American system of government. 鈥淒espite being one of the central organizing principles of the American constitutional framework,鈥� the report reads, 鈥渢he term federalism makes no appearance in the Arizona high school standards.鈥� 

Additionally, the standards exclude any specific mention of 鈥渆numerated rights,鈥� and the subsequent notion that one鈥檚 rights are only secured by governments, not granted by them.

On top of the exclusion of these foundational principles of American government, the standards omit any requirement for students to learn about Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation, and a full history of race and slavery in the United States. 

Lastly, the standards embrace an 鈥渁ction civics鈥� that 鈥渄eemphasizes civic literacy and instead encourages students to identify and advocate for public policies in their city, state, or nation.鈥�

鈥淭he result of such pedagogy鈥攑articularly when students lack basic civic literacy to inform their energies,鈥� argue the report鈥檚 authors, 鈥渋s to thrust young kids into public life without educating them on the nation they are supposedly meant to change.鈥�

For nearly a decade, Arizona leaders have focused on improving the state鈥檚 civics education. In 2015, the first bill signed by then-Gov. Doug Ducey (R) for all Arizona students to pass a 100-question civics test in order to graduate. 

Ducey also signed legislation sponsored by Rep. Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott Valley), on the differences between American republicanism and capitalism and other competing ideologies like fascism and communism, as well as a bill sponsored by Rep. Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson) for K-12 students.

Despite these accomplishments, the report says that many of these reforms have yet to be implemented in state classrooms. The report finds that statewide standards are much more like guides rather than mandates.

U.S. 番茄社区 Foundation bringing business lens to civics

The U.S. 番茄社区 Foundation is assessing the nationwide state of civics education with its Civics Forward Initiative. 

In 鈥�,鈥� a paper commissioned by the foundation and authored by the Harvard Business Review, the authors found that according to a 2019 survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center only 39% of Americans could identify the three branches of government. 

鈥淢any people do not know how our government works, which leads to confusion on political outcomes and, ultimately, distrust in the system,鈥� Allstate Chairman and CEO Tom Wilson said.

Proponents of improved civic education say the business community should care about the state of civics education because of the connection between civics and a thriving workplace.

The paper cites a report from the Annenberg Institute for Civics and the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, which says, 鈥淭here is considerable overlap between the skills acquired as part of civic learning and the skills required in employment. So, students receiving high-quality civic learning score higher on a broad range of 21st-century competencies than those without.鈥�

There鈥檚 also a strong link between civics and a strong economy.

鈥淭ypically, GDP is highest in countries that have the most stable political systems. So it鈥檚 important never to take our political system for granted, and that means鈥攁mong many other things鈥攚e need to ensure strong civics programs in our schools,鈥� says David A. Moss, the Paul Whiton Cherinton Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.
The U.S. 番茄社区 Foundation is the sponsor of the for 6th-, 7th- and 8th-graders to demonstrate their civics knowledge. The third edition will take place in 2024