Earlier this year, students at Iowa鈥檚 Burlington High School joined thousands of their peers in a advocating for stricter gun laws. Nearby, a handful of their classmates staged their own demonstration in support of the Second Amendment.
For David Keane, the principal of the school near the Quad Cities, the goal was: Make sure his students engaged in a respectful, productive conversation on an issue that can send adults straight to tantrum territory, especially on social media.
Keane said he told his students 鈥� 鈥榶ou have to be rational, you have to be empathetic to what the other side has to say鈥�. ... We encourage kids to have differing viewpoints, but we encourage them to be respectful because that鈥檚 the only way you鈥檒l get anything accomplished.鈥�
Keane and more than half a dozen other school leaders interviewed by Education Week say they see helping students learn how to have a constructive dialogue on hot-button issues in a polarized political climate as a key goal of civics education.
But those conversations may not be happening often enough. More than half of principals, assistant principals, and other school leaders say schools don鈥檛 focus enough on civics, according to a nationally representative survey by the Education Week Research Center.
Fifty-two percent of the school leaders surveyed said that there is 鈥渢oo little鈥� civics education in schools, while another 48 percent said there is just the right amount. Only one principal who participated in the survey felt there was 鈥渢oo much鈥� civics education. The survey was fielded online in February, March, and April of 2018 to 524 school-based leaders. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percent.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 not enough, and I think there鈥檚 not enough of an expectation,鈥� said Julia Putnam, the principal of James & Grace Lee Boggs School in Detroit, a charter school serving students in grades K through 8. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that the way we talk about education makes it a goal or an expectation that students come out feeling like informed active citizens.鈥�
But student interest in civics appears to be building. About half of principals鈥�51 percent鈥攕aid there鈥檚 been an uptick in their students鈥� engagement around civics since the February massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. That event鈥攁nd the 鈥攕pawned a nationwide walkout and protests around the country in March and April.
The students participated in the walkout at Elisha Robert鈥檚 charter school, STRIVE Prep-Rise in Denver, part of a regional network of charters where most students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch.
But, she said, many of her students鈥攗nlike the Parkland students, who are from a well-resourced community鈥攁ren鈥檛 sure how to take their activism to the next level.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 understand the next piece of accessing power,鈥� Roberts, the school鈥檚 principal, said. 鈥淭hey might organize a walkout and feel really strongly, and then it ends there. They don鈥檛 understand, OK, great, the next piece is to contact your local government. ... I鈥檝e definitely seen them caring about issues more. But there鈥檚 still that disconnect of 鈥榳hat do I do next?鈥欌��
Roberts said her school strives to help its students understand and engage on issues that impact them and their community.
Not Enough Time
But not all schools are able to make time for those types of lessons.
Seventy percent of principals and other school leaders surveyed said their schools don鈥檛 offer civics as a stand-alone course. Instead, it is often combined with other social studies subjects, such as history or geography. And the vast majority of principals鈥�75 percent鈥攕aid their schools devote 25 percent or less of their history or social studies curriculum to civics.
High schoolers get more civics instruction than elementary school students. The median amount of time that high school students spend on civics education is 10 hours a month, as compared to 6.5 hours in middle school and five hours in elementary, according to the survey.
Keane, the Burlington principal, wishes his students got a healthier dose of civics instruction early on.
鈥淚 think civics education can鈥檛 be restricted to high schools,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 way too much emphasis on reading, writing, and math, and a lot of good old-fashioned ethics and values are not being addressed because the teacher doesn鈥檛 want to get into controversy and they don鈥檛 want to give up the time because it鈥檚 not a tested subject. That鈥檚 not just Iowa. That鈥檚 everywhere.鈥�
In fact, principals surveyed overwhelmingly said the pressure to focus on other subjects that are tested or emphasized is one of the main reasons that civics education gets shorter shrift than they鈥檇 like.
Asked to rate some of the challenges to civics learning, more than half of the principals鈥�51 percent鈥攕aid that they found it 鈥渃hallenging鈥� or 鈥渧ery challenging鈥� to focus on civics when schools are held accountable primarily for reading and math test scores. Another 28 percent said the focus on other subjects is 鈥渟omewhat challenging鈥� when it comes to getting attention for civics.
The results of reading and math tests 鈥渁re the scores that get published in the newspaper,鈥� said Dan Rispens, the principal of East Valley Middle School in East Helena, Mont., a small town just outside the state capital.
And 59 percent said they found it 鈥渟omewhat challenging鈥�, 鈥渃hallenging鈥�, or 鈥渧ery challenging鈥� to focus on civics because it isn鈥檛 a district or school priority.
鈥淢ost people look at history and say 鈥榶ou can Google it.鈥� If you want to know something about government, you can Google it,鈥� said Bob Priest, the principal of Van Wert High School in western Ohio. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need to know it, you can Google it. Many people don鈥檛 see the relevance of it. There鈥檚 so much more to civics than what people give credit to.鈥�
Too Controversial
A little more than a quarter of the principals surveyed say finding resources for civics education is either 鈥渃hallenging鈥� or 鈥渧ery challenging.鈥� Another 36 percent say that it鈥檚 鈥渟omewhat challenging.鈥�
Civics education is 鈥渢he first thing to go when there鈥檚 budget cuts,鈥� said Roberts of Denver鈥檚 STRIVE-Prep Rise charter school.
And slightly more than 50 percent of principals surveyed said that it was at least 鈥渟omewhat challenging鈥� to delve into civics education because it can touch on controversial or politically charged topics.
鈥淗ow do you teach some of these concepts without offending half the people in the room?鈥� asked Brent Anderson, the principal of Murphy Junior High in Plainfield, Ill., near Chicago. 鈥淵ou have to be cognizant of your community. How can you approach a topic in a way that鈥檚 acceptable?鈥�
But principals also say that teaching students how to have productive conversations about touchy topics is a key goal of civics education. It is not something they can shy away from, particularly as the national political debate becomes increasingly fractious and polarized.
鈥淚 look at adult behavior [in civic discourse] right now, and I think 鈥榯hat person would be in my office鈥�,鈥� Putnam said. 鈥淚f we want something different, we have to teach our kids to do something different.鈥�
