I’ll be the first to admit that not too long ago, I was regretfully representative of a politically unaware American youth. Like the rest of my Facebook news feed, I’d get riled up about presidential debates and Supreme Court rulings at the most superficial level, taking a staunch stance for something I barely understood.
In the era of profuse social media, the sheer number of tweets per minute proliferating the Twitterverse is enough to suggest that there are at least a few quasi-aware citizen journalists paying more attention to their news feeds than to the actual debate.
According to research published by the court education project Discovering Justice, high schools required at least three civics classes in the 1960s. Today, few schools mandate even one. At the elementary and middle school levels, there is an even more chronic neglect of elementary civics requisites. The focus remains on elevating math and science standards and continually pushing students to the forefront of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Movement. But without a basic understanding of the duties of citizenship, how can a student make the critical connections between education and its broader applications to society? Why are some countries more developed than others for reasons more nuanced than just historical developments? How does the growth of political structures actually impact policy-making?
Most U.S. citizens become eligible to vote in their first year of college, and considering the dearth of civics studies in lower education, the transition between high school and the real world gapes with dangerous awareness holes.
A mandatory civics class is in high order at the university level, one that allows for a more engaged and able-minded youth. The course should cover the foundations of the four basic subfields of political science: American politics to cultivate domestic understanding, comparative politics to broaden the global lens, international relations to foster familiarity with foreign policy and an introduction to political theory to instill a basic grasp of decision-making values. Of course, entire four-year tracks are devoted to these individual disciplines. The civics requisite would just cover the ABC’s in a debate or discussion-
intensive atmosphere to enforce student involvement and proficiency.
If enlightenment via the humanities and sciences is considered imperative among colleges that pride themselves on their substantive general education cores, then there is no reason for the absence of civics from that bracket. Yes, there is no lack of college students who gave up Thirsty Thursday to tune into the first presidential debate, but there are even more who watched that discourse with passionate yet equally unconvincing allegiances to candidates and policies they do not fully understand.
Implementing a mandatory civics requirement at the university level can only do right by a nation whose public sector continually finds itself being transformed by young Americans. Even if such a class does not stir up an epiphany, at least students will know a thing or two more about making educated decisions on Election Day and beyond.
A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Oct. 23 print edition. Siddhi Sundar is a staff columnist. Email her at [email protected].
