Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the American Federation of Teachers have joined to offer free online education programs on human rights and democracy. (Photo: Getty/Stock Photo/TethysImagingLLC)
Recent Events Reveal Urgent Need for Civics Education in the US
If citizens do not have the basic knowledge to defend our democracy, they will be drawn to the delusional and irresponsible declarations and promises of immoral leaders who build their base by spinning lies.
If there was ever a time for a gut-check for America, this is it. A country torn at the seams into factions of progressive reform vs. status quo, Republican and Democrat, vindicated winners and sore, angry losers. A country still unable, 52 years after the death of Martin Luther King, to confront its racism.
For four years now, tensions have escalated under the leadership of a president who demonstrates a deliberate intent to seize upon the average American's poor understanding of the Constitution as a means to incite violence and division.
Case in point: Donald Trump's repeated and petulant pleas stoking the fire of a violent, angry mob of white militants desperate to hold on to power despite court-certified results electing Joe Biden by overwhelming margins.
We must make sure the next generation gets the civics education needed to make them responsible and engaged citizens equipped to protect their rights and our country in an informed and responsible manner.
As the events of recent weeks have shown, if citizens do not have the basic knowledge to defend our democracy, they will be drawn to the delusional and irresponsible declarations and promises of immoral leaders who build their base by spinning lies.
A civics education survey published by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania last fall found only half of American adults are able to name all three branches of the federal government. Nineteen percent could not name any First Amendment rights--speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. And when asked what it means when the Supreme Court rules on a case, 54 percent knew the decision is law and needs to be followed, a dip from 59 percent in 2019.
We must make sure the next generation gets the civics education needed to make them responsible and engaged citizens equipped to protect their rights and our country in an informed and responsible manner. Yet, all too often, school districts strapped for funds cut where they can, with government curriculum budgets landing on the cutting room floor.
Someday soon, perhaps, more federal and state educational resources can be devoted to such a cause, but with so many efforts currently focused on COVID-19 relief, now is the moment for all of us to step up and fill the void.
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the American Federation of Teachers have joined to offer free online education programs on human rights and democracy, written by teachers for teachers, designed to "meet the moment" to help students learn from the civil rights struggles of the past and then become more engaged with community activism of today.
The launch, held on U.S. Constitution Day, began a project to bring social justice, racial equity, and democratic participation more fully into the classroom, and has been honed to specifically address recent events on the Capitol.
It is our fervent hope that others will join us in this effort, as Sen. Robert Kennedy noted in 1966 that it is youth who possess the world's best chance to strip from the world its prejudices, its cruelties and divisions, building instead a "world which demanded of each government that it accept its responsibility to insure social justice ... of constantly accelerating economic progress--not material welfare as an end in of itself, but as a means to liberate the capacity of every human being to pursue his talents and to pursue his hopes. It would, in short, be a world that we would all be proud to have built."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just two days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
If there was ever a time for a gut-check for America, this is it. A country torn at the seams into factions of progressive reform vs. status quo, Republican and Democrat, vindicated winners and sore, angry losers. A country still unable, 52 years after the death of Martin Luther King, to confront its racism.
For four years now, tensions have escalated under the leadership of a president who demonstrates a deliberate intent to seize upon the average American's poor understanding of the Constitution as a means to incite violence and division.
Case in point: Donald Trump's repeated and petulant pleas stoking the fire of a violent, angry mob of white militants desperate to hold on to power despite court-certified results electing Joe Biden by overwhelming margins.
We must make sure the next generation gets the civics education needed to make them responsible and engaged citizens equipped to protect their rights and our country in an informed and responsible manner.
As the events of recent weeks have shown, if citizens do not have the basic knowledge to defend our democracy, they will be drawn to the delusional and irresponsible declarations and promises of immoral leaders who build their base by spinning lies.
A civics education survey published by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania last fall found only half of American adults are able to name all three branches of the federal government. Nineteen percent could not name any First Amendment rights--speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. And when asked what it means when the Supreme Court rules on a case, 54 percent knew the decision is law and needs to be followed, a dip from 59 percent in 2019.
We must make sure the next generation gets the civics education needed to make them responsible and engaged citizens equipped to protect their rights and our country in an informed and responsible manner. Yet, all too often, school districts strapped for funds cut where they can, with government curriculum budgets landing on the cutting room floor.
Someday soon, perhaps, more federal and state educational resources can be devoted to such a cause, but with so many efforts currently focused on COVID-19 relief, now is the moment for all of us to step up and fill the void.
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the American Federation of Teachers have joined to offer free online education programs on human rights and democracy, written by teachers for teachers, designed to "meet the moment" to help students learn from the civil rights struggles of the past and then become more engaged with community activism of today.
The launch, held on U.S. Constitution Day, began a project to bring social justice, racial equity, and democratic participation more fully into the classroom, and has been honed to specifically address recent events on the Capitol.
It is our fervent hope that others will join us in this effort, as Sen. Robert Kennedy noted in 1966 that it is youth who possess the world's best chance to strip from the world its prejudices, its cruelties and divisions, building instead a "world which demanded of each government that it accept its responsibility to insure social justice ... of constantly accelerating economic progress--not material welfare as an end in of itself, but as a means to liberate the capacity of every human being to pursue his talents and to pursue his hopes. It would, in short, be a world that we would all be proud to have built."
If there was ever a time for a gut-check for America, this is it. A country torn at the seams into factions of progressive reform vs. status quo, Republican and Democrat, vindicated winners and sore, angry losers. A country still unable, 52 years after the death of Martin Luther King, to confront its racism.
For four years now, tensions have escalated under the leadership of a president who demonstrates a deliberate intent to seize upon the average American's poor understanding of the Constitution as a means to incite violence and division.
Case in point: Donald Trump's repeated and petulant pleas stoking the fire of a violent, angry mob of white militants desperate to hold on to power despite court-certified results electing Joe Biden by overwhelming margins.
We must make sure the next generation gets the civics education needed to make them responsible and engaged citizens equipped to protect their rights and our country in an informed and responsible manner.
As the events of recent weeks have shown, if citizens do not have the basic knowledge to defend our democracy, they will be drawn to the delusional and irresponsible declarations and promises of immoral leaders who build their base by spinning lies.
A civics education survey published by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania last fall found only half of American adults are able to name all three branches of the federal government. Nineteen percent could not name any First Amendment rights--speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. And when asked what it means when the Supreme Court rules on a case, 54 percent knew the decision is law and needs to be followed, a dip from 59 percent in 2019.
We must make sure the next generation gets the civics education needed to make them responsible and engaged citizens equipped to protect their rights and our country in an informed and responsible manner. Yet, all too often, school districts strapped for funds cut where they can, with government curriculum budgets landing on the cutting room floor.
Someday soon, perhaps, more federal and state educational resources can be devoted to such a cause, but with so many efforts currently focused on COVID-19 relief, now is the moment for all of us to step up and fill the void.
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the American Federation of Teachers have joined to offer free online education programs on human rights and democracy, written by teachers for teachers, designed to "meet the moment" to help students learn from the civil rights struggles of the past and then become more engaged with community activism of today.
The launch, held on U.S. Constitution Day, began a project to bring social justice, racial equity, and democratic participation more fully into the classroom, and has been honed to specifically address recent events on the Capitol.
It is our fervent hope that others will join us in this effort, as Sen. Robert Kennedy noted in 1966 that it is youth who possess the world's best chance to strip from the world its prejudices, its cruelties and divisions, building instead a "world which demanded of each government that it accept its responsibility to insure social justice ... of constantly accelerating economic progress--not material welfare as an end in of itself, but as a means to liberate the capacity of every human being to pursue his talents and to pursue his hopes. It would, in short, be a world that we would all be proud to have built."