H ISTORY A N D C U LT U R E HI STO RY AND CULTURE
A Country Finds Itself Ukraine’s struggle is a powerful reminder that history, and how we teach it, transcends facts and figures. What the war has in common with our own founding.
By Paul E. Peterson
H
istory is happening at this moment. A country is defining itself. Authentic, inspiring patriotism is surging through the Ukrainian people. Whatever happens next, President Volodymyr Zelensky personifies patriotism, honor, courage, and
dedication. If Ukraine survives as an independent nation, 2022 will ring for decades, probably centuries, as Ukraine’s greatest historical moment. Now we know why civics is best taught as history. Civics is not about learning to write a letter to the editor or registering to vote. Nothing wrong about that, but civics, fundamentally, is learning one’s history as a country—just how it came to be, why it is as it is, and what makes it worthy. There is no need for history to be sugar-coated or untruthful. Defining moments are riveting, stirring, thrilling, passionate, and definitive. When Zelensky appears before the US Congress—if only virtually—we feel compelled to listen: “I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths.”
Paul E. Peterson is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, a participant in the Hoover Education Success Initiative, and senior editor of Education Next. He is also the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government and director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University. H O O V ER D IG E ST • S u m m e r 2022
165
