Civic Education & the Exclusion in “We the People”

Editorial | Sophie Lee, YLD Essay Contest Winner

Civic Education & the Exclusion in “We the People”

“We the People,” the first three words in loopy cursive writing written on tarnished paper, can be recognized by most people as the United States Constitution. “We the People” affirms that the government is there to serve its citizens. “We the People” boasts that America, in its entirety and as a collective, has a say in the government and the rule of law. The Constitution dictates how society is governed and is the basis on which all other laws are made and enforced. Through the system of democracy, in which citizens are able to elect their representatives, as aligned by Article I of the Constitution, Americans are able to have a say in who is in Congress, and therefore how the Constitution is upheld.

However, the idea that everyone has a say in how society is governed is only an ideal. Nationally, the voting-eligible population turnout rates for presidential elections hover around 50-60%.1 This indicates that out of people who were eligible to vote, which is usually less than 75% of the U.S. population,2 only 50-60% of that population actually contribute to government decisions.3 Locally, Tennessee, one of the states with the lowest historic voter turnout,4 has historically had around or less than 50% voter turnout of the voting-eligible population.5 These disappointing statistics bring to light the fact that only around half of the voting-eligible population in America actually contributes to the advancement of American government and law. On the other hand, there has been an uptick in the number of young people involved in making change in recent years. The Nashville Black Lives Matter march in 2020, for example, was led by a group of teenagers and was recognized by former President, Barack Obama and former presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders. Additionally, an analysis by TargetSmart shows that 98,000 people aged 18 to 29 have voted early in Tennessee, compared to 12,800 in 2014 — a more than seven-fold increase.6 Even with the uptick, youth (ages 18-29) voter turnout, however, remains low — less than half of the voting-eligible population (43%) participated in the 2020 election.7 The power of young people is immeasurable, and it is essential that America’s young people are informed and perform their civic duties in order to contribute to the advancement of America. The people who are able to vote have changed drastically throughout history. Historically, voting in America excluded African Americans and women. Today, voting in America, among eligible voters, excludes the uninformed. For an overactive student, sleeping through a Cold War lecture, daydreaming through the history of the Constitution, or discussing the separation of powers in government is not one’s idea of fun or learning. At the end of the year, one hasn’t retained a thing. This boring Civics class is essentially a filler, something to meet the state requirement and simply fill a credit required for graduation—the result? A few hundred flashcards; the facts scribbled hastily on them mid-year are hardly retained.

Unfortunately, this is the story of millions of American students — the story of Civic Education, a class where students are asked to memorize facts and regurgitate them on a test and then proceed to forget everything they memorized the next day. Civic Education, especially today, is in a state of exigence. The Ukraine-Russia war, the Black Lives Matter Movement, the Stop Asian Hate Movement, Presidential elections, amongst many, are recent events that many students are not informed about because they are not taught about it in school. Neglecting to teach students about relevant topics leads students to seek information on their own, potentially leading to misinformation. For too long, Civic Education has been on the backburner of the American education system. It’s time to take action and make civic education more relevant, engaging, and interactive.

There are several reasons for why Civic Education is not prioritized. In 1957, the launch of Sputnik 1 seemed to leave the United States behind in an endless competition for worldwide superiority.8 Education was blamed; politicians looked for a way to completely refurbish the United States educational system, and suddenly, everything became occupation-based and individualistic. Everything focused on the topics of science and math.9 STEM education should continue to be strongly supported, but doing so at the expense of civic education is a very bad idea for national security. According to one 2019 study, the US government pays a $54 federal investment per en-

rolled school child in STEM education, compared to $0.05 per school child in Civics.10 In Tennessee, although a Civics class and exam are required, students are not required to pass the exam in order to graduate.11 Today, math and science are still heavily emphasized, as standardized testing focuses on those subjects and neglect History and Civics, and because STEM is easier to track with metrics and outcomes. Because of this, teachers merely teach to fulfill state requirements, not to ensure that their students become well-informed, civic-minded citizens.

Small steps can create big leaps; it’s time to provide more funding and resources into Civic Education, renovate the way it is taught, and teach students how to be civic-minded individuals. Only in this way can young people truly have a say in the advancement of law. It’s time to recognize Civic Education as an integral element of national security, necessary for the safety and strength of America’s democracy. It’s time to equalize, integrate, and innovate Civic Education for all. n

SOPHIE LEE is an a student at Hume-Fogg Academic High School, and Essay contest winner of this year’s YLD Essay Contest. The work was recognized at the 2022 NBA Law Day Lunch.

Endnotes

1 McDonald, Michael P. National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present. United StateS election Project, www.electproject.org/national-1789-present. 2 Desilver, Drew. In past Elections, U.S. Trailed Most Developed Countries in Voter Turnout. Pew reSearch center (Nov. 3)

3 McDonald, Michael P. National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present 4 Reicher, Mike. Younger Voters Turn out Big in Tennessee’s Early Voting. the tenneSSean, (Nov. 5) 5 Sweet, Joni. States with the Highest and Lowest Rates of Voter Registration. Stacker (Oct. 1) 6 Reicher, Mike. Younger Voters Turn out Big in Tennessee’s Early Voting. the tenneSSean (Nov. 5)

7 State-by-State 2020 Youth Voter Turnout: The South. center for information and

reSearch on civic learning and engagement (Mar. 30., 2020)

8 Spaulding, Suzanne and Devi Nair. Bad Idea: Prioritizing STEM Education at the Expense of Civic Education. defenSe 360, (Dec. 4) 9 Raber, Jesse. The Arts in the Public Schools: An Intellectual History. ProceSS (Mar. 28) 10 Adams, Kimberly. What Federal Funding for Civics Reveals about American Political Discourse. marketPlace (Nov. 6) 11 Wagner, Rick. Civics 101: Tenn. Students Must Take Test, but Don’t Have to Pass It. timeSnewS (Aug. 9, 2016)

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