10/20/2020
What Happened to Civics in our Curriculum?
The world is changing (and shrinking, metaphorically) and we must change with it to help prepare our children for the challenges that await them. Yes, the current emphasis for the past 50 years is teaching them Math, Science, History, English Reading and foreign languages. Yes, most are now advanced in working with computers, phones and social medial platforms. But it is pretty shocking how superficial their knowledge is of the world, government, politics, the economy, the U.S. role in all of those areas, and their upcoming role as working citizens of this great country.
So what is Civics and why is it important for our children? Civics includes the teaching of all the processes that lead to and affect people’s beliefs, commitments, capabilities and actions as individuals and members of both the work force and their communities. It includes an understanding for the students of how democratic processes work, how to engage in those processes and provides a body of knowledge to empower children to feel that they can make a difference. It teaches children workplace and life skills such as, the ability to collaborate effectively with others, communicate their beliefs confidently in open forums, as well as practice both critical thinking and creative innovations. All of these skills give students a heightened confidence to take risks and participate.
Many of our children live on well protected “social islands”. That is not good training for the skill sets that twenty-first century employers are now looking for in an increasingly competitive job market. They surely need the smart students who excel in reading, writing and math BUT they are also looking for people who can lead teams, communicate effectively with their peers, know how to solve problems and can proactively support their employers’ need to compete in an increasingly competitive business landscape.
In other words, our children need to be more well rounded, better informed to compete in the global economy, more capable of participating in a faster paced work environment and more understanding of the events around them and why they are occurring. A well rounded Civics education is supportive of all of these requirements.
One hundred years ago, this was all basic educational training for the great wave of immigrants who came to America at the start of the twentieth century. Along the way, we morphed into a different basis for our educational curriculums. Perhaps, meeting in the middle would be a healthier way to train our children to compete in the future.
Visit our website to learn more about our views on the various roles of education: SmartyPantzTutoring.net