The Critical Role of Civic Learning: Preparing Today’s Children to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges

Teaching the skills of citizenship may seem like an old-fashioned notion, but in fact nothing could be more forward-looking than preparing each generation to confront effectively the challenges that face us as a nation.

From our earliest days, our founders viewed education as integral to the health and strength of our republic. Thomas Jefferson argued that education is a means to preserve self-rule and create a larger pool from which to draw wise lawmakers. Noah Webster argued that poor legislative decisions rarely result from bad intentions; rather, they come from ignorance. The more knowledgeable the population, the “more perfect will be the laws of a republican state.”

Horace Mann, in advocating for his common school movement, noted that citizens must “understand something of the true nature and functions of the government under which they live,” and concluded that if a republic lacks a citizenry educated in the roles and responsibilities of the government, a republic is little more than a “political solecism.

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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN THE 2013 EDITION OF THE REVIEW
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