Two news items should give us pause about how we are teaching and learning civics.
Item No. 1: American eighth-graders' civics scores have declined for the first time ever, according to just-released scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the "Nation's Report Card." And history scores continued a decadelong drop to bottom out as the worst since the test was first given nearly 30 years ago.
Item No. 2: Florida officials are excising relevant history from some new history books. Here is a passage on the killing of George Floyd that was deleted from a new middle school textbook:
The reason this section was eliminated? Not that it was inaccurate or biased. The concern was that it dealt with "unsolicited topics."
Now, let's look at a sample question from the NAEP civics test:
When Florida is editing relevant history out of textbooks because the topic was "unsolicited," is it any wonder that students might struggle on a civics test to answer B, that "In a democracy, citizens should protect their freedoms"?
Rather than excise George Floyd's story from a textbook, Florida should learn from it, which requires a fuller spotlight on what happened on that fateful day, May 25, 2020 — and in the months and years thereafter. This story isn't solely about Floyd's death, but about how individual citizens reacted in real time to exercise their democratic rights.
Those bystanders flexed their legal authority to shoot that critical video, lawfully documenting the abuse that brought these officers to justice. Four officers involved in his death were prosecuted and ordered to prison. The world was reminded that police powers in America are not absolute, that regular people make a difference, and that justice — however elusive — can be brought to bear.
