I appreciate this interview. Thank you. I love the suggestion to make sure one’s child has read the Constitution by age 18. I mean, *I* haven’t read it [embarrassed shuffle]. Family project ahead?
My spouse is a reporter for a local newspaper. The pay is ridiculous, the displeasure from the public occasionally brutal, and the precariousness of ownership difficult (family-owned, hedge-fund owned, now rich-man-owned). Among the upsides is exposure for our kid to all the meetings Dad has to cover, school board to planning board to state election campaign stops to protests to voting days and so on. Our kid isn’t fluent in government, but they do have a baseline sense of how adults organize and participate in collective life.
It’s mind blowing to me that our country is so polarized teachers cannot teach the basics of US government. I don’t see myself teaching my kid about this. I honestly don’t really understand it myself! Teaching how to register to vote & have hard conversations seems doable though :)
Learning about how the government works helps our children understand themselves as people with agency and as people within a community. It is a chance to connect them to meaningful work--building community, taking responsibility, making decisions. And it takes both the news and history and gives them practical application. When we talk about action being an antidote to anxiety, civic knowledge and action can be good medicine for all of us.
It sounds like a big task, but there are so many ways to make the work of government and opportunities we have for interaction legible for our children. Talk to them about the mail you get--we get our ballots in the mail, voter guides, political ads, tax info, car registration stickers, etc. We just had our primary elections and nonpartisan elections, so there are signs everywhere and we have talked about the different roles people are running for and the difference between partisan and non-partisan races. We've used our 4th grader's Every Kid in a Park pass at national parks, but not state parks and not county parks! And it's fine to look things up and learn alongside them!
Loved this post, both as a parent and person working in the international education/development space. It’s so sad that civics - which is so important for our life as a collective- has been politicized and marginalized in the way that it has.
While parents may not feel comfortable talking about the U.S. political system, branches of government, etc. I think there are so many precursor civic skills that most folks probably feel more conversant with - things like information literacy, critical thinking, altruism, environmental consciousness, etc. There are simple and age-appropriate ways to speak about these ideas with our kids, which hopefully provides a good base upon which to teach/learn more specific facts about our government etc. later on.
It’s definitely incumbent on all of us - home and schools both. Thanks again for the thoughtful interview and introduction to this important work!
It's astounding how much we don't teach our children. Civics is the foundation of how we shape our lives. Years ago, while we were discussing the show House of Cards (when Kevin Spacey was still just creepy and not a verified creep) my friend said his wife didn't watch the show because she was "not into politics". I think my jaw hit the floor. As women, our bodies are politics.
Anyway, my kids know the poll workers at our precinct, so we're starting off on the right foot! =) So much work ahead, though!
Thank you for this interview! As a parent and middle school social studies teacher who thinks a lot about this stuff, I am excited to check this book out!
I need this book. The interview alone gave me ideas for PTA programs at our high school; legislative advocacy is the big push this year. Perhaps our AP Govt teacher would come talk with parents. We always do a student voter registration drive, but what about outreach to our recent grads to make sure their registration is current and up-to-date? Lots of inspiration, thank you.
I appreciate this interview. Thank you. I love the suggestion to make sure one’s child has read the Constitution by age 18. I mean, *I* haven’t read it [embarrassed shuffle]. Family project ahead?
My spouse is a reporter for a local newspaper. The pay is ridiculous, the displeasure from the public occasionally brutal, and the precariousness of ownership difficult (family-owned, hedge-fund owned, now rich-man-owned). Among the upsides is exposure for our kid to all the meetings Dad has to cover, school board to planning board to state election campaign stops to protests to voting days and so on. Our kid isn’t fluent in government, but they do have a baseline sense of how adults organize and participate in collective life.
It’s mind blowing to me that our country is so polarized teachers cannot teach the basics of US government. I don’t see myself teaching my kid about this. I honestly don’t really understand it myself! Teaching how to register to vote & have hard conversations seems doable though :)
I can't wait to read this book!
Learning about how the government works helps our children understand themselves as people with agency and as people within a community. It is a chance to connect them to meaningful work--building community, taking responsibility, making decisions. And it takes both the news and history and gives them practical application. When we talk about action being an antidote to anxiety, civic knowledge and action can be good medicine for all of us.
It sounds like a big task, but there are so many ways to make the work of government and opportunities we have for interaction legible for our children. Talk to them about the mail you get--we get our ballots in the mail, voter guides, political ads, tax info, car registration stickers, etc. We just had our primary elections and nonpartisan elections, so there are signs everywhere and we have talked about the different roles people are running for and the difference between partisan and non-partisan races. We've used our 4th grader's Every Kid in a Park pass at national parks, but not state parks and not county parks! And it's fine to look things up and learn alongside them!
Loved this post, both as a parent and person working in the international education/development space. It’s so sad that civics - which is so important for our life as a collective- has been politicized and marginalized in the way that it has.
While parents may not feel comfortable talking about the U.S. political system, branches of government, etc. I think there are so many precursor civic skills that most folks probably feel more conversant with - things like information literacy, critical thinking, altruism, environmental consciousness, etc. There are simple and age-appropriate ways to speak about these ideas with our kids, which hopefully provides a good base upon which to teach/learn more specific facts about our government etc. later on.
It’s definitely incumbent on all of us - home and schools both. Thanks again for the thoughtful interview and introduction to this important work!
It's astounding how much we don't teach our children. Civics is the foundation of how we shape our lives. Years ago, while we were discussing the show House of Cards (when Kevin Spacey was still just creepy and not a verified creep) my friend said his wife didn't watch the show because she was "not into politics". I think my jaw hit the floor. As women, our bodies are politics.
Anyway, my kids know the poll workers at our precinct, so we're starting off on the right foot! =) So much work ahead, though!
Thank you for this interview! As a parent and middle school social studies teacher who thinks a lot about this stuff, I am excited to check this book out!
I ordered the book, thank you for the interview, Melinda. I am excited to check this out!
I need this book. The interview alone gave me ideas for PTA programs at our high school; legislative advocacy is the big push this year. Perhaps our AP Govt teacher would come talk with parents. We always do a student voter registration drive, but what about outreach to our recent grads to make sure their registration is current and up-to-date? Lots of inspiration, thank you.