Teaching Civics in Unstable Times: Guidelines for Defining "We" in American Democracy

American political culture is degraded, and civics classrooms are a reflection of this. Teaching Civics in Unstable Times offers strategies to help teachers, curriculum writers, and administrators turn schools into laboratories for democracy that train young people for the moral and intellectual challenges of democratic citizenship. The book defines democracy as a way of life characterized by frequent public engagement, stubborn open-mindedness, and rigorous debate. Civic curriculum has spent decades obsessing over names and dates, but this book presents three strategies for teaching civics that invest young people in our shared, grand experiment in self-government and prepare them to lead our nation towards a more compassionate, inclusive, and inspired politics.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 134 pages
Publication date: 10 November 2021
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

American political culture permeates civics classrooms, and the deteriorating discourse and destructive partisanship that have come to define modern American politics is a sign that something is amiss in our nation's schools. "Teaching Civics in Unstable Times: Guidelines for Defining "We" in American Democracy" offers a novel and comprehensive perspective on what civic education can entail in K-12 classrooms, and proposes three strategies to assist teachers, curriculum developers, and administrators in transforming their schools into democratic laboratories that equip young individuals with the moral and intellectual tools necessary for democratic citizenship. This book defines "democracy" as a way of life that emphasizes regular public participation, unwavering open-mindedness, and rigorous debate. Our democratic government relies on citizens leading democratic lives, and the primary objective of civic education is to impart to young people the skills required to do so. Civic curriculum has devoted decades to focusing on names and dates, which have failed to provide students with a sense of their esteemed position within our governing system. This book presents three strategies for teaching civics that engage young individuals in our collective, grand experiment in self-government and prepare them to lead our nation towards a more compassionate, inclusive, and inspired politics.

Weight: 186g
Dimension: 207 x 142 x 10 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781475856095