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Can Civics Solve the Polarization Problem? 

AS
by Ally Silva on

<p><em>By Kathryn Turner</em><em>&nbsp;</em><em></em></p>

<p>Teaching civics today is more necessary and challenging than ever.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It has long been realized that&nbsp;civics has taken a back seat to other subjects in&nbsp;schools.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You see the evidence in data studies. But you also see it when television personalities like Jimmy Kimmel conduct sidewalk interviews and ask Americans basic questions related to civics knowledge. </p>

<p>There is a declining knowledge among many Americans about their rights and responsibilities as citizens. But we need this knowledge—and the skills that develop from it—more than ever before.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The current social climate in our country&nbsp;has revealed deeply-rooted issues that require both civic knowledge and civic skills to begin to dismantle and solve.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Students must&nbsp;fully understand their rights and responsibilities as a citizens, but also how to acquire and master the skills of:</p>

    • Healthy relationship building
    • Cultural understanding, and 
    • Respectful dialogue that can lead to new knowledge. 

<p>Through the coronavirus pandemic, the George Floyd murder, and other national issues,&nbsp;many&nbsp;in our nation are polarized to one end of the political spectrum or the other.&nbsp;In order to&nbsp;bridge&nbsp;these gaps, there must be a generation of people with both the knowledge and skills to deeply&nbsp;delve into these issues.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This requires that students begin by knowing the rights and responsibilities that they possess as citizens of our country.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But this is just the foundation on which civic skills must be built if we want to truly develop a solution-oriented populous.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The current atmosphere allows “news” to unfold very quickly and in real time, and it is important to teach students how to determine fact or fiction based on evidence.&nbsp;</p>

<p>When an event is unfolding live, there is much speculation that is often unintentionally false. There are also examples of false narratives purposely being reported with the intent to mislead.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Students need to have the skills to investigate information from multiple sources before determining an opinion on an issue.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Beyond this, there are social and emotional skills that students need to master to properly function within a democratic society.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Political divisions are deep and emotional. Students must learn to navigate political issues through&nbsp;a lens of better understanding for solutions, instead of only a lens of correctness.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Students must&nbsp;utilize&nbsp;respectful&nbsp;and empathetic communication skills to investigate major political issues with members of groups that do not always agree with them. This will help them, as adult citizens, to properly find solutions to highly charged political issues and be part of the solution that moves the United States forward.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>Kathryn Turner is a veteran civics teacher at McNair Middle School in College Park, GA.&nbsp;</em></p>