This BRI Teacher Council Member Shares His Inspiration For Civic Engagement

By Logan Silva

Fall in Mendocino County is gorgeous. The breeze is at optimal temperature, the trees are in full autumnal display, and the sunsets paint themselves across the sky every night. It’s the perfect voter registration weather. It was my freshman year of college, and I was fired up from my experience in high school. Civics class was one of the highlights of my education. My newfound political activism led me to volunteer to register voters around town, where I had a real lesson in civic engagement.

“Registered to vote?” I would ask.

The responses varied from evasive to hostile. I couldn’t understand these negative feelings, and they started to weigh on me. Still, I kept walking around with my forms and sometimes would get a few people to register to vote. It was a great feeling to be a part of the democratic process – a bridge between the dusty textbooks and the real work of living in a republic. Still, the reality of voter apathy was discouraging.

I carried that love of voter registration to my teaching career. In my classes, people are expected to register to vote. I celebrate registered voters and always have voter registration cards on public display for eligible registrants. In California, you can pre-register before you turn 18. I also inform my students of that option, and many of them take advantage and pre-register.

Teaching civics is difficult in the best of times and is more so over the last decade of my career. I would like to share two stories that help keep me motivated in my quest to instill lifelong civic engagement.

Super Tuesday is always a favorite of mine, going back to high school. On this year’s Super Tuesday, I had an encounter at the ballot box with a familiar face. I was taking my son to his very first election, so we walked together and basked in the moment. Me, a proud father taking his son to the voting booth. My son, a first-time voter looking for that sweet sticker. My old civics teacher drove up and rolled down his car window and yelled, “Super Tuesday!” with a smile and an “I Voted” sticker on his shirt.

The next Election Day, I had a conversation with another teacher and a parent who said “I was at home, and your name came up.” I quickly scanned the room for exits, but the parent told me their Election Day story. They said their 18-year-old child decided to vote, but the parent reminded them the registration deadline passed. “You have to register,” the parent told them. It turned out they registered in my class. “My child voted because of you,” the parent said. A golden moment for a government teacher!

It reminded me of the promise of our country. It reminded me of the value of a good civic education. And that is something we can all agree on.

Logan Silva teaches government at Potter Valley Junior and Senior High School in Potter Valley, CA. He is also a member of the Bill of Rights Institute National Teacher Council.