March 11-15 is Civic Learning Week – a time to bring together students, educators, policymakers, and leaders to highlight and energize the movement for civic education in states and communities across the nation.
Civic education ensures every American is equipped with the tools to engage as active, responsible members of our self-governing society. The best civic learning happens in and out of the classroom and is a lifelong endeavor touching every facet of society. Civic Learning Week highlights the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions that provide the foundation for an informed and engaged populace, sustaining and strengthening our constitutional democracy.Â
Here are four ways to celebrate Civic Learning Week:
1. Brush up.
How does your civic knowledge stack up? Visit ActiVote to take a daily civics quiz each day this week and see how you do in comparison with your fellow Americans. Whether you’re a civic ace, a novice, or just want to refresh your knowledge of our systems and society, ActiVote’s interactive quiz is a fun and challenging way to reinforce civic learning – and remind us all of our rights, roles, and responsibilities as Americans.
2. Sit in.
Civic Learning Week has a plethora of in-person and virtual events for you to peruse. The one we’re looking forward to most is at 12:15 pm CDT on Tuesday, March 12. That’s when our good friend Eric Liu, co-founder and CEO of Citizen University, moderates a discussion with Associate Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett. The Justices will discuss their shared commitment to high-quality civic education, address student questions about the judicial system and civic engagement, and discuss their legal career paths. The discussion will highlight the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions we gain through civic education, and why civics is essential to sustaining and strengthening our constitutional democracy.
3. Support civic education legislation.Â
A lack of high-quality civic education in American schools is leaving millions without the ability to make sense of our system of government. Civic education is key to rebuilding trust in our democratic institutions and one another, fostering informed patriotism and civility, and empowering Americans to build a more perfect union. This week, take the time to learn about legislative efforts at the state and federal levels to reinforce civic education. In Nebraska, two bills in specific – LB225 and LB1371 – remain under consideration by the Legislature. In Congress, we are monitoring HR1387, also known as the Civic Learning Act. Contact your state and federal lawmakers to encourage their support of these and similar measures.
4. Support civic organizations.Â
Here’s a list of national organizations to follow, amplify, and support. Closer to home, Civic Nebraska is our state’s pre-eminent democracy-building organization. It’s our mission to support civic learning across Nebraska, and we do so by providing before- and after-school programming, civic learning clubs, curating classroom resources for educators, and through our Service Learning Center of Excellence. Your donation during Civic Learning Week is tax-deductible and will go directly to support this statewide work with our youngest Nebraskans.
Civic education is a year-round commitment – it plays a vital role in shaping engaged, informed, and responsible citizens ready and willing to contribute to the well-being and progress of society. Happy Civic Learning Week!
