This is our society’s greatest moral
problem, but it’s also an opportunity—
because meaning and hope are just a
lesson plan away.
The Benefits of
a Civics-Infused Curriculum
Harvard professor Michael Sandel,
famous for his “Justice” course and 2009
book, suggests that a robust civics curriculum can help bring “moral
clarity to the alternatives we
confront as democratic citizens”
(p. 19). Whether it’s the study
of tax policies in math class,
burqa laws in French class, or
global warming in science class,
raising moral and ethical questions by teaching civics across
the curriculum offers several
benefits.
First, students experience
increased relevancy in subjects
in which they struggle. For
example, civics connections
in math and science classes
often leverage student interest in current events, such as
the March 2011 tsunami and
nuclear catastrophe in Japan.
Second, it reduces the likelihood that students will drop out;
83 percent of at-risk students surveyed
said that service learning made it less
likely that they would drop out of
school (Bridgeland, DiIulio, & Morison,
2006). Third, research has shown that
teaching civics across the curriculum
results in gains in cognitive achievement, student effort and attention, and
the amount of homework completed
(Billig & Klute, 2003). Finally, such an
approach creates a common instructional language and experience among
all departments and classrooms. Both
teachers and students benefit from the
increased interdisciplinary connections.
In the Classroom . . .
Last spring, many of my students
lobbied district leaders to give all high
school students in Seattle a civics-rich
curriculum experience like theirs. Their
idealism inspired me to create the Civics
for All model (see www.civicsforall.org).
Before a packed school board audience,
past and present students attested to
the value of the initiative, which pro-
poses the integration of civics-based
lessons across all K– 12 classrooms and
academic disciplines in Seattle public
schools. Zenriquez, a 2003 graduate of
Franklin’s public service and political
science academy, testified that the civics
education he received there “changed
my life and could arguably change the
lives of hundreds of kids around this
city.” All students thrive when political
analysis of current events helps them
understand the relevance of history and
literature to their lives, their country,
and their world.
And at the Legislature
The political spectrum frames the
engaging and challenging annual
Olympia Project. This four-week service
learning project in February requires
juniors to research the annual crop of
bills on the state legislature’s website;
find bills of personal interest; track
those bills; lobby the community to
support or oppose the bills; testify in a
mock legislative committee hearing in
front of distinguished citizens (
including parents); and finally, journey to the
state capitol in Olympia to lobby for
their bills. Students can spread the word
about the cause they’re championing or
challenging by creating You Tube videos
and using social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogs.
