The Civic Educator is a website devoted to those who believe the primary purpose of education is to prepare students to be active and engaged citizens.
Sure, schools should prepare students to be college and career ready. It’s great to see students succeed after they graduate. But these private, personal successes are secondary to their role as public citizens in a democratic society.
It is a far greater source of pride to see students grow up to be engaged citizens, taking an active role in their communities in whatever way they choose. It is a job for all of us to give them the experiences, skills, and tools necessary to do so.
Although civic education as a subject is typically considered to be under the umbrella of social studies, it expands to every corner of the schoolhouse. The skills garnered from every subject – literacy, numeracy, scientific thinking, performing arts, and more – are in the toolbox of active citizens. Support professionals, administrators, parents, and community activists all have a role to play in this as well.
And so the audience for this website is intentionally large. Beyond simply appealing to social studies teachers, the intent is to engage a wide array of educators and community members in promotion of better civics education.
If you stick around, you can expect to find three general types of things published here:
- Promotion of public policy as it relates to civics education.
- Resources for implementing effective civics education in the classroom.
- Highlights of civic educators in practice.
If that sounds good to you, then join us and commit to be a civic educator. And if you have a story to tell, be sure to reply to your welcome e-mail and let us know all about it!
