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Good citizens know their civics

Citizenship. It may sound like a quaint word with little more than sentimental value today, but it is still the basis of our democratic system. Justice Louis Brandeis once said that "the most important political office is that of the private citizen." Without informed and engaged citizens, our government will never reach its potential for public good. That is why a new civics initiative unveiled by former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham and former U.S. Rep. Lou Frey is such a needed and necessary step for our state.

Florida is abysmally failing to educate a ready and motivated citizenry. The statistics are so disheartening that they are barely believable. A 2005 Florida Bar poll found that more than 40 percent of the state's residents did not know the three branches of government. A poll by the University of Central Florida in 2005 found that two-thirds of respondents from Central Florida could not name either one of Florida's two U.S. senators, even though both reside in the region. And Florida ranks 49th out of 50 states in rates of volunteering.

It turns out that as Florida schools turned their focus to the basics they left civics behind. The result has been a population of civic illiterates who choose not to vote in ever larger numbers and don't bother keeping informed on issues that impact their lives.

During the last legislative session, lawmakers implicitly acknowledged this failing by making civics education mandatory in middle school. That was a start. But the plan designed by Graham and Frey would go much further and if fully implemented would set Florida's students on a path to understanding their responsibility to contribute to the nation's civic and political life.

The initiative, titled "Enlisting a New Generation of Florida Citizens," would include revising Florida's standards in civics to make it a core and comprehensive component of the Sunshine State Standards in Social Studies. A group of "super-teachers" would be enlisted to train other social studies teachers around the state, and the civics sections of textbooks would be strengthened and improved. A center would be established to coordinate and support these and other civic education efforts.

The only mildly controversial aspect of the plan is that it seeks to introduce a civics component to the FCAT. Graham and Frey insist that it is necessary in this day of "if it isn't tested it isn't taught." They believe civics will continue to receive short shrift without an assessment and accountability instrument. But adding yet another subject to the FCAT would only increase the burden these tests impose on schools. This part of the initiative deserves more careful consideration before lawmakers take the plunge.

Florida is not unique in having essentially abandoned its duty to educate the next generation of citizens. Across the country, studies show that American youths have disengaged politically. The public schools were established so that a government by the people would have responsible stewards. And it is essential that Florida's schools get back to this core mission. The plan by Graham and Frey is a solid way forward.

[Last modified January 27, 2007, 18:02:52]