Teach civic literacy, O’Connor urges
By Lawrence Hardy
To understand how Sandra Day O’Connor came by her passion for improving civic instruction in the public schools, you have to go back to her 2005 retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court and her decision to advise emerging Central and Eastern Europe nations on setting up the structures of democracy.
The project was an immense success: Of the 26 nations that O’Connor and other volunteers advised, more than half are now members of the European Union.
Bringing civic literacy to the United States has been a bit more troublesome. “I don’t want to be alarmist, but I want to make the point that it is the citizens of this nation who must preserve democracy. And we must not forget that,” O’Connor told school board leaders at the First General Session, March 29, on the first day of the NSBA Annual Conference.
O’Connor expressed concern about how U.S. students do relatively poorly on international math and science tests. But, she added: “There are other subjects that are critically important as well.”
O’Connor, who now lives in Arizona, is co-chairing a national campaign to make civic instruction in the nation’s schools more exciting and relevant to today’s students.
This is critical, she believes, noting that only one-third of Americans can name the three branches of government and less than one in 10 can name the chief justice of the United States, but two-thirds can name at least one judge on “American Idol.”
The news isn’t all bad. O’Connor said the increased participation of young people in political campaigns during this presidential election year and the record numbers of voters casting ballots in some state primaries.
But she said we have a long way to go to prevent civics education from being squeezed out of the curriculum. One problem is that much of traditional civics instruction is so dry that it “shocks the conscience,” she said.
O’Connor noted that some high schools, including those in Kona, Hawaii, and Kennebunkport, Maine, are making civics instruction more exciting and relevant. Civics classes are about teaching students to be citizens, O’Connor said, and they should come away with “a toolbox of knowledge.”
One way the nation’s civic ignorance is evident is in a disturbing mistrust of judges, some of whom are dubbed “activists” by various interest groups, she said.
There are movements to strip federal judges of their authority to rule in certain kinds of cases. In South Dakota, an initiative was introduced that would have allowed the losing party in a civil suit to sue the judge in the case, with the possibility of the judge going to jail. It was not approved.
“Now think of it: How could judges independently follow the law if they were afraid of going to prison or making a wrong decision?” O’Connor asked.
O’Connor said she was also concerned that 39 states elect judges, and the elections in 18 of these states are partisan. The money raised for some of these races rivals the amount amassed in some U.S. Senate campaigns. Again, she asked, how can a judge elected in such a manner remain impartial?
The quick fix is to have a state committee and the governor select judges based on merit. But the long-term solution, she said, is to improve the civic understanding -- and, thus, the civic involvement -- of future citizens.
Reproduced with permission from School Board News. Copyright © 2008, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789.