A Renewed Commitment to Civic Education Is Imperative
Most Americans—including the educators entrusted with preparing future generations—believe it is important that students learn that America is a fundamentally good country. Contrary to claims that teachers are widely indoctrinating students with anti-American sentiment, our survey suggests educators are more committed than the general public or parents when it comes to teaching students about American values and democracy. We suspect much of the partisan ire directed at teachers is misplaced and might more appropriately be directed toward those who claim to speak on behalf of teachers—education school faculty, education professional associations, and teachers unions, who tend to be more left-leaning than the teacher workforce.
It is also encouraging that amid debates over how to cultivate patriotism, teaching the values enshrined in the U.S. Constitution commands the broadest consensus. Two additional recent surveys demonstrate this area of agreement. Polling from the University of Southern California found that while there is a 60-point gap between Republican (84 percent) and Democratic (24 percent) support for reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in schools, there is near-universal agreement on teaching the Constitution—supported by 93 percent of Democrats and 95 percent of Republicans. Similarly, a recent poll from the Institute for Governance and Civics at Florida State University found that more than 85 percent of voters support teaching students about the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution. Most Americans understand that loving what is good about America does not require endorsing any particular government act or political party; it requires upholding the principles that define our democratic system.
Rebuilding trust in the government and sustaining our democratic values requires a commitment that transcends partisan loyalties and challenges the extreme views that have given rise to increasingly illiberal tendencies, much of which have come from our political class. This means, for example, rejecting recent right-wing assaults on the judiciary, the rule of law, and due process. It also means that the left, as U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres (D) recently put it, needs to become “more comfortable pushing back against moral relativism and speaking with moral clarity and defending America and defending Western civilization.”
Admittedly, it is no small task to ask young people to look past the dysfunction of modern politics and see the enduring promise of the American experiment. But history shows that many of America’s most inspiring chapters have emerged from our darkest hours. Though the belief that America is good remains strong among most Americans and educators, preserving our values and living up to them is a perpetual responsibility. Civic-education reforms that emphasize constitutional principles and the superiority of democratic values can help rebuild trust in democratic institutions and renew faith in the American experiment. America, while imperfect, is still worth defending if we believe in its promise and commit ourselves to its future.
