by Duane Campbell
The Sacramento Bee editorial board was correct in their Friday Feb.6, 2015, piece, “Civic Education is Essential to Democracy. " I congratulate them on their position. http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article9373664.html
However, they missed the boat on how to get to improved civic education.
While it is accurate that we have a general problem of civic engagement of the young, it is also true that we have a very specific problem with the rate of Latino and Asian voter participation and civic engagement. Together they comprise over 60% of the students in our schools. And, the textbooks have yet to acknowledge their presence.
Rates of voting and voter registration provide a window into civic engagement. The proportion of state voter registration that is Latino and Asian has remained far below the proportions of these groups in the state’s overall population. In 2010, Latinos in the state made up 37.6% of the general population while they were on 21.2 % of the registered voters. The Asian population was 13.1 % of the state but only 8.1 % of the registered voters.
The Bee recommendations , like the earlier report, Revitalizing K-12 Civic Learning in California, http://www.powerofdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/CLTF-Final-Report.pdf
miss the single most direct and important issue – include the children. See http://choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com/2014/08/another-opportunity-missed-civic.html
Children and young adults need to see themselves in the curriculum. Students, particularly students of color, have low levels of attachment to California and U.S. civics messages in significant part because the government institution they encounter the most- the schools- ignore the students own history, cultures and experiences.
A fundamental way to engage students in civic culture is to engage them in their own schools and communities. That is where the students most encounter civic opportunities.
