Helping students fulfill their role as citizens in a democracy
By Arlene Gardner
Creating citizens with the knowledge, skills and disposition to participate in a democratic society is the very purpose for which public schools were established. Civic literacy was seen as essential to maintaining a representative democracy and the schools were viewed as the place for young people to learn about their government.
In a multiethnic, multi-religious country based on the shared secular ideas of liberty and justice, a common understanding and appreciation of these fundamental American values was seen as critical, so that citizens could make reasoned decisions as voters.
A brief history of civics in New Jersey
Until the 1960s, it was common for schools to have civics courses in upper elementary and middle school classes, as well as a separate, required course in civics and government in high school. Edwin Fisk in a 1987 New York Times article on civics education noted that “this pattern broke down in the 1960s and 1970s, when social unrest over civil rights, the war in Vietnam and other issues weakened the agreement about core values and put democratic institutions on the defensive.” (See nyti.ms/33QekWJ.)
That led to the elimination of civics courses in many states, including New Jersey.
By the 1980s, the civic mission of schools was basically abandoned in favor of preparing a new generation of skilled workers. The focus was shifted toward “core” testable subjects such as math and reading. Jen Kalaidis reported in The Atlantic that time spent on social studies was consequently reduced in many schools.
(See bit.ly/3fU4dTl.)
And the results are clear: while math and reading skills have improved since 1998, less than a quarter of students demonstrated proficiency on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Civics in 1998, 2006, 2010, 2014 or 2018. (See nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/civics.) For example, in 2018, only 50% of eighth grade students understood that the U.S. Congress has the primary legislative power to pass bills.
With funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a nationwide coalition to study and reinvigorate the civic mission of schools was formed in 2003. The results of research concluded in 2010 that students who receive effective education in social studies are more likely to vote, four times more likely to volunteer and work on community issues, and are generally more confident in their ability to communicate ideas with their elected representatives. An “effective education” included explicit instruction regarding government, law and democracy; discussions of current events and controversial issues; as well as participation in simulated democratic processes. (See bit.ly/33Z4C49.)
In 2004, 30 states required a civics course. An “Inventory of Civic Education in New Jersey” conducted by our organization in the fall of 2004 disclosed that only 39% of New Jersey school districts required all of their students to take a civics course in any grade. The vast majority of school districts indicated that up-to-date, inexpensive classroom materials and professional development would be an effective way to improve civic education. By 2012, more than 40 other states had a required civic course according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, but there was still no requirement for a course in civics at any grade level in New Jersey. It was left to local discretion.
The Laura Wooten Law
In 2021, S-854, known as the Laura Wooten Law, was passed unanimously by the New Jersey Senate and Assembly. On July 23, 2021, Gov. Phil Murphy signed the bill. It mandated that, beginning in September 2022, New Jersey school districts teach a minimum of two quarters of civics in a middle school grade.
The goal is for all New Jersey students to receive explicit and sustained instruction in civics. The law requires the course to broadly include “the principles and ideals underlying the American system of constitutional democracy, the function and limitations of government, and the role of a citizen in a democratic society.” The law recognized that while content knowledge about how our government works is important, an effective civics course should also include an understanding of the principles and ideals that underlie our system of government, and, probably most importantly, the role of a citizen in a democratic society.
Consistent with the student performance expectations in the 2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Social Studies, which will also go into effect starting in September 2022, the focus is on developing critical thinking skills and civic dispositions in addition to civic knowledge. The law directed the New Jersey Center for Civic Education to develop resources and provide professional development for middle school social studies teachers.
With the help of a team of social studies teachers and supervisors and university faculty, the center has developed an inquiry framework that outlines the big questions that should be answered in a middle school civics course. The inquiry framework includes four units that are being turned into a curriculum guide with links to lessons, activities and resources. It is available on the center’s website at civiced.rutgers.edu.
Inquiry framework and curriculum guide
The inquiry framework starts with foundational concepts and principles that provide the anchors for our democracy, such as civic virtue, the common good and consent of the governed. The curriculum guide includes links to lessons, activities and resources that will develop an understanding of these foundational concepts and principles, as well as the civic skills that are important in a democratic society, such as active listening skills needed for civil discourse, media literacy skills needed to be able to separate facts from opinions, and critical thinking skills necessary to be able to analyze and understand current events.
The concepts and principles provide a basis for understanding why our government was structured as it is in the U.S. Constitution. Power is limited and diffused to prevent abuse of authority. This is achieved structurally by leaving a great deal of authority with the states through federalism, and by limiting and balancing the authority of the three branches of government by separating their powers, and through checks and balances.
But the Constitution does not simply establish a structure for our government. The preamble proclaims the purposes for establishing our government: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
How well have we implemented these ideals? How has our Fourth Amendment right to privacy been contested during times of war and change? How well have we balanced First Amendment rights to speech, press, religion, assembly and petition and the need for safety? What are the challenges that currently face us as a democratic nation? Without reflection, no person or democracy can seek to improve or survive.
The curriculum guide includes four units. The final unit is aimed at helping students understand and appreciate their role as citizens in a democratic society.
What responsibilities does a citizen have? It is not just voting—as incredibly important as that is—or even obeying the law or being a juror—also important. The broader role of the citizen in a democratic society also includes holding our elected representatives responsible; identifying community problems that need to be addressed; and bringing these issues to the governmental body that has the authority to solve them.
It is only in actively engaging in projects to consider and improve their communities that students gain the confidence and skills to address public issues and the desire to do so as adults.
The middle school civics curriculum guide has been structured following research on best practices to meet the goal of developing citizens who have the knowledge, skills and dispositions to make reasoned decisions as voters; to have the critical thinking skills to understand public policy issues that face their community, their state and their nation; and to care about and have the confidence and skills to act for the common good.
As long as there are at least two quarters of sustained civics instruction, each district will decide specifically how to structure its new middle school civics course.
Professional development
The new law directs the New Jersey Center for Civic Education to provide professional development as well as resources to help middle school educators teach the newly required civics course. An overview and one-hour virtual workshops for teachers are available on our website. Since in-person professional development is much more effective, we will be offering free, all-day, in-person workshops starting this April at Rutgers University in Piscataway, as well as other locations around the state.
Watch our website at civiced.rutgers.edu for registration information. Contact us with any questions: Arlene Gardner, president, and Robert O’Dell, executive director, New Jersey Center for Civic Education, Rutgers University, Piscataway at arlenega@sas.rutgers.edu or ro205@scarletmail.rutgers.edu.
Arlene Gardner started her career as an attorney and decided that social studies was more important. A graduate of Douglass College/Rutgers University and Georgetown Law School, she practiced with law firms in California and New Jersey and worked as an assistant counsel to New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne. In the 1980s, she worked as a consultant on a school partnership project sponsored by Gov. Tom Kean and Rutgers President Ed Bloustein. In 1990 she created the New Jersey Center for Civic Education with Dr. James Daly, a professor of education at Seton Hall University. Originally located at Seton Hall University, the center moved to Rutgers University in 2002.
Gardner has also served as president of the New Jersey Council for the Social Studies (NJCSS), as executive director of the NJCSS and as a member of the NJCSS Board of Directors. She also created the New Jersey Social Studies Supervisors Association, served on the board of the Middle States Council for the Social Studies, on the policy committee of the National Council for the Social Studies and on the committees to develop/revise the state social studies standards in 2005 and 2009. She was a member of the Westfield Board of Education for nine years, on the board of Crossroads of the American Revolution and is currently president of Mostly Music, a nonprofit that brings world-class chamber music to New Jersey.
Gardner can be reached at arlenega@sas.rutgers.edu.
Who was Laura Wooten?
S-854 was named after Laura Wooten, who was the longest continuously serving election worker in the United States. She served for 79 years, from 1939 until 2018, first in Princeton and later in Lawrence Township. Wooten passed away in 2019 at 98 years old.
Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer), the prime sponsor of the Laura Wooten Law, added Wooten’s name to the bill to recognize the value that each person can add to their community. Gov. Phil Murphy noted Wooten’s service at the bill signing.
“An understanding of civics strengthens our democracy by ensuring an understanding of the role that everyone plays in the future of their community, our state and our nation,” Murphy said. “I am proud to sign this bill into law and honor Laura Wooten’s incredible civic legacy.”
Born in 1920 in North Carolina, Wooten graduated from Princeton High School in 1939. She worked for 27 years in food service at Princeton University, a job she took at the age of 72 after retiring from Princeton Medical Center.
Wooten’s daughter, Yvonne Hill, attended the bill’s signing ceremony on behalf of her family. Hill told the Daily Princetonian her mother would wake up at 4 a.m. on Election Day to serve at the polls from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., doing so even in 2017 on the day after her brother died.
“My mother would be so honored to know that a bill would be passed recognizing her legacy of civic responsibility,” Hill said. “She always felt that the youth should be involved in exercising the hard-fought right to vote and help make change. Her famous words were ‘Don’t say you can’t make a difference. How can you make a difference if you don’t vote?’”
Just prior to Election Day in 2018, the Daily Princetonian published an interview with Wooten. You can read it at bit.ly/wooten-princeton.