‍Introduction

Education on current events in American high schools is weaker than ever. Following the adoption of curricular emphasis on “core” subjects to better prepare incoming students for the job market, education in civics has deteriorated significantly, reducing the power of the ordinary citizen. Deviating from the original system of tying together traditional history and civic education, or the study of democratic self-government, history classes now focus more on past events and less on what is relevant today (Cuban, 2021). Civic education, which revolves around explaining our governmental structure and addressing contemporary issues, overlaps with modern current events and is crucial for educating students about the world before they leave high school. However, with a decrease in civic education since the late 20th century, the political awareness of high schoolers has dropped tremendously (“What Do Young Adults Know about Politics? Evidence From...”, 2013). This precedent poses a substantial risk to democracy, which relies on the common citizen’s understanding of crucial political issues and their power to vote in favor of what best represents their beliefs. This paper will discuss the history of current events and civics in the American education system, why it has declined in recent decades, the implications of such a decline, and policy solutions for restoring this education. 

A Brief History of Civic Education 

Following progressive reforms to improve education in the early 1900s, social studies classes in high schools aimed to broaden understanding of the various levels of government and inspire social activism in solving community problems. This campaign was primarily inspired by John Dewey, often coined “the father of progressive education.” Dewey famously promoted “teaching for democracy,” empowering students to participate in our society through education (“The Second World War’s Impact on the Progressive…”, 2014). Such civic-strengthening sentiment was typical of the Progressive Era, full of actions to break up monopolies to return power from the elite few to the masses. Civic education heavily studied the modern issues of the time, fostering deeper sociopolitical awareness and encouraging students to reflect on how changes could be made to improve their communities (Cuban, 2021). It is important to note that civic education was not necessarily a class of its own, but often an extension of social studies classes where teachers would take a day every one or two weeks to teach this subject. Adopting such curriculums was popular in many high schools of the time (“Teaching Current Events: Its Status in Social Studies Today,” 2000). 

Emphasis on civic education in social studies courses was reinvigorated during World War II, an event that heavily encouraged teachers nationwide to teach their students about governmental structures and the importance of civilian participation in politics. Understanding these topics was especially important amidst the global tension perpetuated by the war. The US government deemed this operation so crucial that it created an Education Wartime Commission to provide a “unified voice to education.” Civic education during World War II was more centralized than it had ever been (“The Second World War’s Impact on the Progressive…”, 2014).

The civic orientation of social studies classes largely persisted during the following decades but came to a halt during the late 1970s and early 1980s, when new curriculum standards and incentives for schools to score high on standardized testing emerged onto the scene of education. This was inspired by a desire from the government to create a highly skilled workforce that would be adept in what we today call the “core” subjects of math, science, reading and writing, and history in its traditional sense. The lack of testing for civic knowledge was soon followed by a decreased desire for teachers to educate students about government, the contemporary world, and the key conflicts that shape it (Gardner, 2022).

Retaining the Current System

The fixation of standardized testing and curriculums on “core” subjects and away from civic knowledge can be heavily blamed for the decline of current events education in high schools (“Schools Should Teach More Current Events,” 2017). While this was the catalyst for change, various new arguments have prevented it from being reimplemented in high schools. 

One common complaint from critics is the sensitivity of the issues discussed in civic and current events education. Many high school teachers don’t want their students to feel uncomfortable discussing polarizing topics that are relevant to their lives. Heated arguments can easily break out when talking about controversial conflicts, which teachers want to keep outside of their classrooms. Studies have found that students are more willing to engage in classroom discourse about controversial issues when their identity feels threatened, but teachers have a solid ability to mediate these conversations by fostering a welcoming environment (Bjorn, 2023). However, many teachers seem unaware or skeptical of this and instead opt to avoid discussing such topics altogether, which limits the democratic citizenship of their students.

Another limiting factor is that history textbooks are usually a few years outdated because of the lengthy and expensive publication process. AP United States Government and Politics, a common college-level history class that many high school students take, is intended to teach students about events spanning from 1491 to the present (“AP United States History,” 2024). However, of the 18 approved course textbooks, the mean date of publication is about eight years old, and the newest textbook was published four years ago (“Editorial: High Schools Should Teach Current Events,” 2024). This constricts the ability for classes to discuss current events and conflicts, an essential part of civic education, because of the vastness of what can happen in just a few years. Consider the history of our nation since 2020: surviving a global pandemic that killed millions, civil unrest following the killing of George Floyd, an attempted insurrection at the Capitol following Trump’s loss to Biden, and so many other generation-defining moments. It is simply unrealistic for textbooks to be published often enough for all of these topics to be covered, severely limiting the capacity for current events education in high schools. Compounded with the lack of standardized curricula for civic education, teachers feel lost when tackling this subject, deterring them from even starting.

Lastly, opponents of contemporary civic education argue that teachers may be biased, restricting students' ability to think for themselves. In a usual history class setting, the teacher’s instruction is pulled from textbooks and a standardized curriculum that blocks out any tendencies favoring one side or another. However, with the lack of an established curriculum for current events and civics education, many believe that biases could more easily seep into the classroom (“Editorial: High Schools Should Teach Current Events,” 2024). 

Future Implications

The issue is not that civics classes do not exist anywhere. In fact, nearly 90% of 2009 high school seniors had a civics-related class on their transcript (“What Do Young Adults Know about Politics? Evidence From...”, 2013). However, along with not being a mandatory course for all, a major issue is that the current civics education is lackluster. Of the young adults (18-24 years old) during the 2012 presidential election, less than 40% of non-voters were able to correctly identify that the Republican Party is more conservative than the Democratic Party, whereas this number was only slightly above 50% for the total young American population of voting age. Additionally, 51.2% of young adults believed that the federal government spent more on foreign aid than Social Security, when, in reality, Social Security was about 20 times as costly at the time. Even today, similar proportions of government funding are allotted for foreign aid (“FY 2024 Budget Justification,” 2024) and Social Security (“How Much Does the US Spend on Social Security? Is It Sustainable,” 2024). Such large misconceptions demonstrate that even if they take a civics class, high schoolers are not being educated well enough. The consequence is that when voting is misinformed, our country can elect leaders who do not necessarily align best with what the people want. 

Additionally, limited civics education in high school is linked to a lack of civilian engagement in and knowledge of politics, weakening our democracy. Political knowledge and activity are essential in ensuring the democratic system best represents our interests. However, current civics classes are still leaving great holes of knowledge in the minds of many. To further back the previous claims about the importance of high-quality civics classes, studies show that education regarding the voting process in high schools strongly correlates with political knowledge and voter participation. In 2012, about 63% of young adults who were encouraged to vote in high school, instructed about registering, and taught about various historical voting movements ended up voting in that year’s election. Contrarily, young adults who did not have any of these experiences in high school only voted 43% of the time in the 2012 general election (“What Do Young Adults Know about Politics? Evidence From...”, 2013). Such stark differences demonstrate how important proper civic education is because, without it, many people's opinions are prevented from impacting the course of action our nation takes every four years. Learning about the voting process and the key topics defining a presidential election is especially crucial for high school seniors because many vote during elections.

Studies also show that the extent of civics education one receives strongly correlates with general knowledge about our governmental system. Exemplifying this, only 38.7% of young Americans aged 18-24 in 2012 knew how much of a majority Congress needs to override a veto. Furthermore, only 48.6% knew who had a right to vote in federal elections (“What Do Young Adults Know about Politics? Evidence From...”, 2013). These are concepts that can easily be taught in high schools, demonstrating how shallow modern civics education is. Regarding all US adults, including many who received poor political education in the late 20th century and the 2000s, the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that less than half can name all three branches of government (Maroni, 2023). Better instruction in how our government works in high schools would likely decrease misunderstandings and create a more knowledgeable voter base.

Essentially, we are already experiencing the implications of a decline in civic education. General political knowledge and voter participation, both of which are directly linked to civic education, are currently very poor around the country. Unless more substantial changes are made, these trends will continue to persist. To spark a rebound from such poor knowledge and education, we must look to implement new policy solutions.

Policy Options

Implementing national or state-level curriculums focusing more on civics would likely boost civic education and awareness in high schools. The decline in this subject in high schools was caused by the lack of mandatory state testing and the absence of a standardized curriculum, which disincentivized education in this area. Implementing these measures would encourage high schools to integrate these subjects into social studies classes again.

One way to administer an effective curriculum and testing system would be to require one civics lesson every one or two weeks, depending on the courseload of the existing class, as was the norm in the mid-1900s. Testing does not have to be rigorous; basic annual state testing requirements are a great starting point for implementing this measure. The spaced-out nature of teaching civics with this plan would allow a state-wide or nationwide lesson plan to be created, thoroughly checked, and distributed to both teachers and the public to ensure that lessons are both up to date and up to the quality standards of the public. These lesson plans would be flexible and include a topic for the day, an impartial context to the issue, a representation of the differing viewpoints if they exist, provided by a list of resources explaining each side, and guidelines for effective discourse in the classroom. By assigning readings and avoiding lecture-style teaching, concerns about the potential biases of an instructor would be mitigated. Additionally, by requiring further independent research by students as classwork or homework, teachers would increase the chance of their students exploring the vast opinions and accounts of different people. This requirement would weaken concerns of students being limited by the curriculum and would encourage students to learn for themselves in their free time, which would also increase their political knowledge and engagement.

Effective discourse as a course requirement would also be essential in the adoption of a new curriculum. Studies have shown that in-class discourse creates a deeper understanding of the issues being taught in class and allows students to explore the perspectives of their classmates, which are often differing on controversial topics (“Analyzing Classroom Discourse to Advance Teaching and Learning,” 2008). Exploring opposing viewpoints and finding middle ground is a key aspect of developing critical thinking skills and weighing out stances for oneself, which would help students understand their own opinions while also ensuring the room for future changes. Rather than further polarizing opponents, effective debate can bring students closer together by teaching them to coexist despite their differences.

As explained earlier, a recurring concern of teachers is that their students may feel uncomfortable when discussing controversial issues that directly relate to them. However, heated and provocative debates can be prevented with the establishment of strong norms at the start of class to make sure that conversations stay purely ideological (“Establishing Community Agreements and Classroom Norms: Center for Teaching Innovation,” 2020). Furthermore, if a student is deemed especially provoking, teachers can install a system of punishment and discipline to correct their behavior. This might look like: a warning for the first offense, exclusion from the debate and loss of class credit for the second offense, and being sent down to the principal’s office on the third offense, which could lead to detention. Through this system, discourse can remain purely informative in the event that a student becomes hostile. To prevent such students from feeling that their opinions are being restricted, teachers can instruct them to explain their views and why they were verbally attacking other students on paper. Also, they could review the class norms together as part of a corrective procedure. By thoroughly examining and explaining why adhering to class norms is so crucial with dissenting students, teachers are more likely to prevent future instances of emotional attacks brought on by heated debate. 

Conclusion

Progressive Era reforms from the early 20th century heavily impacted social studies classes, which now sought to combine history with civic education to inspire students to create positive change in their communities. This was reinforced by World War II, where the need for a united homefront led to an even heavier importance of current events and civic education in high schools. This focus died down at the end of the 20th century, when our government decided to tailor the new generation to be more educated in the “core” subjects to meet the demands of the changing job market. With this came an increase of standardized testing that oriented high school curriculums away from civic education.

Many teachers are deterred from this subject because of the sensitive discussions it can create. Additionally, many textbooks are limited in how recently they were published, not allowing for the study of present issues that are essential to civics. Combined with claims that teacher bias can get in the way of effective instruction, it has been difficult for current events and civic education to be taught thoroughly in high schools again.

The resulting lack of civilian political knowledge leads to misinformed voting, resulting in elected officials who may not best represent our interests. Additionally, many adults refrain from voting altogether because of their lack of interest or knowledge, stemming from a lack of education in this area. Civic education is strongly correlated with voter and civic engagement, activities essential for a democracy run by the people at its core. On top of this, the current lack of education in this subject area has led to a remarkably poor level of understanding within society about how our government works. 

Policy solutions to implement more civic education in high schools revolve around tweaking their existing curricular frameworks. By implementing standardized, consistently modified curriculums, social studies classes can include a relevant civics lesson every one or two weeks, accompanied by basic level standardized testing in civics conducted annually. A diversified list of readings and other resources for an assigned topic of the day, required further independent study by students, and effective discourse backed by a system of norms and potential disciplinary actions can allow students to broaden their civic awareness without the risk of learning exclusively from a biased source or overwhelming students with the discussion of sensitive topics. Additionally, the consistently updated curriculum would ensure that lessons cover modern polarizing issues that are usually excluded by textbooks. If we implement these measures in high schools around the country, civic awareness and activism that strengthens our nation may become a reality.

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