Lessons Teach History as It Happens

Like many civics teachers, Jerry Mullady has used the events of Sept. 11 to create what educators call a “teachable moment.”

During a recent lively discussion at Burbank’s John Burroughs High School, his class considered such complex issues as individual rights versus the country’s best interest, which were debated by the authors of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. These have taken on renewed interest since the terrorist attacks.

Should a person be denied a seat on an airplane because he or she looks suspicious? Would a national identification card keep people safe or infringe on their privacy? Is it OK to violate a person’s rights if it could potentially avert another terrorist attack?

“You have to give up some rights to have the majority protected,” said Burroughs High senior Adrianne Sce, admitting that for the first time she truly understood the theory of classical republicanism, which asserts the best kind of society is one that promotes the common good instead of the interests of only one class of citizens.

Senior Rusty Palmer called this his most interesting civics class ever.

“I feel like I’m learning a lot more,” he said. “Up until nine days ago, I’d never heard of the term classical republicanism.”

Mullady says in-depth discussions like this might not have happened without help from the Center for Civic Education, a Calabasas-based nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that writes civics lessons and books for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

He discovered the center while searching for teaching tools on the Internet and decided to participate in a teacher-training program that highlighted one of the center’s textbooks, “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution.”

“It brought [history] alive,” said Mullady, who is himself a Burroughs graduate. “I realized what more I could be teaching. It got me excited about the Bill of Rights.”

The Calabasas center has its roots in a UCLA committee on civic education formed in 1965 to develop a curriculum on due process for upper elementary and high school students. A textbook for kindergarten through 12th-grade, “Foundations of Democracy: Authority, Privacy, Responsibility and Justice,” was first published in 1969, followed by “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution,” which since its publication 15 years ago has been used by 26.5 million public, private and home-schooled students nationwide.

Supporters say the textbook makes civics education more active and relevant than traditional publications. It isn’t about learning names and dates, but about giving kids a strong foundation from which they can critically discuss the Bill of Rights and what it means to be a citizen.

“They aren’t memorizing it. They deal with it, grapple with it, take it apart and put it back together,” said Kevin Fox, who uses the text in his senior Advanced Placement government class at Arcadia High School.

As a result, he said, his students are anxious to be old enough to vote because “they understand their votes count.”

“It’s not flag-waving patriotism,” Fox said. “It’s a thoughtful patriotism. It’s thinking about what’s happening, as opposed to jumping on the bandwagon. [James] Madison wanted a thoughtful citizenry.”

Many students in “We the People” classes compete locally each year to determine who will represent their state in Washington, D.C., at a mock congressional hearing held each May by the Center for Civic Education. Earlier this month, Bakersfield’s Centennial High School won the state competition, narrowly beating Arcadia High School, a three-time national competitor.

Lynne Cheney, who chaired the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1986 to 1993, said colleges, libraries and individuals should sponsor teach-ins on the nation’s history to combat a serious lack of historical knowledge among youth..

Cheney, the wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, is working on “America: A Patriotic Primer” for elementary school students. She often cites a 1999 survey of college seniors--from such elite universities as Princeton, Yale and Stanford--that showed only one in five knew that the words “government of the people, by the people, for the people” came from Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address.

She said schools haven’t done a very good job of teaching American history. During her tenure at the NEH, she published a report that warned about the failure of schools to teach knowledge of the past to today’s children.

Despite this concern, President Bush hasn’t included any money in his proposed budget for civics education, said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), whose district includes the Center for Civic Education’s headquarters in Calabasas.

For 20 years, the center has received federal money--including an $11.85-million grant last year--to distribute its textbooks and promote teacher training.

“The whole concept of civic education is currently budgeted for zero dollars. It’s somewhat disingenuous for [Cheney] to be saying the country needs more civic education without putting anything in the budget for it,” Sherman said.

Chuck Quigley, the center’s executive director, said there was no allocation in the president’s budget last year, but Congress later added funds.

“I’m always worried about funding, but we have very, very strong support across the spectrum in Congress, from conservatives to liberals. We’re hoping we will continue to get that support,” said Quigley, a former public school teacher who has been with the center since it began.

In addition to domestic programs, the center administers a program called “We the People ... Project Citizen” in more than 30 countries. Students learn about public policy by tackling a problem in their community. The Russian Ministry of Education recently approved using the program in all its schools on a pilot basis.

Center officials are hoping soon to add Afghanistan and Pakistan to their list. The center’s staff has submitted to the U.S. Agency for International Development plans for implementing the program and are awaiting a response.

“The center has been in tension areas like Bosnia and Kosovo soon after the turmoil ended,” said Jack N. Hoar, director of the center’s international programs.