Every adult should retake middle school civics class

I am not a political person. Nor do I want to be. Politics and political parties are the biggest deterrent to running any form of government let alone a constitutionally limited federal democratic republic like ours. In President Washington’s Farewell address he warned against political parties. Washington was well qualified to speak on governmental matters having lived under a constitutional monarchy, tenuous self-rule in the colonies, a rebellion, a confederation, and  witnessing the great debate on government (federalist versus anti-federalist) while creating the world’s first surviving democracy. We have seldom listened and as our nation has grown, politics has overtaken our government like unwanted kudzu.

I admit that as a civics teacher, I am quite biased. Schools must be given more power to instill civic values in our students, our future depends on it. Outside of 8th grade civics and AP Government (an elective for juniors or seniors), student do not engage in any serious study of government. I am a big fan of government. I am not a fan of “big government.” Big government exists because of the lack of civic education in our schools. I have been lucky to have taught students that have participated in The Center for Civic Education’s We the People competition. This program is nearly devoid of politics and inspires student to study the origins of our government. More importantly, the program encourages students to consider the elements of GOOD GOVERNMENT. As James Madison said,

“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both”

The fine people at James Madison’s Montpelier are instrumental in keeping civic education alive. So I implore you to stop by your local middle school and speak with the civics teacher. I can guarantee that you’ll learn something about government…and maybe distance yourself from politics. Oh, and check out Montpelier. They have classes, too. You might just find me there.