AS THE COUNTRY engages in a heated debate over what civic education should look like, a new report by The Thomas B. Fordham Institute suggests that the nation should emulate the model we’ve developed here in the Commonwealth. The State of State Standards for Civics and U.S. History in 2021 grades every state on their […]
civics
Posted inCriminal Justice
New civics law should spur study of race and urban violence
THE STRENGTHENED MASSACHUSETTS civics standards for schools that was signed into law last month may well contain an unexpected benefit that will bolster the core of the state’s democracy: It can serve as a conduit to grapple with the persistent issues of race and violence— especially in the Commonwealth’s urban centers. The law was needed. Along […]
Posted inOpinion
Civics law provides solid foundation for teachers, students
IN A RECENT CommonWealth piece, University of Massachusetts Lowell professor Jack Schneider took issue with a civics education bill recently signed by Gov. Charlie Baker. The measure is primarily designed to teach and engage students through project-based civics education, an instructional approach also known as “action civics.” Schneider took issue with the new civic education […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Civics education needed now more than ever
ACCORDING TO THE Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, a nonpartisan research organization at Tufts University, only about half of registered voters aged 18-29 voted in the 2016 presidential election. The fact that half of young people who registered to vote — and a majority of young people of voting age […]