Educators at area schools are working to help promote knowledge of civics among high school students.
Illustration by Craig Kelly | The Lima News
LIMA — What is the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? How long is the term for a U.S. senator? When can you register to vote?
With politics and elections at the forefront of the minds of many, given the rapidly approaching November election, one question that may arise is how younger generations are learning about this nation’s system of government.
The answers to this question are not encouraging as many young people are, like many other Americans, poorly versed in civics. According to a 2023 national survey by the Institute for Citizens and Scholars, 51 percent of Gen Z students given a four-question civics common knowledge assessment got either no questions correct or one question correct. Only 4 percent of those students answered all four questions correctly. This trend reflects a broader lack of civics knowledge among the U.S. population. A study released in February by the U.S. Chamber Foundation found that more than 70 percent of Americans would fail a civic literacy quiz. This covered topics “like the three branches of government, the number of Supreme Court justices and other basic functions of our democracy,” the report said.
For Elida High School social studies teacher Jeff Thomas, instilling a better understanding of civics is an important step in helping young people grow into valued, contributing members of society. Part of that education, he said, is helping young people know that civic engagement does not begin and end at the ballot box.
“While voting is important, there are a lot of other ways in which people can get involved, with volunteering or attending public meetings that are voicing their opinions in all kinds of different ways expressing their First Amendment right,” he said.
Lima Senior history and civics teacher Kian Searcy is also working to reverse this trend, noting that students often need clarification on certain aspects of U.S. government.
“I think a common misconception is trying to explain the Electoral College and explain to students the process of voting and how your votes are counted in our electoral system,” he said. “One of the things my students have to do is to compare and contrast how you vote in different states.”
One of the important things teachers must keep in mind is the need to teach civics in a way that does not skew students in one ideological direction or another, both teachers said.
“I try to cover everything that’s going on in election in a fact-based, unbiased way,” Searcy said. “I try to present students with information and have them come to their own conclusions.”
While social media can do much to connect people both young and old and can even promote social and civic engagement, these platforms can also prevent users from getting multiple perspectives on issues, fostering a sense of confirmation bias as the algorithms promote more posts and videos that are aligned with previously viewed material in order to foster engagement on the website. With young people getting their information more exclusively through social media, civics teachers must work to provide context, according to Thomas.
“We really do try to teach about identifying credible sources,” he said. “But it is impressive, really, how they hear certain things. I might bring up a topic I read in the news and they’re going to have a different take from what they saw on TikTok.”
As these teachers help inform students about engaging in our nation’s political system, Searcy said that the way he has seen students discuss different topics in his class has given him reason for optimism about the future.
“Are students able to engage with each other and have meaningful conversations with one another about different political issues? Absolutely,” he said. “I would go so far as to say that young people can do a better job than some other generations at having dialogue and discourse with one another in a cordial and respectful and civil way.”
