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I was heartened to see a discussion of a civics requirement at colleges in Inside Higher Ed this week. It was occasioned by discussion at Purdue University of making some sort of civics knowledge a graduation requirement.
“Civics” can mean different things to different people, of course. There’s the most basic kind of institutional knowledge that you would have hoped folks picked up in high school, if not earlier: two senators per state, three branches of government, that sort of thing. There’s a more philosophical version that might focus on the idea of the rule of law and the requirements of equality before the law. (Until recently, that wouldn’t have been perceived as a partisan position. It shouldn’t be.) Some people -- incorrectly, in my estimation, but still -- would define civics education as volunteerism. Others might morph it into “civic virtue” and then hold forth on what they consider virtue. More radical types might define it as democratic citizenship and would explore its implications beyond the public sphere. Radicals in the other direction might use it to attempt to inculcate a ferocious, atavistic nationalism.
Even assuming a settled definition, there’s the usual concern about any new graduation requirement. With credit caps for given degree levels becoming more popular, any new requirement involving a class has to come at the expense of something else. The folks who teach those other courses can be expected to have opinions on the matter.
Still, the basic impulse strikes me as correct. If anything, it’s probably more important at the community college level than at a flagship. Students here tend to be much less politically engaged, on the whole, than students at more exclusive places. That works to their detriment. To the extent that we’re preparing the next generation’s middle class, it would make good sense to ensure that the next middle class has both the knowledge and the sense of personal standing to participate politically.
I have disagreed with Purdue president Mitch Daniels from time to time, but on this one, he has a point. Students are more than future workers.
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Earlier this week, The Girl came into the living room to say goodnight. She knew I had been watching the debate, but when she turned to look at the screen, it was tuned to something else.
TG: What are you watching?
Me: The debate got tedious, so I switched to the Miles Davis documentary.
(pause)
TG: That is a sentence that you would say.
I feel seen …
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Speaking of civics, The Girl is proving to be a capable political pundit at 15. Her explanation of why she prefers Bernie Sanders to Elizabeth Warren:
“Bernie sounds like what I’m thinking. Warren sounds like if I wrote an essay on what I was thinking for school.”
Agree with her politics or don’t, but the kid can sling a metaphor.
