It is common during times of economic, political, and social unrest for public attention to turn to our education system, which often is blamed for whatever ills we seem to be experiencing and, somewhat paradoxically, simultaneously charged with fixing the problems. In the light of political shifts over the past decade, then, during which more books and articles were written lamenting the fragility of our democracy than in the five decades prior, it is not surprising to observe a marked increase in public attention to the quality of civics education in our schools. To what extent does polarization and paralysis in Congress reflect on the failure of our education system to prepare future leaders for public service? Does the rise of extremism on left and right signal a collapse of the commitment of teachers to equip young people with critical thinking skills relevant to the most challenging issues of the time? How much to our citizens actually know about the workings of our democracy and how many of them show capacity to apply their knowledge to genuine engagement and civic discourse? In this talk, Professor Feuer will review some recent data on these questions and share his thoughts on the current and future status of civics education and its role in resetting the American political compass and preserving our commitment to democratic norms and processes.

Michael Feuer recently completed a 15-year term as Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at George Washington University. He is a past president of the National Academy of Education, a nonresident Senior Fellow at Brookings, and an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Educational Research Association. His most recent book, Can Schools Save Democracy?, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 2023.

 

Please click the link below to join the discussion on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85948313259?pwd=EfbRQ28VnVtwnfgaPDZdueQmpZ3HdK.1

 

Meeting ID: 859 4831 3259

Passcode: 353119

 

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