Teach citizenship the way the founders intended

NEW DATA RELEASED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION— known as the Nation’s Report Card and widely regarded as the best assessment of how well we are educating our future citizens—paints a stark and worrying picture

- SAL KHAN AND JEFFREY ROSEN

Eighth-graders scored worse on the history section this year than in any other since the test was first administered on the subject in 1994, and civics scores dropped for the first time since it was first tested in 1998. Fewer than 1 in 4 students scored as proficient.

The problem is not necessarily in the classroom. When our political leaders wage “school wars” over what historical models can and cannot be taught, they signal to students that certain views are simply not worth considering. When our news media promote the loudest and most antagonistic voices, students learn that shouting is more effective than listening. And when parents refuse to engage with arguments that they disagree with, students come to believe that listening to opposing viewpoints is a sign of weakness rather than of civic strength. Small wonder, then, that according to a recent UCLA– UC Riverside study, more than two-thirds of high school principals reported substantial political conflict over hot- button issues inside their classrooms.