Renewing the American mind at 250
As if perfectly timed with this year’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, there has been an “American Revolution” in civics education from the K-12 to higher education levels. In just the last four or five years, these changes have been inspiring, and it appears we’re just getting started. Just as the other movement started at the university level, so too is this renaissance beginning at the university level and finding its way into the K-12 area. A recent report from the Heterodox Academy shows that while there were few Centers for Civics Learning set up from 1955 to 2020, there has been a tremendous surge in these last five years.
Survey after survey shows how little our young people know about the principles that have made America such a great country, providing freedom and opportunity for all. And too few in the rising generation acknowledge our history of getting ever closer to achieving the vision in our Declaration of Independence regarding their equality and have the right to pursue happiness.
States are beginning to reassert their responsibility for education. Many are mandating the study of American civics and history and Western civilization at public universities. They are mandating separate departments to focus on this. Some state legislatures have even mandated the creation of special schools, departments, or programs to achieve this.
Today, there are 17 such Schools of Civic Thought in 12 states, 16 of which have been set up in the last four years. More are on the way. The largest of these schools is the Hamilton School at the University of Florida with over 55 professors.
The beauty and strength of these Schools of Civic Thought are that each has its own tenure line to ensure academic excellence and intellectual independence. This guarantees that the professors selected to teach in these schools really do believe in America’s founding principles and the American vision.
These Schools of Civic Thought not only teach undergraduate students but also provide training and professional development for K-12 teachers in their areas. Some are even developing master’s and PhD programs in subjects related to civic thought so we will have more professors to teach at these rapidly expanding programs and credentialed teachers for the K-12 schools.
After so many years of the degradation of the traditional liberal arts, the pool of professors to teach them has diminished greatly. But now, the demand for such professors is expanding rapidly and the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles and History has taken on the responsibility to become the pipeline for providing such professors. With over 1400 professors in its network and 22 years of experience in training new professors, the JMC is well positioned to provide the professional support this Renaissance needs most right now.
For those of us who grew up during a time when the teaching of civics and American history was a standard part of the curriculum and a love of country was common, we have more recently lived through a difficult and discouraging time as we see how much this has changed. But now things are changing for the better, and we can look toward the future with a great deal of hope.
But it is not going to happen by itself. There are a number of good organizations in the field working to make it happen. But they need financial support so they can do their job. And that is where the donor community comes in.
For those of us who have benefited from the opportunities the American system has given us, it is our responsibility to pay back and the best way to do this is to make sure that our educational system teaches our young people those principles that have made our success possible so that our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren can also live the American dream.
Parents are becoming more active and are more involved in demanding that their children’s schools have a strong civics and history program so their children can become good citizens. Particularly at the K-12 level, parents are driving the explosion of classical education schools.
At the higher education level, recent reports show a dramatic swing in the enrollments of undergrads from the Ivies in the Northeast, which tend to be more ideologically driven, to public institutions in the South, several of which have created Schools of Civic Thought.
No, it is not going to be easy, but on the other hand, the need is so obvious and so great and the path forward to success is so clear that the hard work necessary will be easy.
The path is clear. President Ronald Reagan stated it very clearly when he said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
As we approach America’s 250th, the task falls to us to make sure the influence of this civics revolution continues beyond this July 4th.
Jack Miller is the chairman emeritus of the Jack Miller Center. Pete Peterson is the Braun Family Dean of Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy as well as a member of the Jack Miller Center’s board.
