Tag: Civics education

Independence Day Teaches Us That People Matter

Commentary The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important statements on human liberty ever written. Not only did it launch the American Revolution, but it also inspired freedom fighters all around the world. From Frederick Douglass and the struggle against chattel slavery to Winston Churchill and the battle against totalitarianism, the ideas of the Declaration have been a rallying…


As We Celebrate Freedom, Let’s Keep the American Spirit Alive

Commentary In his eloquent and prophetic January 1989 farewell address to the nation, President Ronald Reagan gave us a somber warning, saying, “If we forget what we did, we won’t know who we are. I’m warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in the erosion of the American spirit.” In…


DeSantis Passes out $3,000 Bonuses to Florida Teachers for Attending Civics ‘Boot Camp’

Florida’s new civics “boot camp” for teachers has graduated 4,500 from the program and has a long waiting list of others hoping to take the course, Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press conference on March 23. He’s prepared, he said, to ask state lawmakers to come up with more money to award $3,000 bonuses…


A Republic If You Can Teach It

Commentary President Biden has a civics lesson that he is fond of and regularly repeats. It is about how the United States is unique in the world because of the founding ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. “Unlike every other nation on Earth, we were founded based on an idea,” he notes before adding…


Don’t Know Much About History

Commentary In 1960, the late Sam Cooke released a song “Wonderful World” that contained the lyrics “Don’t know much about history.” Sadly, seven decades later, his lament about his lack of historical (or any other educational) knowledge from his school days (as he was focused on a young lady instead) has become a sort of anthem for…


New Project Presses for Pro-American Educational Reforms

A new project called The Civics Alliance aspires to unite Americans in the effort to promote authentic civics education that teaches the U.S. founding principles and documents, key events of American history, the structure of our self-governing federal republic, and the spirit of liberty and tolerance. The National Association of Scholars-sponsored project comes after President…