CounterCurrent: Week of 2/27
Over the past few years, civics has taken center stage in the debate over American K-12 education. The battle over civics education is nothing new (in fact, it’s been going on for decades), but now, more people than ever are taking note—and taking action. Parents are paying attention to what their children are being taught to believe about America’s history and character, and they’re taking to the polls to push back against the radical and divisive ideologies that have infiltrated public school classrooms.
In March 2021, the National Association of Scholars formally joined the battle for American K-12 civics education by convening the Civics Alliance, a group of education reformers, policymakers, and citizens who are working to preserve a civics education that teaches students to take pride in their national heritage. In its first year, members of the Civics Alliance have produced an abundance of resources for parents, teachers, and civics reformers alike. Today, we are proud to unveil a new Civics Alliance website that makes these resources readily available to those who need them most.
Our press release from earlier today announced the new Civics Alliance website and explained how it furthers our mission to ensure that all students receive a quality civics education:
The Civics Alliance has been working steadily to provide resources for citizens, school board members, and policymakers who are dedicated to opposing Critical Race Theory (CRT) and action civics (vocational training in progressive activism) and to restoring excellent civics education to America’s K-12 schools. Now the Civics Alliance’s dedicated website makes these resources easily available for every American. …
The Civics Alliance website will provide the latest information on the radical assault on civics education, model content for civics education, and news about the ways education reformers are working to restore an American civics education. The Civics Alliance and its website will be a clearinghouse for Americans who want to restore a civics education that teaches students about America’s exceptional heritage of freedom.
The Civics Alliance website houses necessary resources for those engaged in the ongoing battle over American civics education. These resources include pledges for candidates in state and local elections to commit themselves to restoring American civics education; model K-12 civics legislation, including the Partisanship Out of Civics Act and the Social Studies Curriculum Act; model higher education legislation, including the Syllabus Transparency Act and the Campus Freedoms Act; and policy toolkits and briefs that citizens can use to inform themselves and others about the issues at stake. The website also features the Alliance’s Civics Bill Tracker, which equips citizens to follow the progress of proposed civics legislation at the state and federal level—and enables them to take a stand for or against legislation that impacts their students and children.
Believe it or not, that laundry list of resources is only a preview of what the Civics Alliance website has to offer. As you have time this week, I encourage you to take a look at the website and click through its pages. But don’t stop there—send it out to parents, school board members, and legislators in your area who could benefit from the Civics Alliance’s resources. If they’re in any way involved in the battle over American civics education, I promise you, they’ll appreciate the backup.
Until next week.
CounterCurrent is the National Association of Scholars’ weekly newsletter, written by Communications Associate Marina Ziemnick. To subscribe, update your email preferences here.
Image: Erik Lindgren, Public Domain
