More teachers push for civics education

He arranged for a federal judge to perform his own citizenship ceremony in front of his fifth-graders, hoping to show what it means to be an American citizen. "I wanted them to know what the experience is like," Macpherson said.

Macpherson and other social studies teachers say they have to shoehorn civics lessons into their regular classes because most states don't require civics to be taught separately.

Since the federal No Child Left Behind law was passed in 2002, schools have focused on reading and maths, and that has squeezed out other subjects like arts, music and civics, educators say. So lawmakers in several states have proposed bills to save civics.

A bill from state Senator Rosalind Kurita would require the Tennessee Department of Education to create a separate civics course in at least one grade between fifth and eighth grade.

"We have responsibilities to our community and to other people to be good citizens," said Kurita, a Democrat. "And I think that civic classes are a way to teach how comprehensive this responsibility really is."

Kurita said teaching students about voting and citizenship rights is just as important as maths and English. Ted McConnell, director of the Campaign to Promote Civic Education - an initiative of the Center for Civic Education - agrees.

"Study after study shows that when our youth are exposed to effective civic education courses, they're not only more likely to vote, but they're more likely to get involved in their communities and work toward solutions to societal problems," he said.

Attention to civics in the classroom has been declining over the past 20 years, McConnell said, but the "decline was dramatically accelerated after the implementation of No Child Left Behind."

He cited a study done last year by the Washington-based Center for Education Policy that showed 71 percent of school districts surveyed said they have had to reduce instructional time in at least one other subject to make room for increased attention to maths and reading because of the federal law.

"We find that the first target of those cuts is usually social studies, which often includes civic learning," McConnell said.

The Center for Civic Education said several other state legislatures are considering civics bills: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

The West Virginia House of Delegates passed a resolution earlier this month to encourage the creation of a council that would make recommendations on improving civics education.

The Tennessee bill was stalled in committee so a study commission could make suggestions, but Kurita remains optimistic about its chances.

"To inform students about government, how the legal community and how society works, is critical to education," said state Senator Jamie Woodson, a Republican and chair of the Senate Education Committee. "It's as important as maths and science." AP