Restoring Civics Education

By George Leef

Wednesday, July 09, 2025

 

American students don’t learn much about civics — our political traditions and institutions. They used to study civics in their K–12 years and then learn some more in college, but most of our high schools have abandoned civics in favor of “progressive” material telling students how terrible the United States is. Higher ed has mostly followed along in that, offering students loads of courses to promote left-wing activism and few if any to help them understand the country’s foundations.

 

Can anything be done?

 

In today’s Martin Center article, Anthony Eames, Tobias Greiff, and Jacob Bruggeman argue that colleges can and should revive civics education.

 

They write:

 

Civics education alone cannot solve the complex problems facing American society. But institutions of higher education that embrace civics education can stanch declining enrollments, reclaim their faltering reputations among Americans, and contribute to a revival of the country’s civic health. As more colleges and universities experiment in the civics space, an untapped resource lies in wait: partnerships.

 

What sort of partnerships do they have in mind? Here’s an example.

 

The Academy for Civic Education and Democracy (ACED) models this type of partnership. Launched in June 2024 by George Washington University (GWU), through a collaboration of its Graduate School of Political Management and the Elliott School of International Affairs with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute (RRPFI), ACED exemplifies the path to partnerships for civics education. Civics-education partnerships are a potent tool for colleges and universities striving to overcome their credibility problem in the sector.

 

Let the leftists whine that civics education is “conservative DEI.” It isn’t. To them, any education that isn’t pushing their nostrums is bad.