Public education system needs to get back to basics, educate kids on civics, character

SALT LAKE CITY — Each political stalemate and every corporate scandal teaches a lesson, and one Utah lawmaker wants those lessons to be given as much priority in Utah schools as reading and math.

Once the hallmark of the U.S. public education system, civic and character education has gotten the shaft over the years, said Rep. LaVar Christensen, which is why he has made repeated efforts to ensure the subjects are thoroughly taught in Utah classrooms.

The fact that most high stakes assessments hinge on language arts and math, coupled with a society that's bent on making it in the global world can make for incomplete instruction on civics, he said.

The Draper Republican has sponsored three bills in recent years — all of which have become law — and can be commonly heard quoting past presidents and historical figures during any given legislative committee meeting. Educating the populace in order to maintain the country's form of government was what the Founding Fathers really had in mind when they created the education system, according to Christensen.

"Is it really about math and science initiatives? Is it really about learning Chinese?" Christensen said. "The belief was that civic and character education was the nucleus of all public education. … It was the cause of, it was the reason for."

Civic education is the study of rights and duties of citizenship, and the functions and history of the U.S. government. Character education covers the "habits of thought and deed that help people live and work together as families, friends, neighbors, communities and nations," according to the U.S. Department of Education.

During the World War II era, civic education was integrated into the curriculum of every grade, said Charles Quigley, executive director of the Center for Civic Education, a nonprofit organization that promotes the teaching of the subject in schools. But by the 1960s, civic education had gotten a bad rap, he said. It was believed by some to project "blind patriotism" onto students, and the curriculum often wasn't engaging.

"In the '60s, civic education sort of got wiped out from the schools," Quigley said.

During the Cold War and the race to space, many Americans worried about falling behind the Soviet Union.

"Everyone went nuts about math and science and that crowded a lot of other things out of the curriculum," he said.

Since then, there have been movements to restore it to the broad subject it once was, but success has been varied because the world of today presents its own obstacles.