EP 488 Don’t Know Much About History.

It’s hard to consider the place we’re in as a country and not wonder if something is lacking in the way we teach civics and United States history.  ( I must have missed the chapter about trying to undo fair and free election results by storming the Capitol.) Waving the flag and spouting platitudes about the country you might wish we are is no substitute for the hard work involved in making this pluralist society work as a functioning democratic republic.  Our Founders knew that our goal of a more perfect union would require much care and continuing evolution, even of the Constitution they gave us(thus the provisions affording us the opportunity to amend it).  At the root of our democratic experiment was the presumption of an informed citizenry capable of making good decisions about leadership and governance.  That requires the teaching of the complexity, richness and nuance of our country’s past and present.  So how are we doing teaching civics and U.S. history in American schools?  We answer that question today with Amber Northern of the Thomas B, Fordham Institute.  She’s the senior vice president for research and unveils the results of an important study they have done on the subject.

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