Every other week, GC picks out a selection of articles that are relevant to our work and to the civics education space as a whole. We at GC love to expand our learning in every aspect of what we do, and we hope you enjoy our selections!

 

The Snapchat Cohort gets into Politics, and Civics is Cool. The New York Times.

The New York Times reports on heightened political awareness among middle and high school students across the country. With easy access to information, students in many schools are eagerly discussing everything from superdelegates to border policy and trade agreements, a boon for social studies who feel their classes are more relevant than ever.

 

Our expectations of what civic engagement looks like don’t match reality. Can we fix that? Vox.

The author argues that, due to real barriers to sustainable, broad-based civic engagement, leaders should focus on strengthening intermediary institutions like political parties and public interest groups. These groups “maintain a balance between popular forces and experienced leadership, while creating pathways for the will of the people to be reflected in policymaking and creating tangible opportunities for engagement.”

 

Americans aren’t as attached to democracy as you might think. The Guardian.

Data from a national survey fielded last week adds to the growing body of evidence of “significant fissures in the public’s embrace of the rule of law and democracy.” Older Americans place a much higher value than millennials on the importance of living in a democracy, and a significant percentage believe a president should be able to overturn court decisions.  

 

Civic Ignorance. Houston Chronicle.

The Houston Chronicle’s editorial board recalls Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter’s observations about civic knowledge in this call for informed and engaged citizen participation.