Interesting take
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In the last year, several states have introduced programs to encourage political literacy. Meanwhile, a panel of centrist scholars proposed an elaborate "roadmap" for teaching American history and government from K to 12. Rival blueprints were developed on the political right, while in higher education, Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels issued a call to academic arms in the pages of The Atlantic (which he expands in a forthcoming book). Other plans are sure to follow.
This revival of interest in civics textbooks and instructional styles follows a familiar script. Decades ago, fears of civic ignorance provoked an early outbreak of the culture war. This time, the coincidence of an iconoclastic racial justice movement and conspiracist populism have provoked recurring fears of national dissolution. If only schools and universities cultivated a shared understanding of our past and principles, the thinking goes, we might find it easier to resolve our differences here and now. That's an appealing idea. But it's probably wrong.
