Apparently, America's young people don't want to be involved in our most important national treasure. As a civic educator for 27 years, such news dismays me, but I also know there are solutions worth consideration. Only 17 percent are interested in influencing the political structure. First, let's get civics beyond the classroom. Studies show that students think civics courses are boring and rank as their least favorite classes.
Young people deserve a chance to do both.
Educators call this approach experiential learning. I know from experience that it works. For almost three decades, I've watched about a half-million students and teachers from all across the country come to the nation's capital to study government up close. Working with the National Park Service, these students went home to Arizona and began a national campaign, involving 2 million young people, that created a visitors' center within the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate the civil rights movement. A second way to increase civic engagement is to start early.