Making Better Citizens

Francine Kiefer's piece at The Christian Science Monitor on Sandra Day O'Connor's new computer-based civics program brings up a good point. I was always somewhat interested in politics and government, always very interested in history, and so learning about those things was always more enjoyable than learning about algebra (which I was terrible at). However, I made it through 19 years of education without ever being required to take a government or civics course (obviously, I learned a good deal about these things when I went to law school).

I went to great schools and received a wonderful education all throughout my life and was able to pick up on these topics and learn them myself. However, what about the majority of young kids who don't find these things interesting? What about the vast number of kids who don't have the luxury of a good education?

Our democracy can only flourish when our citizens are informed about the issues and the candidates. The dearth of our civics education today means that only the people who find government interesting look more deeply into it. We need to do a better job of sparking the interest of kids and making better citizens. We need to start focusing on more than just math and science in school. We'll all be better off for it in the long run.