Last week’s curation at RealClear’s American Civics portal begins with Thomas Kelly’s op-ed that that breaks with the partisan approach he says has overwhelmed civic education in recent years. “Civics is about learning fundamental knowledge that’s necessary for good citizenship,” Kelly argues. “If we can’t agree on the fundamentals, we can’t have civics.” Kelly contends that if we want to establish a non-partisan civics, teachers must focus on three things: getting training by top scholars in their fields, using primary sources in the classroom, and taking part in debate and dialogue so that they can come to a well-rounded understanding of the topic in question. Fortunately, he writes that the Jack Miller Center meets all three of these objectives in their teacher programs, such as their American Civics and History Initiative. As Kelly concludes: “Scholars and teachers need to be sufficiently educated in a given issue and committed to representing all sides fully and fairly. That’s the difference between an education meant to achieve policy outcomes and one fit for a free citizenry.” Also at the American Civics portal, Gordon Lloyd, a senior fellow at the Ashbrook Center, highlights a new website, AmericanFounding.org, which presents “America’s Founding in its unvarnished truth, free from ideological influence.” Divided into four chapters, the site invites “readers to re-familiarize themselves with the story of the American Founding” by exploring the arguments that are drawn straight from primary texts. Visitors can explore the arguments that led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitutional Convention, the Constitution’s ratification, and the passage of the Bill of Rights in 1791. “We must see that the American story is a story of hope,” Lloyd writes. “Each section of AmericanFounding.org features that hopeful story for all to explore.” Original Posts Thomas Kelly, RealClearAmericanCivics Gordon Lloyd, American Founding In the News Allan Brownfield, Daily Signal Jessica Levinson, MSNBC Patrick Garry, Constituting America Edgar County Watchdogs David Tucker, Ashbrook Carly Q. Romalino, Courier-Post Ryan Byrne, Ballotpedia Tony Williams, Constituting America Bernard Dobski, Constitutionalist Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Education Andrew Lamparski, ABC25 Ariana de Vogue, CNN William Lyons, Knox News David Tristan, WHTM Victor Ray, TIME Kirk Higgins, Bill of Rights Institute What events caused rising tensions between the North American colonies and British Parliament before 1776? In this episode of... Brenda Hafera, William Allen, Peter Wood, et al., Heritage Foundation As the ideologies of identity politics and critical race theory march through America’s institutions, even the homes of George Washington... Ben Carson & Tom Krannawitter, Vino & Veritas Society Much of the world right now is distracted by, well, just about everything — people promoting causes they don’t understand... Condoleezza Rice, Renee Braden, & Stewart McLaurin, 1600 Sessions The first White House guidebook was published in 1962 as a collaboration between First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, the new White... Carl Cannon's Great American Stories It's Friday, August 5, 2022, the day of the week when I pass along a quotation intended to be uplifting ... If you are fortunate enough to reach what I'll call late middle age, the news of the day often brings ... Good morning, it's Friday, July 29, 2022, the day of the week when I pass along a quotation intended to ... |