Last July, New Jersey passed legislation requiring civics instruction in all the state’s middle schools. Also known as “Laura Wooten’s Law”, named after the longest continuously serving poll worker in American history, the legislation goes into effect during the 2022-2023 school year. As the state is preparing to implement this new curriculum requirement, I spoke with some experts about why we should teach civics in the first place.

With the start of the school year merely three months away, I had the opportunity to speak with Arlene Gardner, President of New Jersey Center for Civic Education (NJCCE). The law calls on the center to provide curricula, professional development, and other resources to help teachers implement civics instruction in their classrooms. NJCCE’s well-attended teaching workshops have had an overwhelmingly positive response, Arlene informed me. The center’s curriculum guide, which it is constantly enhancing, consists of units on “Foundational Concepts and Principles”, “Foundational Documents”, “The Constitution, American Ideals, and the American Experience”, and “Role of the Citizen”. The center’s workshops and varied curriculum are crucial to the successful rollout of Laura Wooten’s Law.

“You can teach civics, and you can teach civics well,” said Dr. James Daly, a professor at Seton Hall and an NJCCE board member. Civics is often taught poorly, he explained, becoming mechanistic and overly nationalistic. Some teachers might focus too much on narrowing civics down to the particulars, like the classic lesson on how a bill becomes a law. The result is that we ignore more challenging questions, Dr. Daly claimed, such as how we should go about resolving issues of gun control, abortion rights, and climate change. 

What is civics?

“Civics is life,” Dr. Daly boldly claimed. I was stunned to hear such a lofty statement about a subject I knew barely anything about. After talking to Arlene and Dr. Daly, I realized that my lack of knowledge about civics was precisely the problem. For Dr. Daly, civics is not just a singular discipline. It pervades daily life, such as when you choose to actively listen to someone else regardless of whether you agree with them. It ideally includes clear communication and, more broadly, “the key understandings that people in a civic arena need to be aware of.” This means, Dr. Daly explained, that we can put subjects like history, political science, and even math under the umbrella of civics. 

At its core, studying civics is studying citizens’ duties  to uphold the common good in a society. Someone who follows these duties embodies “civic virtue,” a topic covered in the first unit of NJCCE’s curriculum guide and something Arlene and I discussed at length. She defined civic virtue as having the “courage to appreciate what needs to be done for the country and the willingness to put the country over one’s own personal or political needs.” Arlene referenced the story of Cincinnatus, who in 458 BCE was appointed dictator of the Roman Republic. The founders of the United States, she explained, saw the ancient republics of Greece and Rome as models for our own republic. Cincinnatus was charged with leading Rome through a time of strife. He refused to hold on to power any longer than was necessary to do his duty. Subsequently, after helping the republic through its emergency, he promptly returned to his farm. When he could have held onto his power, Cincinnatus instead let go and prioritized the well-being of his country.

The concept of civic virtue, what Arlene called “the backbone of democracy,” gets at the heart of civics’ importance. In January 2021, Carnegie Mellon University student Ammu Anil wrote an op-ed in the New Jersey Star-Ledger advocating for Laura Wooten’s Law. She reminded readers of the infamous Ben Franklin quote: we have “a republic, if you can keep it.” In other words, we must work to maintain our democracy and our republic. It does not uphold itself. As Laura Wooten’s Law goes into effect, New Jersey is giving the next generation the tools to keep our republic. This generation might, for instance, have a greater awareness of the common good of society, a concept that is “intertwined with civic virtue”, according to Dr. Daly.

Informed, engaged citizens

The tools to maintain a democracy are crucial in a time of immense polarization. For Arlene, the ultimate goal of civic education is to create “informed, engaged citizens” who have confidence in their democracy and know how to effect change peacefully. They can look beyond disagreements to communicate and actively listen to each other. Dr. Daly also stressed the importance of engagement—having the “desire, skills, and knowledge to be involved.” While this level of engagement is optimal, he hopes at least that young people can recognize that they “have a voice and that they can be supported in using that voice by their teachers, families, and communities.”

Before we know it, kids today will grow into citizens and leaders. By instilling in them civic knowledge and virtue, Laura Wooten’s law is helping to ensure that our republic will be stable. We’re helping to make our democracy more productive, raising citizens who know how to advocate for change and leaders who will listen. 

That is, of course, the ideal. “I’m not optimistic,” Dr. Daly said only half-jokingly. While teaching civics alone will not solve the problems we face, it is without a doubt a step toward the above ideals. Even a step is crucial, for we cannot remain still when it concerns the fate of the republic.

Jordan Akers is a CivicStory Sustainability Ambassador.