By Amy Coutee -
Lynchburg News & Advance
April 26, 2005 -

Steve Bragaw, associate professor of government and international affairs at Sweet Briar College, wants to know this: Are today’s students learning about civics?

The answer could be several years away. That is how long it will take a new civics education commission created by Del. James Dillard, R-Fairfax, to research the issue.

Bragaw and Barbara Perry, both of Sweet Briar College’s Center for Civic Renewal, played key roles in the creation of the bill. Perry, an associate professor of government and international affairs, and Bragaw both hope to be active members of the commission, which will be appointed by Gov. Mark Warner in the coming months.

Virginia is one of a number of states - including Rhode Island, Kentucky and Louisiana - that are looking at whether their schools are educating students about democracy. Legislation to create similar commissions is pending in several other states.

According to Bragaw and his peers, finding the answer to this question is essential.

Civics education “is something that cannot be left to chance. It’s important for the future of society. This is something that has to be learned,” said Bragaw.

“It’s about participating in public life. … It’s not just about voting.”

Ted McConnell, director of the Campaign to Promote Civic Education, an initiative of the Center for Civic Education in Washington, D.C., said there is a direct relationship between civic education and citizen engagement.

A lack of civics education is evidenced by the “record levels of disengagement felt by American citizens, especially in our youth,” said McConnell. There is “low voter turnout, cynicism and distrust of government at all levels and a lack of willingness to get involved in community affairs.

“There is plenty of empirical evidence that good civics education affects the lifelong attitude and disposition of citizens. They are much more likely to vote, to voluntarily serve on juries and to become involved in the affairs of the comminty which is essential to maintaining our representative form of government.”

The commission is the result of a five-year congressional initiative aimed at invigorating civics education in schools and communities across the nation.

Members of the commission will spend four years analyzing civics education by interviewing and consulting with teachers, students, parents and community members in Virginia. The commission will use the results to make recommendations to the state Board of Education on what changes need to be made, if any, to civics education. Those recommendations could change the civics Standards of Learning that are slated for review in 2008.

The commission will identify any civics education projects taking place in the commonwealth, provide teachers with civics education training and new teaching methods, create a network of civics education professionals so that they can contact one another for advice, and make recommendations to the state Board of Education on how the state should revise the Standards of Learning for civics education.

Currently students across the state, in kindergarten through 12th grade, learn about civics and government in a variety of classes and are tested on them in the Standards of Learning.

Civics and government issues are covered in classes like social studies, history, geography, political science and American government.