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The evidence is clear-and should be profoundly disturbing: we are failing to impart to today's students the information and skills they need to be responsible citizens.  Yet only an educated citizenry can insist that our nation's commitment to liberty be upheld, and the promise of our Constitution fulfilled.

A recent survey by the National Constitution Center demonstrated that more American teenagers could name the Three Stooges than can name the three branches of government.  Such statistics highlight a trend with troubling implications for the future.   We must do a better job of educating young people to become active and informed participants in our democracy.

At least a partial answer lies in a paradigm shift in the way that civics is taught in our schools.  A thorough civic education creates citizens who have a grasp of history and the fundamental processes of American democracy, an understanding and awareness of public and community issues, and the ability to think critically and enter into dialogue on those issues with others who have different perspectives.

Fixing How We Teach Civics: Assessing the Problems

What is the problem with the prevailing model for the teaching of civics?  In my view, the problem lies in three areas.

#1: We don't spend enough time on civics. Federal and state governments have long recognized the vital role of schools in promoting good citizenship.   Forty state constitutions mention the importance of civic literacy, and 13 provide that civic education is a central purpose of public education. Yet, studies by the Carnegie Corporation and the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) demonstrate that middle- and high-school students in the United States do not, by and large, receive the educational foundation necessary for them to be responsible citizens in the future. Civic education has lost ground, and today usually consists of a one-semester course.

Educators point to the pressures of state and federal standardized assessments to defend the choice to de-emphasize civics.  But creating engaged and active citizens is too important a priority to shortchange in curriculum planning. School administrators should work hand in hand with their legislators at both the state and federal levels to make sure that civic education gets the room that it-and the future of our democracy-deserves.

#2: Our civics texts don't tell the whole story. A number of states, including Virginia and Arizona, currently are conducting comprehensive reviews of their civics curricula. That is an encouraging development, because current civics textbooks contain few direct examples or historical references showing how active participation served as the fulcrum for key developments in American democracy.

Too often, the texts now in use do not portray good government as flowing from the connection between the people and the state, but from institutional design. In other words, good government is portrayed as a status quo, and not the result of a dynamic relationship. Young people need to understand that dynamic relationship.

I believe that the civics curriculum should focus on getting students "in the game."  To do so, it must concentrate on issues of importance to their world; teach them to analyze and engage in constructive discussions regarding controversial and important issues of the day, in a setting that inculcates thoughtful discussion, rather than rancorous partisanship; give them a sense of the constant stresses and grey areas that exist between the three branches, and are still being worked out on an ongoing basis; and empower them by showing them that they can and must make their views heard to preserve our treasured institutions.

#3: We aren't teaching civics in dynamic ways. We must use the latest teaching tools to impart this revised approach to civics education.   While I am not an expert in this area, I have seen that young people learn much differently today than in previous years. Although textbooks will always have a role in teaching civics, two innovations can augment the efficacy of the civics curriculum.

The first is problem-based learning, which utilizes primary documents, video clips and news articles to allow students to formulate their own opinions of and test their own arguments for key principles in constitutional and political reasoning. Young people should be encouraged to explore issues like the separation of powers by interacting in their classrooms or in extra-curricular forums through debates, negotiations, mock trials and role-playing. They should be encouraged, to the extent possible, to visit our courts and participate in Teen Court; to visit our state legislatures and Congress; to read newspapers; and to write letters to their elected officials and the editors of their local newspapers. All of these activities will train them to become active citizens.

In addition, the new civic education ought to take advantage of the digital proficiency of today's students. Increasing use should be made of Web-based learning environments, especially those using interactive technology.   Good examples of online interactive civic education tools already have been produced by organizations such as the Annenberg Foundation and the American Bar Association, and more are on the way.

While no curricular development is a panacea for alienation from the political process, we can and must do better to impart the information and values that will allow our young people to contribute effectively to the American democracy of the 21st century. The Framers would expect no less of us

Sandra Day O'Connor is the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Retired. She also co-chairs the National Advisory Council of the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools.  This article was originally published in the June 27, 2007, edition of the Washington Post as part of a special advertising section sponsored by the National Education Association.

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