Students need more civics education, warts and all

Chris Rickert:

Or consider -- as both an example of the need for more civics education and as fodder for a potential lesson -- the Kelda Helen Roys-Mark Pocan Democratic primary for Congress.

What else than a stunning lack of voter awareness could let Roys paint a staunch liberal like Pocan as some kind of Republican sympathizer and not get laughed out of Wisconsin's 2nd District?

Then there's the explosion in partisan media's cult of personality.

I don't know any better evidence of the citizenship skills gap than the droves of people who practice a form of citizenship that involves having their political biases regularly reinforced by radio and TV opinionators who feel pretty much the way they do.

Lack of civics education is a "huge problem," said Mike McCabe, who as executive director of the Madison-based Wisconsin Democracy Campaign said he gets invited to speak in high school and college classrooms one to three times a month during the school year.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at August 5, 2012 1:12 AM
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