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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Could Civic Education Save Our Democracy?

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Friday, September 29, 2017   

LANSING, Mich. – People in Michigan and across the nation need a crash course in civics if our republic is going to survive the current climate, according to recent research.

Dr. Peter Levine, an associate dean at Tufts University, says an increasing number of Americans say they dislike or even loathe people who support different political views than their own. Deep distrust of institutions - from the federal government to organized religion and public schools - is also increasing. Levine explains just what is at stake if these divisions continue.

"Falling apart; our basic political institutions not functioning or not functioning nearly adequately, and our people becoming increasingly polarized and angry at each other, to the point where we're not really governable," he explains.

Levine co-authored a new report that says part of the solution is to require more students to take courses on civics, government, law and related topics to ensure they're better informed and more likely to vote. The report says while there is a framework for teaching civics and social studies in Michigan, teachers need more professional development in these areas.

He notes that large civic associations that were more popular in the 20th century - such as organized religion and unions - have given way to narrower agendas. As challenging as things are now, Levine is convinced there's reason to be hopeful.

"I think the way forward is through the next generation," he says. "There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about them, their idealism and their openness to a variety of views. But I do think we need to educate them better than we do now for citizenship. And so, if we do that, then I'm pretty optimistic in the long run."

The report also finds that public interest in the topic seems to be rising, and that participation in the online "iCivics" game rose dramatically last year, with more than five-million students participating.


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