The power of CIVIC EDUCATION
It’s November and time to celebrate the magic of civic education. Without knowledge of civics, it becomes impossible to truly engage in any kind of democratic activity as many are about to do by voting if they haven’t already.
At its heart, civic education teaches us how government works, what our responsibilities are as citizens of a country, and how to participate in the democratic process.
THE LAST WITCH follows a civics education class as the students learn by doing in an applied project to exonerate the last of the wrongfully convicted persons from the Salem Witch Trials.
I also believe that it’s time to celebrate civics teachers, because teaching civics is not easy. Not only are the systems often complex and built on philosophic ideals to begin with, but it can be a landmine for teachers to deal with when different subjects and points of view show up in the classroom.
That is why I respect civics teachers like Ms. LaPierre at North Andover Middle School in Massachusetts. Ms. LaPierre was able to navigate an entire curriculum teaching her 8th grade students how to exonerate a person who is wrongfully convicted of a crime that they did not commit without major controversy that could prevent the students from learning.
The students in Ms. LaPierre’s civics class not only learned how to do that in the case of Elizabeth Johnson Jr, but also that they can do it again. They learned how to collaborate, to speak up and get their voices heard, to impact their government. With that history changed and our world became more just and hopeful.
The students were inspired to take a deeper look at their own values and beliefs. As they are heading into college applications, they are considering careers and opportunities.
Several students want to explore careers in law or public service as a result of their civics project to exonerate Elizabeth Johnson Jr. Others have found more causes to stand up for. One student even decided to join both the Democratic and the Republican Clubs to learn more about what they believe before making his own choice when he gets to vote in the next few years.
These students give me hope for the future. That’s why we are making THE LAST WITCH. It’s all because of civics education done right. Something to consider at the polls and as we continue our civic conversations now and in the future.
