Stephen LaMorte taught civics for 11 years, beginning in 2000, which means he taught Rochester students about government and politics for four election cycles. But this year’s presidential election, he said, was particularly interesting.
In classrooms around the country, the surprising and unpredictable election has created a new foundation for lessons on how America works. Now, civics and government classes are getting renewed attention after years of decline.
“We know from research that the greater the engagement and greater the opportunities kids have, and the greater participation they have in high quality civic education in school, that does translate into a more informed electorate and a more participative citizen,” LaMorte said.
According to LaMorte, who has spent the last five years of his career as the executive director of social studies for the Rochester City School District, New York social studies educators have been stressing the importance of the lesson for some time, especially when the state adopted the Common Core program in 2009.
The introduction of the reading and math tests for students in third through eighth grades, LaMorte said, nearly felt like the elimination of social studies.
“What we find in elementary schools is that because of such an intense emphasis on math and ELA, and now with the great popularity of STEM, specifically science, social studies just gets pushed to the back burner, if it’s even on a burner at all,” LaMorte said.
Classroom lessons from kindergarten through 12th grades are age appropriate, and centered on being an informed citizen, looking at evidence, listening to other people’s perspectives, and then using the information to form an opinion and take action.
“What we’re starting to do here in Rochester is to really look at the curriculum and say, ‘Where can we create those opportunities for kids to take civic action in their classroom, in the school and in the community at large?’”
According to an Associated Press report, New York, California, and Connecticut have now updated their social studies frameworks to put a stronger emphasis on civics and participatory skills.
