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SALT LAKE CITY — Civics education in the Beehive State doesn't end with the notable "I'm Just a Bill" Schoolhouse Rock video that many folks might remember from their civics education.
"We've had long-standing social studies standards, and civic engagement is a very specific stated goal of our K-12 standards," said Sydnee Dickson, Utah's superintendent of public instruction.
Dickson participated in a virtual discussion hosted by the Reagan Institute Tuesday alongside William Shields, a social studies teacher at West Jordan Middle School, and Dhati Oommen, a senior at West High School, to discuss current efforts and experiences that promote civics in Utah schools.
Preparing students for active citizenship
All of the speakers talked about programs and partnerships throughout the K-12 education system that encourages students to engage in "informed and responsible" civic participation. One of these programs, Shields said, is the We the People program, which "promotes civic competence and responsibility among the nation's upper elementary and secondary students."
"To kind of sum up the program, students work both independently and collaboratively to construct a response in a mock congressional hearing," Shields said. "We actually have volunteer stakeholders come into our schools and judge our students in a four-minute speech and a six-minute question-and-answer response where they get to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding about the Constitution and its principles."
The program is offered at the elementary, middle and high school levels, giving students of all ages the opportunity to enhance their civic skills, Shields said.
In order to prepare students to be active citizens, Shields said he prioritizes showing the "full breadth and understanding of the past" as well as analyzing and understanding different perspectives.
"One of the greatest compliments I've ever received was when an eighth grader said, 'You know, Mr. Shields, something that I learned throughout your class was I learned how to respectfully disagree with other people's perspectives,'" Shields said.
Bringing civics to young people
Oommen, who serves on the Salt Lake City Board of Education as a student member, has advocated and lobbied to bring opportunities for civics participation to young people throughout the state through legislation.
During the 2021 legislative session, Oommen spoke in support of HB338 — a bill that she wrote — which would've allowed students who are 16- and 17-years-old to vote in local school board races. The bill was defeated in 2021 and took the form of HB422 during the 2022 legislative session, where it was again defeated.
Any way you cut it, students are the majority constituents of a school board. They are the majority benefactors of an education system and education is a public investment, so having a student on your board is of just crucial importance.
–Dhati Oommen, West High School senior
Despite the bills not passing, Oommen remains steadfast in her beliefs that students should have a say in who governs their education experience.
"While that does, I think, initially cause some pause for people when they hear about granting students kind of a larger arena in which they can express their voices, and I would arguably say there's no more respectful way to express dissent or to express your opinion than voting," Oommen said.
Ensuring student access to civics education
Dickson said she looks to teachers like Shields, who provide students with civics opportunities in the classroom, when thinking about how to "scale up those best practices." She talked about a pilot program that would provide funding for teachers wanting to scale up and promote civics education practices that they've deemed effective and worthwhile.
"We want our students to master our social studies standards that include civic education," Dickson said. "We want them to become independent learners so that they obtain a lifelong aptitude for learning ... something that they carry on not just because they took a course, but they become civically engaged and civic-minded."
Oommen said bringing civics education to students starts with "incredible educators," but she also urged school districts both locally and nationally to enlist a student board member.
"Any way you cut it, students are the majority constituents of a school board, they are the majority benefactors of an education system. And education is a public investment, so having a student on your board is of just crucial importance," she said.
"I do believe that civic education really is the connective tissue," Dickson said. "It shouldn't be an afterthought, but it really can be the hub of the wheel that connects all of these other content areas together in many ways."
The full discussion around civic education in Utah can be found here.
