Boomers Teaching Civics--With Teachers

By Erica and Karen 

A long long time ago---actually, right after the 2016 election--we wrote about why we believe removing civics, the study of how our government works--from the curriculum of our secondary schools is undermining our democracy.  We applauded the work of non-profits like Generation Citizen. We proposed ways that retired folks might help close the gap. And, since that time, we have heard about some thoughtful brave people who started a pilot program, Civic Spirit, to put back into the classroom the study of our foundational documents, and how to have civil discourse about government. 

We just learned of another new great idea where people like us can make a difference. Generation Citizen and Encore have partnered to create a pilot for "Intergenerational Action Civics." People over 50 will be deployed in thirty middle and high school classrooms in San Francisco and Boston to be "democracy coaches," where they will join with teachers to teach Generation Citizen's action civics curriculum.  Based on lessons learned during the pilot, Encore will create a package to equip others to emulate the model, bringing civics back into the conversation, and bringing the generations together.

Fabulous idea. We learned civics when we were in school. We should pay it forward. Bravo Generation Citizen and Encore. Keep us posted.