New Report: Restoring Civic Mission of American Schools

Posted by on March 7, 2003

[Service-Learning Advances]

Report suggests how to restore the civic mission of American schools

“Individuals do not automatically become free and responsible citizens, but must be educated for citizenship,” according to The Civic Mission of Schools, a new report from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). The report outlines far-reaching strategies for adopting new and more comprehensive ways to teach civic education at all grade levels.

With support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Pew Charitable Trusts, CIRCLE collaborated with teacher unions, the National Council for the Social Studies, the Heritage Foundation, the American Bar Association, and the National Conference of State Legislatures. The report declares that instructional methods such as service-learning that link community service to formal curriculum and classroom instruction are among the most effective methods of teaching civic education.

The report is free and available online at http://www.civicmissionofschools.org.