Making the case for civics education

s civility in politics vanishes and trust in our nation’s long-standing institutions wanes, students across the state are demonstrating that civics education may be the antidote to what ails us.

Often “when I look at government, when I look at television, I see government as very discouraging, as something that stops change,” said social studies teacher Justin Hubbard. In fact, Hubbard teaches his students the exact opposite — that advocacy and activism can enact substantial changes on issues they care about, even when it comes to something as seemingly inaccessible as the federal government.

A member of the Salamanca Teachers Association, Hubbard was one of the first teachers to pilot the new Seal of Civic Readiness program. His efforts earned him an American Civics Education Teacher Award in 2022. Hubbard uses his civics education class as a tool for empowering students and elevating their voices.

In 2021, Hubbard’s students helped get the small, rural district in Cattaraugus County to raise the Progress Pride Flag outside the high school. Hubbard said it was an effort that took countless meetings with school administration and classmates, all solidly led by students. The issue included some difficult interactions with the community, but as advisor to the Salamanca Student Activists Club, Hubbard is fond of reminding his young changemakers that sometimes their job is to “disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed.”

Hubbard also consistently makes space for his students to speak their minds on the issues that matter most to them — whether they be addiction, cyberbullying, Black Lives Matter or Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

At Albany High School, students are also using their voices to build a more perfect union. Seniors in the school’s Civics and Public Engagement course presented their capstone projects in mid-June. The projects represent the culmination of a year of study and research, during which students were asked to tackle one problem they felt passionate about.

“We’ve shown them what their powers are as citizens and how to use their voices to create change,” said history teacher Amanda Weklar, Albany Public School TA. “We want them to know that when they go out into the world, if they need to make change on something, this is how they go about doing it.”

She and her APSTA colleagues, social studies teachers Peter Anderson, Jessie Lapolla, and Luke Quinn, encouraged students to ground their project in issues they had personally experienced, and students took that charge seriously. Project topics included immigration and human rights, gun safety, redlining, mental health, policing, sex education, incarceration, and school violence.

“A vital story is the key to success. People don’t care about facts and statistics, they care about you,” said Lapolla.

The educator team worked hard to dispel the idea that civic participation is for only some people or only about elections. “The power that we have isn’t limited to the second Tuesday in November. Democracy is a year-round sport, and it’s for everyone,” said Anderson. “We’re not giving them solutions. Instead, we’re asking them to find a path toward progress. That is what building a more perfect union is about.”