We the People

A White House Forum on American History, Civics, and Service

Panel Two: Promoting History, Civics, and Service: Cultural Institutions

Remarks by Lee Baier, Junior Scholastic

How can we interest students in history, civics, and service? I would like to share some of the best ideas and approaches that teachers have communicated to Scholastic over the years.

One thing we know is that kids are fascinated by other kids. Junior Scholastic once published a story about a boy who lived in a remote village in the Andes. His village had no electricity, no telephone, and no television. His life was very different from that of most American kids. Our readers were fascinated, and wrote him letters—thousands of letters. The magazine soon received a letter from that country’s postal service, pleading with us to stop the letters. The letters had to be carried up the mountain by burro, and all those bags of mail were more than the poor burro could bear.

Teaching American History

Teaching young people about their country can be a challenge. Anne Malone, who teaches 8th graders at Oglethorpe Academy in Savannah, Georgia, says that no matter how bright her students may be, they seem to know nothing about American government. She gives her students the choice of taking a final exam—OR teaching the course material to a parent and letting the parent take the test. Through all the years, not one parent has scored poorly on the test.

We know that students become more interested when they become active learners. Junior Scholastic has found for decades that history plays are one of the most popular ways of teaching our country's history. Students, especially at the middle school level, jump at the chance to play the roles of famous and not-so-famous Americans.

Contests are another way to interest students. These can be essay contents such as the Idea of America Essay Contest for high school juniors. Would it be possible for this contest to add a middle-school division so that younger students can participate?

Other contests could challenge students to draw a political cartoon. Or predict the electoral vote in a Presidential election. Just before the 2000 election, Junior Scholastic readers learned how the electoral vote system works and that popular vote winners can lose the election. Then readers were challenged to predict which candidate would win in each state in the 2000 election. Out of nearly 10,000 students who entered, only one student correctly picked the winner in every state—including Florida.

Civics

What should students get out of civics education? Mary Ann Shields, who teaches 7th grade Middle School in Oak Grove Missouri, wants students to learn how to make choices and know that they can make a difference. Her students draft legislation as members of Congress, make policy as members of the President's Cabinet, and put on black robes to hear cases on the Supreme Court. Ms. Shields says her students' favorite activity is making decisions as members of the Supreme Court.

But when students reach high school, many become doubtful that individuals can help create governmental solutions to societal problems. David Hall, who teaches 12th grade civics in North Philadelphia, asks his students to list local and state issues that concern them. After discussion, students propose solutions. Then, local officials come to the school to evaluate the students' proposals. Mr. Hall found that before participating in this program, only 19% of his students believed that individuals could influence public policy. After going through the program, 66% of his students believed they could make a difference.

Service

This brings us to service in the community. What can the media—including classroom magazines—do to encourage student volunteering?

• The media can publish articles about students who volunteer in their school and community.
• We can explain the problems that confront our country. Researchers say that students are more likely to volunteer if they understand the problems involved–such as poverty and homelessness. It is not enough to tell students that such problems exist; we need to explain the problems and also interview students who have become involved and who have made a difference.
• We need to give students the specific information they need to volunteer. At Scholastic, we receive many letters from students who want to help a child they read about in the magazine. Sixth-graders at Jones Middle School in Upper Arlington, Ohio, were so shaken by the plight of Sudanese refugees (the “lost boys of Sudan”) that they raised $2,600 for the thousands of Sudanese civil war orphans still in Kenya. Said sixth-grader Maggie McGrevey, "I never realized how easy it is to make a difference."
• Students of Ron Adams in Quincy, Massachusetts, have worked many years to fight abusive child labor. They became interested when Iqbal Masih, a former child laborer in India, visited their class. Students were so affected by his story that they raised enough money to build a school in India. Junior Scholastic and other school news magazines ran stories about this problem, and thousands of students helped raise money to help these children.

In these difficult times, it is more important than ever that young people become interested in their country’s history and become active citizens. As John Philpot Curran warned in 1790, “the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”