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A Republic If We Can Teach It

A Republic If We Can Teach It

A Republic If We Can Teach It

$28.00

America faces a crisis in civic education that imperils the long-term health of our country. Too many Americans—especially young people—do not have the knowledge of our history and principles necessary to sustain our republic…

Author: Jeffrey Sikkenga

Author: David Davenport

Publisher: Republic Book Publishers

Published Date: May 21, 2024

Pages: 250

Dimension: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Language: English

ISBN: 9781645720492

SKU: 9781645720492 Categories: , ,
Recent national test results reveal the sad state of civic education in our schools. The 2022 report of the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that only 22 percent of eighth graders tested were “proficient” or better in their knowledge of civics, and proficiency in US history dropped to an anemic 13 percent. The Annenberg Policy Center reported in 2019 that only 39 percent of Americans could name the three branches of government, while its 2017 study showed that 37 percent could not name a single right in the First Amendment. How can we “keep” a republic, as Benjamin Franklin put it, if we don’t know what a republic is?
At a deeper level, the crisis is not simply about facts and information. If the next generations of Americans do not come to understand that our history and principles are good and that they merit their affection, our experiment in self-government could fail. Action is needed now to reverse the trend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeffrey Sikkenga is executive director of the Ashbrook Center, whose mission is to educate students, teachers, and citizens in the history and founding principles of America and the habits of reflection and choice necessary to sustain the republic. Jeff is also a professor of political science at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, and has been a senior fellow in the Program on Constitutionalism and Democracy at the University of Virginia, a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution, and a distinguished visiting professor at the School of Public Policy of Pepperdine University. He is the coauthor or coeditor of several books, including History of American Political Thought, and has published articles in newspapers across the country and in a number of scholarly journals, including the American Journal of Political Science, Political Theory, and History of Political Thought.  SEE AUTHOR SHOWCASE for more information, blogs, events, and to follow the author.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Davenport is a research fellow emeritus at the Hoover Institution. In addition to his work as a research fellow, David has been Counselor to the Director and Director of Washington, DC programs at Hoover. Previously, David served as president of Pepperdine University, where he was also a professor of public policy and law. David is the coauthor of five books, including four with Professor Gordon Lloyd about modern liberalism and conservatism as seen through the lens of the Franklin Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover debates of the 1930s. He has been a regular newspaper columnist and radio commentator and has devoted the last several years to work on civic education. SEE AUTHOR SHOWCASE for more information, blogs, events, and to follow the author.

Endorsements

“ Lamentations about the sad state of civic education in today’s American schools are as plentiful as the shells scattered on the summer seashore. But few of those critiques are able to provide us with a plausible way out of the mess we are in. Few are willing to ground civic education in a robust commitment to the American experiment in self-government; fewer still embrace the idea that the formation of responsible citizens is one of the most important jobs of our educational institutions. Sikkenga and Davenport, however, are welcome exceptions to these generalizations; and with the publication of this taut, lucid, courageous, and practical handbook for reform, they have staked out a path forward for us. May their voices be heard, and their efforts crowned with success.”

— Wilfred M. McClay, Professor of History, Hillsdale College

“Sounding the alarm for an ‘all hands on deck,’ Davenport and Sikkenga make the compelling case that we need more and better civics education. Encouragingly, they provide practical solutions for everyone to do their part—families, communities, schools, and government. In short, they make it clear that our country has a crisis that must be addressed if we want to preserve our republic and prepare the next generation of informed patriots. If you want to do your part, this is a must-read.”

— Hanna Skandera, President and CEO of the Daniels Fund, Former Secretary of Education of New Mexico

“In this principled yet practical guide to fixing civic education in America, Sikkenga and Davenport draw on their vast experience as well as careful scholarship. While pulling no punches about the seriousness of the present crisis, they avoid the hand-wringing and cultural warfare that afflict much of this field and shun pie-in-sky calls for a federal solution. Instead, their careful recommendations for state leaders and educators rightly center on standards, curriculum, and teacher prep, plus expanded civics (and history) instruction throughout the K–12 years, taught in ways that engage students and help them to become knowledgeable and discerning patriots. ”

— Chester E. Finn, Jr., President Emeritus, Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and Volker Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

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