A good trend in higher education in recent years is the rise of programs to teach students about civics. Long ignored in schools and colleges (while spending lots of time on courses that are nothing more than leftist advocacy), civics education teaches them about our foundations, including how to carry on arguments rationally. Most of the civics programs have been placed in our major universities, but it would be a mistake to forget about the far more numerous small regional colleges.
In today’s Martin Center article, J. Tyler Syck discusses his program at the University of Pikeville in eastern Kentucky.
He writes:
When I returned to my native Eastern Kentucky about four years ago to work on enhancing civic education in Eastern Kentucky from within a small liberal arts college, I knew there would be something of an uphill battle. Sadly, the private funders and political attention often overlook private colleges and universities that are not ancient and unusually prestigious. This meant that the center would have to work gradually to build a portfolio different in nature from its more institutionally connected competitors in the private and public sphere.
Syck tailored the program to his community, including high school students, and among its offerings are a book club and a Constitution Day event.
He continues, “The idea of forging citizens through a forceful top-down methodology feels entirely counter to the whole endeavor. The very idea of a democratic republic is that citizens rule themselves—not through large distant state institutions, but through mechanisms that are private and very often local.”
Higher education reformers should take heed.