Matters of Policy & Politics

“Don’t Know Much About” . . . America? | Renewing Civics Education – Preparing for American Citizenship


Listen Later

The Hoover Institution is launching a new limited podcast series featuring experts grappling with how to reinvigorate civics education across America.

Renewing Civics Education: Preparing for American Citizenship is a five-part podcast series that will feature a range of experts on aspects of civics, such as civics instruction, the role of the media in fostering an understanding of civics, and how civics programs in higher education can resist any forms of indoctrination.

The series premieres on Tuesday, February 11, with an episode featuring Distinguished Visiting Fellow Bill Whalen interviewing Senior Fellow Chester E. (Checker) Finn Jr., a national renowned scholar on education policy who leads Hoover’s Working Group on Good American Citizenship. Whalen and Finn will discuss the efforts by Finn and his working group colleagues to reinvigorate civics education across the K–12 and college landscapes.

Subsequent episodes will be hosted by Finn and released weekly in the lead-up to Civic Learning Week, which begins March 10 and culminates at the Hoover Institution on March 13, when the Center on Revitalizing American Institutions will cohost a one-day conference on civics education.

The episodes, which will run as part of the Matters of Policy & Politics podcast, are developed in response to the urgent need to rekindle civics literacy via our schools and colleges. This five-part series takes on the challenges of citizenship education: why it matters, what it needs to do differently, and what shortcomings it must overcome.

Programming will include the following:

  • A conversation between Bill Whalen and Checker Finn examines how US educators can improve civics instruction at the K–12 and collegiate levels.
  • Focusing on civics at the K–12 level, Finn speaks with Senior Fellow Paul E. Peterson about his experiences teaching an introductory government course and his thoughts on related topics including education reform, school choice, and standardized testing.
  • Examining the difference between instilling American patriotism and indoctrination, Senior Fellow Peter Berkowitz joins Finn to talk about the reforms he believes are necessary elements of civics education, not just in college but also in high school.
  • What do best practices of civics instruction at the undergraduate level look like? Senior Fellow Josiah Ober, who leads the Stanford Civics Initiative and co-leads the new Alliance for Civics in the Academy, joins Finn to talk about his roadmap for improving civics instruction.
  • Contending with the decline of trust in news media and its impact on civic knowledge and participation, Nick Mastronardi, a Hoover Institution veteran fellow and software innovator in the field of public-sector communications, discusses advances in data collection and artificial intelligence and how they can positively affect government behavior and civic interaction.
  • The programming will also draw on the Good American Citizenship Working Group’s existing projects, which assess the state of civics instruction across US schools and how it has evolved over time.

    Episodes will be available on YouTube and many other podcast distributors.

    For coverage opportunities, contact Jeffrey Marschner, 202-760-3187, [email protected].

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    Matters of Policy & PoliticsBy Hoover Institution

    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6

    4.6

    474 ratings


    More shows like Matters of Policy & Politics

    View all
    EconTalk by Russ Roberts

    EconTalk

    4,221 Listeners

    Cato Daily Podcast by Cato Institute

    Cato Daily Podcast

    960 Listeners

    City Journal's 10 Blocks by Manhattan Institute

    City Journal's 10 Blocks

    593 Listeners

    The John Batchelor Show by John Batchelor

    The John Batchelor Show

    2,722 Listeners

    The Ricochet Podcast by Ricochet

    The Ricochet Podcast

    1,377 Listeners

    Libertarian by Hoover Institution

    Libertarian

    965 Listeners

    Hoover Institution: Strategika by Hoover Institution

    Hoover Institution: Strategika

    76 Listeners

    WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch by Paul Gigot, The Wall Street Journal

    WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

    2,780 Listeners

    The Editors by National Review

    The Editors

    4,764 Listeners

    Hoover Institution: Security by the Book by Hoover Institution

    Hoover Institution: Security by the Book

    23 Listeners

    The Education Exchange by Paul E. Peterson

    The Education Exchange

    31 Listeners

    National Review's Radio Free California Podcast by National Review

    National Review's Radio Free California Podcast

    671 Listeners

    Reasonable Disagreements by Hoover Institution

    Reasonable Disagreements

    129 Listeners

    Uncommon Knowledge by Hoover Institution

    Uncommon Knowledge

    1,969 Listeners

    The McCarthy Report by National Review

    The McCarthy Report

    2,799 Listeners

    GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution by Hoover Institution

    GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution

    665 Listeners

    Capital Record by National Review

    Capital Record

    419 Listeners

    Battlegrounds w/ H.R. McMaster: International Perspectives by Hoover Institution

    Battlegrounds w/ H.R. McMaster: International Perspectives

    142 Listeners

    The Secrets of Statecraft by Hoover Institution

    The Secrets of Statecraft

    113 Listeners

    The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast by National Review

    The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast

    1,043 Listeners