Reading, writing, and arithmetic are the basics of a good education. So is basic civics, like the three pillars of government: legislative, executive, and judicial.

But are students still taught civics? And how do teachers approach it in the wake of the Jan. 6th insurrection, continued 2020 election denial, and the protracted vote to make Kevin McCarthy speaker of the House of Representatives?

On this week’s “In Conversation,” we talked to education experts about how threats to democracy influence the way today’s students are being taught civics, and the impact on society when many don’t know how their local, state, and federal governments work.