Civics

By: Arhon Strauss

Do you know how to pay taxes? Do you know how the stock market works? Do you know every right you have as a resident or citizen of the U.S.? 

I, as with many Exonians, have a mixed batch of partial yes’s and complete no’s to these questions. However, I do not think there should be any uncertainty regarding them. After all, they are all ideas fundamental to living in America. So, why do we as high schoolers on the brink of becoming adults, lack this basic knowledge? 

Simply put we do not have a civics class requirement. At Exeter, one of the most prestigious high schools in the world, we are not required to learn about our own rights and duties as citizens. 

As Exonians and residents of the U.S, we should have a dedicated class for civics as it is fundamental knowledge every adult will use in the country. 

Even though many Exonians are not U.S. citizens, most will still live in the country for large portions of their adult lives. Thus, learning about their roles in the U.S. and understanding the governmental system here would be an important part of their education regardless of their citizenship status. Additionally, if those Exonians, which are not citizens, wish to become citizens in the future, civics will be a vital class. 

Now, one can argue Exonians can and do seek out civics knowledge on their own, which to some degree is true. While many Exonians engage themselves avidly in modern politics and national issues, such involvement does not teach the basics of living in the U.S. We do not learn how to pay taxes and about our abilities as citizens from keeping up with the news.

Exonians are smart, but our teenage intelligence does not engender inherent knowledge of our citizenship. We, like all other teenagers, must be taught about the specifics of adult life. Public schools have provided this education through classes like social studies and family consumer science classes (FCS). While these classes may not sound important, required social studies classes successfully teach students about the U.S government and our rights within it. FCS classes, while not explicitly related to civics, teach students about adult life by using hands on experience in every subject from cooking to filing tax returns. 

Public school courses are often barebones and not great examples of civics courses, but at least they are providing a civics education. Yet even with that education a study by the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Foundation found that 64% of American citizens would fail the U.S citizenship test. Two thirds of America does not have a proper understanding of citizenship.

One can argue Exonians are not average U.S residents and have a greater depth of knowledge than the average citizen, but such an argument assumes that Exonians already know about civics when that may not be true. Although Exonians are smart, we are not automatically instilled with knowledge and must take time to absorb new information no matter how foundational that information is. As such a civics class would be needed for Exonians to fully understand their citizenship. With this in mind, Exeter’s lack of a civics class becomes more appalling because it means Exonians may be as or less likely than the general population to understand U.S citizenship due to Exeter’s disregard of any formal civics education.

Of course some knowledge about our government and role in it can be learned through existing history classes, school initiatives and clubs, but these are only half-measures in the context of civics. The Exeter curriculum treats civics as side note as opposed to a subject which requires actual focus.

 Exeter with its wealth of teachers, collective knowledge and resources could and should require a much more advanced version of the public school civics education. A class structure similar to the current health class framework would be an effective way to implement a civics curriculum while preventing the class from becoming too much of a burden.

Civics is a necessary part of any student's education and thus should be required by Exeter in the form of a class. Having a civics class would not be hard considering the schools resources and it would ensure Exonians are educated on their citizenry. As such Exeter should include civics as part of the curriculum.