The North Carolina Civic Education Consortium

(http://www.iog.unc.edu/programs/civiced/)

We are a statewide partnership of more than 190 organizations and individuals united in the belief that young people can and should become enthusiastic, involved citizens with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and confidence to participate in democratic life.

We serve as an umbrella organization for all groups (government, nonprofits, education, business and youth) who care about bringing civics to life for young people.

We believe that the best civic education involves meaningful involvement of young people in real issues they care about in their communities and around the world.

We have four priority goals: 1) Bring new participatory, issue-based resources to the classroom and expand the use of successful programs; 2) Engage the community as partners in civic education; 3) Help teachers and community educators develop effective skills and strategies; and 4) Foster public support for civic education.

Why Civic Education?

• Civic education was the core purpose for creation of our public school system. Our founding fathers viewed public education as the foundation for a healthy democratic society and a strong free enterprise system.
• Communities have an equally important role in civic education because the best civics lessons reside in communities, not in textbooks. The best civic education is a partnership between schools and community organizations.
• Effective civic education is not a natural by-product of education...it must be deliberately taught and nurtured by educators.
• The price of poor civic education can include communities unable to meet their needs, lower quality government, neighbors unable or unwilling to help each other, lower quality work force, costly demands for public services, school discipline problems, uncivil discourse and negative impacts on economic development.