Civic Education for the Next Generation
By: Governor Kristi Noem
January 15, 2020
Across America these last several months, we have witnessed a very troubling situation where violent actors are trying to do an end-run around public discourse. This is done to intimidate and silence voices. These folks want to short-cut public debate through fear. They want to make people scared. This is un-American. And it certainly has no place in South Dakota.
Whether on the left or the right, political violence is not the answer. Our political process, though contentious at times, works because we resolve issues through discussion and rigorous debate. Sometimes, political debate will include peaceful protests. Assembly is a tool, enshrined in the Constitution, to help drive a point home. Every American has a right to protest peacefully. That right ends where violence begins.
We saw a similar situation play out on Capitol Hill a few days ago. We were all appalled by it. Frankly, it was horrible to watch. Today, we have an opportunity to address the root cause of this problem: we must reform young Americans’ civic education.
Students should be taught our nation’s history and all that makes America unique. They should see first-hand the importance of civic engagement. And they should have robust discussions in the classroom so they can develop critical thinking skills.
Our young people need more experience engaging with elected officials and practicing the art of debate. It is also our responsibility to show them how government works.
I have tasked my administration with creating instructional materials and classroom resources on America’s founding, our nation’s history, and the state’s history. We must also do a better job giving teachers preparational materials on these three subjects.
Through all of this, our common mission and key objective needs to be explaining why the United States of America is the most unique nation in the history of the world. With this knowledge as a foundational building block, every South Dakotan can then chart their own path in the future and pursue their own American Dream.
We all know that good education starts in the home. It starts with strong families. We have decades of research to show that families are the most critical influence on a child’s success in the classroom. COVID-19 underscored just how involved parents need to be in their children’s day-to-day education. It’s our duty to find innovative solutions that empower parents to set their children up for success.
Coupled with the tremendous work that South Dakota teachers are doing, I believe we can make immediate and long-lasting change in the lives of young South Dakotans. Together, my administration will work to support them and ensure that they are getting the very best materials to achieve that goal.
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The left clearly didn’t like the indoctrination language she used in the State of the State.
That’s right, put the blame someplace else….our schools??? Good grief. Will it teach our students not to call people ‘communists’ when we lose?
if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck…..
You’d have to know what a duck is first, and Kristi doesn’t. Her lies helped fuel the insurrection by giving conspiracy theorist a podium that drove the gullible to prison. She probably should read what a communist actually is before she starts the next era of McCarthyism.
@8:58 – Well said. Noem has made a series of missteps lately and this is just another one. She needs to get off Trump’s d**k.
She wants to spend $900,000 on this effort.
Ed?
Jingoism in full swing. Our local schools already do a fine job, this is pure political posturing.
I heard the Democrats are looking for people to run in 2022. Are you up for it?
Because anyone who disagrees w/ Gov. Noem’s penchant for flashy nationalistic displays that have no real meat to them is a democrat? Those are my tax dollars she is wasting, just like she is wasting my tax dollars fighting bills and amendments passed by the citizens of this state. Please remind me, is “government knows best” a keystone tenant of republicanism?
it takes an interesting ignorance of government to fail to understand that if Marijuana is prohibited by the federal government, it isn’t legal here, no matter how the state’s citizens voted. If you don’t get that, you need an education in civics.
Almost as interesting as your obvious ignorance about what federalism means.
Government is the be-all, end-all for the Democrats.
if the schools are doing so well, why do one third of incoming freshmen at the state colleges need remedial courses?
Remediation should not have any place in a college. Students should have a well developed education in order to move to the next level of schooling.
well, the local schools which are supposedly doing so well aren’t getting the job done.
Because Colleges have become a business and will let in anyone with the proper amount of loans or cash. College is now the new High School.
I think Noem needs a civics lesson herself, on the topic of honoring the results of democratic elections.
and you need a lesson in civics about the supremacy of federal law over state laws. It’s called the Supremacy Clause, Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the US Constitution
Your complaining about this just shows how necessary civics education is.
Haha it’s too funny when so-called “conservatives” defer to the supremacy of the federal government and eschew state and local decision making. You’re clueless.
the clueless one is he who doesn’t understand that no matter what the voters of a single state decide, federal law has supremacy.
if you’d had an education in civics you would know that.
This is a good example of why the governor’s proposal is a good one.
The governor’s proposal is terrible. She’s clueless.
The feds are welcome to start enforcing marijuana laws here in SD.
I don’t believe the election was without fraud, and the fraud took place on the Democrat side, as it always does. Democrats will stoop to any level to push their agenda, no matter how dishonest and devious.
Our “higher ed” institutions have been broken forever , offering worthless degrees that have little or no chance of producing any career or job opportunities that will never pay for the student loans . Each institution should have to prove what salaries and job opportunities those degrees provide . If they fail to do so they should receive NO State funds .
Your statement prompts me to ponder what the heck getting a college degree in General Studies is good for. Does it follow the “everyone gets a ribbon” idea?
Just a generalist thing. Several types of job don’t focus so much on what a degree is in, but rather whether the person has a degree and can check a box. General studies can check the necessary box and allow for upwards career progression while the person with no degree may sit stagnant in their job growth potential.
I’m not sure why an institution should have to prove what jobs/salaries a degree will provide in order to get funding. A student can talk to their advisor or even go online to find out information about a particular degree. Why put in 2-4 years of school work if you don’t put in the bare minimum effort to figure out what that degree will do for you? It’s not the school’s responsibility to hold your hand.
Haha it’s too funny when so-called “Liberals” defer to the supremacy of the state government and eschew federal decision making.
The above makes a few changes to what was posted by a liberal who seems to think SD’s marijuana law should supersede federal law. I wonder if they also support state’s right on abortion or gay marriage or genetic males competing in female sports.
My point is there is a constant conflict between central and state government under federalism. There is no single right answer applicable across all issues whether one is a conservative or a liberal. And, when one tries to cancel the other by making a statement like I did at the start or the liberal did above, it is just an expression of the cancel culture where one tries to win the argument by negating the others right to speak on the issue.
So back to the issue, most high school graduates don’t even know what the Federalist Papers are, can’t describe the fundamental difference between the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party, the Missouri Compromise, the significance of the Dred Scott decision, what was Reconstruction and the impact of its not being carried out as Grant wished, who Neville Chamberlain is, and a host of other basic historical events or issues which shape our body politic today. So, to the Governor’s point, our high school graduates don’t have the basic information to be good citizens which is prima facie evidence our schools do not “already do a fine job.”
At first blush, this appears to be a step in the right direction in terms of ensuring that K-12 students receive a proper civic education. However, it is unfortunate that this has now become politicized. Quite frankly, the state board of education should have been the entity to come forth with this proposal, rather than the Governor. I do commend the Governor for bringing this to light, however, in order for it to be truly a non-partisan effort, it needed to come through the appropriate channels. Yet, now that the horse it out of the barn, the task needs to be given to the experts to hammer out a curriculum, etc. that offers an accurate look at American exceptionalism along with our trials and tribulations as well as an element that includes South Dakota history/civics. A true civic education for our K-12 students means not only a history lesson but also how our founding fathers worked through their differences to form this great nation. This is what I believe has been lost on so many of our citizens – the art of compromise, civil debate/discussion and respect for one another. If you read about our founders, you’ll learn that many had a dislike and even hatred of one another, yet they came together out of their shared passion of making this the best country on earth. It still is a work in progress (the old sausage-making analogy), but they laid the foundation for all of us to use as we continue to build and protect our fragile democratic republic.
I wonder if this “decline” in civics education has come due to the increased emphasis of STEM education?
I believe in a well-rounded curriculum that not only teaches students the skills that will be necessary for college/career/military readiness, but also that will enable the student to become an engaged, active participant in our society, regardless of party affiliation. Unfortunately, it appears some priorities have been overemphasized at the cost of others.