A Position Statement of National Council for the Social Studies
Approved and published 2021
 

Introduction

There are approximately 90,000 government units in the United States (Motel, 2014), and most governing occurs at the local level. These governmental authorities include county, municipal, township, school district, and special district governments (US Census Bureau, 2019), not to mention a myriad of quasi-governmental and nonprofit advisory and governance boards. As Education for American Democracy (2021) reminds us,

After years of polarization, the United States is highly divided, and there is widespread loss of confidence in our very form of government and civic order. For many decades we have neglected civics and history, and now have a citizenry and electorate who are poorly prepared to understand, appreciate, and use our form of government and civic life.

As social studies educators, we are acutely aware that decisions about everything from local zoning matters to national policy occur because citizens take the time and interest to be involved in civic activity.

The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has a strong commitment to promoting the civic engagement of teachers and students. As stated in the C3 Framework, social studies teachers are to provide students with “opportunities to adapt and apply their work in the disciplines that constitute the social studies in order to develop the skills and dispositions necessary for an active civic life” (NCSS, 2013, p. 59). This requires both teachers and students to engage in active civic life, as a key aspect of disposition construction. Given the importance of this pedagogical responsibility, social studies teachers must be civically engaged in the various communities they occupy. Thus, NCSS has a role in promoting the civic engagement of social studies teachers.

Teachers as Civic Leaders

Teachers are uniquely qualified to take leadership in assuming civic leadership roles. Teachers instill in PreK-12 students the importance of civic thought and action. They encourage students to be thoughtful, critical, and deliberate when examining issues both past and present. Teachers want students to participate actively in a vibrant democracy. Yet even as teachers make every effort to create student-activists, they may overlook the importance of educators following suit.

Research suggests that teacher activism supports better schools and communities. For example, Underwood (2013) argues that teacher activism is important as teachers can attest to the issues plaguing schools and education in ways that others cannot. And, teachers who engage in activism are better equipped to teach students to engage in activism (Picower, 2012).

Besides often being prominent members of their communities, educators are already engaging in civic education, literacy, activism, and engagement in abundance. They help their students appreciate and exemplify the core democratic values upon which this nation is founded—among them that liberty is inherent in the popular sovereignty of the nation. Furthermore, they are serving as role models for active citizenship, whether it be predicated on personal responsibility, participation in civic life, or justice-oriented interrogations of civic realities that support the mitigation and improvement of the body populace (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).

In recent years, educators, among others from across the United States, have taken to the streets to advocate for systemic and sweeping changes in political and social life (Inouye & Potter, 2021; Zinn Education Project, 2021). From large-scale demonstrations to smaller personal actions, educators have, for decades, voiced their individual or collective concerns (Gitlin & Margonis, 1995). Such civic participation includes a range of activities, such as sending emails to the principal or superintendent, writing letters to the editors of the hometown papers, participating in labor organizations, or running for political office (Olyer, 2017). All forms of activism reflect a core tenet of social studies: the inherent belief that any citizen can engage in civic discourse and political action.

The Imperative for Teacher Civic Leadership

Teachers in the United States hold the same civic status as members of other professions. However, educators regularly face the marginalization and silencing of their civic voices. In the age of accountability, schools, and the teachers who are tasked with demonstrating student success within them, face increased responsibilities—ranging from creating engaging learning spaces for all students to ameliorating a host of intractable social problems—coupled with decreased financial and public support (Costigan & Crocco, 2004). Recent legislative and district-level policy limitations across the country have further fueled the reality that teachers are increasingly losing both agency and professional capital (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012). In recent years, teachers have taught through efforts to undermine collective bargaining, to limit what can and can’t be discussed in classrooms, and to siphon off funding for schools, and they have had to deal with decreased salaries, and de-professionalization. Such problems have led to the increase in current and former educators seeking public office in recent election cycles (Will, 2018), and now that teachers have taken on the responsibility of sustaining an education system during a global pandemic—often in the face of demonstrable opposition to their health, safety, and well-being—the need for educators to assume the role of civic leadership has never been more urgent.

Furthermore, NCSS teacher standards (2018) call for teachers to:

• Take informed action in schools and/or communities and serve as advocates for learners, the teaching profession, and social studies. Pre-service and in-service teachers need access to resources to aid them in achieving this goal;
• “Consider ways in which teachers advocate on behalf of students so as to remove barriers that impede their access to educational opportunities or that diminish their future democratic participation. These barriers might include poverty, institutional racism, gender discrimination, cultural hegemony, political disenfranchisement, and other forms of injustice” (p. 25); and
• “Utilize their social studies knowledge, inquiry skills, and civic dispositions so as to advance social justice and promote human rights through informed action in schools and/communities. This standard calls on [teacher] candidates to not just learn, but also practice civic leadership and advocacy.” (p. 25)

To that end, it is the policy of the National Council for the Social Studies that because educators should embody the character, moral excellence, capacity for success, requisite education and training, and good standing in their communities, they are strongly encouraged to take an active role in civic leadership. Thus, it is our official position that all teachers, especially social studies teachers, participate directly in civic thought and action by running for public office or serving on citizen boards. The National Council for the Social Studies reaffirms its support of teachers’ engagement in civic thought and action in their local, state, and national communities including, but not limited to:

1. Becoming a candidate for non-partisan public offices, including school, college, and university boards;
2. Becoming a candidate for partisan public offices, including county, municipal, township, state, and federal elected offices;
3. Volunteering for municipal, county, and township governmental citizenry boards;
4. Volunteering for work-groups, advisory groups, steering committees, task forces, and/or other positions that support the official work of governmental units, non-profit organizations, or advocacy groups;
5. Submitting credentials to fill vacant seats in both elected and non-elected positions where a selection process is required under law;
6. Volunteering for foundation, non-profit, and advocacy boards;
7. Assuming paid and non-paid leadership roles within organizations whose intention is to promote civic engagement, justice, and the fulfillment of core democratic values; and
8. Developing professional relationships with organizations that support civic engagement, such as the National Education Association’s Run for Office: Answer the Call program, providing online resources for teachers’ civic engagement, and other efforts to encourage teachers towards greater levels of civic engagement and activism.

References

Costigan, A. T., Zumwalt, K. K., & Crocco, M. S. (2004).  Learning to Teach in an Age of Accountability . (D. M. Gerwin, Ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Routledge.

Education Week (November 21, 2018). Over 170 teachers ran for state office in 2018. Here’s what we know about them. Accessed 8/6/21. https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/teachers-running-for-state-office.html

Gitlin, A., & Margonis, F. (1995). The political aspect of reform: Teacher resistance as good sense. American Journal of Education 103(4), 113-127.

Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2012). Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in Every School. New York: Teachers College Press.

Inouye, A., & Potter, J. (2021). The resurgence of teacher unions. Rethinking Schools 35(4), https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/the-resurgence-of-teacher-unions/

Motel, Seth (September 3, 2014). Who runs for office? A profile of the 2%. Pew Research Center. Accessed 8/62021. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/03/who-runs-for-office-a-profile-of-the-2/

National Council for the Social Studies (2013). College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards. www.socialstudies.org/standards/c3 .

National Council for the Social Studies Task Force on Teacher Education Standards (2018). National Standards for the Preparation of Social Studies Teachers. www.socialstudies.org/standards/national-standards-preparation-social-studies-teachers

Oyler, C. J. (2017). Constructive resistance: Activist repertoires for teachers. Language Arts 95(1), 30-39.

Picower, B. (2012). Practice what you teach: Social justice education in the classroom and the streets. New York: Routledge.

Underwood, J. (2013). Do you have the right to be an advocate? Phi Delta Kappan 95(1), 26-31.

U.S. Census Bureau (2019). 2017 Census of Governments Individual State Descriptions. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.

Westheimer, Joel, and Joseph Kahne. 2004. What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Education for Democracy. American Educational Research Journal 41 (2): 237–269.

Will, Madeline (September 24, 2018). Teachers aren’t just running for office—they’re winning. Education Week. Accessed 8/12/21 https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/teachers-arent-just-running-for-office-theyre-winning/2018/09

Zinn Education Project. (2021). A day of action: Educators pledge to teach the truth. https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/day-of-action-june-12/

Drafted by Matthew T. Missias, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, on behalf of the College and University Faculty Assembly House of Delegates Representatives.