All the Lawyers Agree: There is a Crisis in Civics

On Monday, I attended the conference Civics Education: Why it Matters to Democracy, Society and You co-presented by Harvard Law School and the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools. I liveblogged all four panels for the Center for Civic Media:

• Knowledge: What should young Americans know about democracy?
• Practice: What barriers stand in the way of better civic learning?
• What’s at stake? Why civic matters to me, and to you
• Engagement: How can we encourage youth to participate in democracy?

I want to summarize some of the key points made by panelists and in questions from the audience. But more importantly, I want to respond to what I think were some glaring omissions in the discussion.