Opinion: Why education is the ‘silver bullet’ to our national problems
“Education is the silver bullet (to problems in our nation). ... Education is everything.” So said Sam Seaborne, a character in the political television drama “The West Wing.”
According to Wikipedia, in folklore a “silver bullet” is one of the few defenses effective against a werewolf, vampire, witch or other supernatural being. The term has also become a metaphor for “a simple, seemingly magical, solution to a difficult problem.”
Why would education be a silver bullet to our nation’s problems? If so, what is most important that teachers should be teaching? And if taught, why will this help remedy our nation’s problems?
The Founders and Framers foresaw that civic understanding would be essential to enduring American self-government. Early proponents of public education looked to schools to provide instruction in civic knowledge, skills, dispositions and virtues.
Today, while civics should be taught in some form in all courses, the responsibility seems to fall exclusively to history and government teachers, often seen as the “content experts” in such knowledge. But with that knowledge, our students also need to gain the civic skills, dispositions and virtues to become engaged and productive citizens. Teachers are often the driver for students to become involved in civics-centered service projects, offering guidance, expectations, direction and practice in being good citizens and giving back to their communities.
For example, some Utah teachers have encouraged students to participate in the MyImpact Challenge (also called the Utah Civic Learning Collaborative Summer Showcase), sponsored by the Bill of Rights Institute. In this program, students must not only develop a civic engagement project (think science fair with a civics twist) but demonstrate its connection to the principles and virtues that “shape(d) the American republic with ordered liberty and help(ed) form the conscience of the nation.” In 2023, the winning project in Utah went on to receive Honorable Mention at the national level. This year’s 2024 competition is accepting project applications until Sunday, May 19, of this year.
Of course, in developing these qualities and this service orientation, teachers should be assisted by families, Scouts, local government, nonprofits and communities of faith. One example is CaDance Church, a senior at North Sevier High School in Salina, Utah, who has demonstrated the good that one energetic and forward-thinking student can do with support from teachers, parents and her Scout troop.
CaDance saw a neglected lot on Main Street in her hometown and transformed it into a gathering plaza where folks can sit, chat, eat and enjoy community activities. Enlisting the help of Salina’s city council and chamber of commerce to get a statewide grant, she secured permission and funding to pour concrete, lay paver stones, paint a mural, and add seating that Salinans enjoy today.
CaDance was that silver bullet in her community. But her solution was neither simple nor magical. It took lots of hard work and planning. It required not only CaDance’s efforts but the efforts of supportive forces — teachers, parents, community and state organizations — to bring about that magic.
As President Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “We all have a great mission to teach our children, our neighbors, and even ourselves, what a wonderful thing patriotic citizenship really is and to do it with our hearts and our heads.” When we accept the responsibilities of citizenship, we understand the importance of civic education and the role of families, teachers and religious and civic organizations in promoting it. Together, we can work to create the magic needed for this great mission.
Pam Campbell Su’a is a Civic Education Program Development Specialist at Utah Valley University’s Center for Constitutional Studies (CCS). Lisa R. Halverson is a Civics Education Fellow, also at CCS. Between the two, Pam and Lisa have 60-plus years in education and work under the Civic Thought & Leadership Initiative.
