By Dana Milbank, Washington Post Staff Writer
May 12, 2002; Page A05

Advisers to President Bush are developing an ambitious package of policies to convert the patriotic outpouring sparked by Sept. 11 into a systematic effort to teach love of country to school-age Americans.

The advisers do not seek to encourage flag-waving and sports-arena chants of "U.S.A." Rather, they favor an effort to restore civics education in American classrooms as part of a broad initiative to teach the obligations of citizenship.

A proposal to rekindle civics education was included in a draft of Bush's State of the Union speech this year. But it was removed after White House officials concluded that the idea was not sufficiently formed into workable steps. The administration is eager to make civics education a staple of U.S. education, as it was in the 1950s and 1960s before the divisions over the Vietnam War largely put an end to such classes.

The subject is potentially controversial. Some conservatives will oppose any form of a federal mandate to schools. Some liberals will be wary of government efforts that could be seen as encouraging obedience to authority or support for the current administration. But the notion of citizenship education has support from a broad range of Democrats and Republicans.

John Bridgeland, director of the president's national service initiative, said a "working group" has been formed to find ways to boost civics education. The task force does not have a specific time frame, but "it's underway," Bridgeland said. "We're looking really seriously at it."

Ideas likely to be part of any plan include federal incentives for states to adopt civics education classes and standards in public schools, expansion of "service learning" classes that give credit for community volunteer work, drafting of a broadly accepted civics curriculum and use of the presidential bully pulpit.

"We need to do more of a mix of those things," said Stephen Goldsmith, a Bush adviser who heads the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The notion of restoring civics education is one of the second-generation policy proposals the White House is exploring after a tax cut and education reforms, its two top priorities, were done last year. Bush, though he enjoys vast popularity because of the counterterrorism war, is eager to build his credentials on domestic issues that appeal to moderate voters, such as health and education.

From the 1920s to 1960s, at least half of American high school students took civics classes, according to a study by University of Rochester political scientist Richard Niemi. By 1994, that number had fallen to 10 percent. Civics education was replaced by government classes that do not deal with citizens' involvement. "There's been a decline in the quantity and quality of civic education," said Michael Delli Carpini, director of public policy at the Pew Charitable Trusts.

The result is reduced voter participation and less community involvement, Delli Carpini said. "Young people are less likely to vote and participate politically," he said.

High school graduates 50 years ago knew as much about government and politics as college graduates do today. And, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, 75 percent of school-age Americans lack proficiency in civic knowledge.

Bridgeland and other Bush aides have been talking with liberal and conservative experts on civic involvement to solicit ideas, and they are finding broad support for using the Sept. 11 attacks to spark a revival.

"This is exactly the right time for a renewed emphasis on civics education," said Harvard professor Robert Putnam, who has consulted with Bush aides.

There is less agreement, however, on how to accomplish the goal.

A federal mandate that schools teach civics is a nonstarter. Conservatives generally object to such mandates to states, and after last year's congressional reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, there is little appetite to revisit education policy.

A simpler possibility is the dangling of federal incentives for states that adopt civics education. Bill Galston, a former Clinton administration policy adviser who has consulted with Bush aides, believes federal spending of $50 million to $100 million would have noticeable results. The federal government now spends $12.2 million annually for civic education through the California-based Center for Civic Education.

"A modest amount of money could catalyze some real interest," Galston said, pointing to the rapid expansion of charter schools in the 1990s with only small federal incentives.

Asked about expanded funding for civics education, a senior Bush aide said: "We're looking at those" as well as "taking a fresh look" at using existing education funding for civics training.

Chester E. Finn Jr., an education specialist at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research who is influential in the White House, said current spending on civics education is "peanuts" and the administration could use "the usual array of federal incentives" to offer more. A plan to train middle-school teachers in civics education would cost about $200 million, he said.

But Finn sees a broader presidential effort using the bully pulpit to encourage civics knowledge through competitions, prizes, public television documentaries, curriculum advice to teachers and public service advertising.

The administration has already begun such efforts. On April 26, the Corporation for National and Community Service started a "Presidential Freedom Scholars" program offering $1,000 scholar- ships -- half of it from federal money -- to 1,700 high school students who win an essay contest about their views on service after Sept. 11.

The corporation is also pondering whether to expand its "Learn and Serve America" program, which encourages schools to give classroom credit for community service.

The service learning program provides about $43 million in grants for classes available in about a third of high schools.

Also underway is an effort to develop a national civics curriculum, featuring stories about George Washington, writings of the nation's founders and other elements of national history and mythology. The voluntary curriculum may include using the Internet and other means to get material from Smithsonian museums, national parks and the like into schools.

The goal, Bridgeland said, is to "bring those moments in history to life to galvanize millions of Americans to continue to share in that legacy. You can't mobilize people unless they fully understand the freedoms for which they're fighting."

© 2002 The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4925-2002May11.html