Teaching kids to be better citizens should start at home

As millions of young Americans prepare to vote in a presidential election for the first time, our country has an opportunity to spark lifelong civic engagement. While efforts like National Voter Registration Day and celebrities like Taylor Swift have inspired waves of new voters, the real challenge lies in turning that enthusiasm into sustained civic participation.

When it comes to civic knowledge, too many Americans still struggle with the basics. Young people, in particular, are eager but unsure about how or when to register, and voter turnout among that group remains disturbingly low. If we don’t turn this around, we risk raising a generation that views politics and government as something that happens to them, not because of them.  

Both of us — an eight-term former member of Congress and a professor of political science — have seen firsthand how a lack of civic knowledge can fuel conflict and leave Americans vulnerable to misinformation.

As a congressman, Steve Israel saw it on the streets of his district, where opinions increasingly reflected the latest social media conspiracy theory. As a professor, Lindsey Cormack witnesses it in university classrooms, where many students are passionate about issues but often lack the foundational knowledge to create change. Higher education plays a key role in instilling social and civic responsibility, and faculty members work hard to make sure that students leave with the tools to make a difference. But we can’t expect schools to do it alone.

We all know the dual headwinds of increasing political polarization and voter apathy threaten to destabilize our political institutions. What too few people realize is that cultivating civic knowledge as a basic life skill can provide an antidote. The solution can start at home.

First, bring civics to the dinner table. Yes, parents can help save our democracy by having conversations that break down government processes into relatable stories and show children they have a role in shaping their world. For younger kids, talk about politics in a way that’s more than just complaining. For teens, start working on vocabulary and concepts central to our nation and laid out in the Constitution. And for those ready to leave home, make sure they know how to vote, the difference between primaries and general elections, what federalism means and how to navigate tough conversations.

Second, participate in or create spaces for civil, informed dialogue — especially opportunities where people with different views can come together and learn from one another. We need more community platforms, such as libraries, that can offer common ground and foster real conversation. True civic engagement isn’t about agreement — it’s about informed conversation and respecting diverse perspectives.

Finally, schools must take civics seriously. This means more classroom time in every grade to build on learning rather than waiting until senior year to teach government. It will involve more funding for teacher training. And it will involve buy-in on the idea that our public schools at a bare minimum should prepare our kids to understand how local, state and federal government power is structured and distributed.

One challenge we face is that, in our federal system, each state sets its own approach to teaching civics, which means such instruction varies widely even within states, down to the individual school level. This makes it difficult to assess instruction methods or outcomes.

In many K-12 programs, the standard approach is to require a government class during the second semester of a high school student’s senior year — a time when most students are more focused on graduation than on absorbing new and complex material. What is clear is that civics instruction in the U.S. receives the least amount of subject time, is wildly underfunded and is failing by the best measures we have.

If we don’t act now, the cycle of civic disengagement and political division will only continue. Parents might not be able to mold their children’s political beliefs to match their own, but they can equip them with the skills to be thoughtful and engaged citizens. This election year — and every year after it — let’s commit to making civics education a priority in our homes, bookstores and communities.

Let’s teach civics like our future depends on it — because it does.

Steve Israel is a former congressman and the owner of Theodore’s Books in Oyster Bay, New York. Lindsey Cormack is an associate professor of Political Science and director of the Diplomacy Lab at Stevens Institute of Technology. She is the author of the book “How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It’s Up to You to Do It).”