Civics education, with its emphasis on mechanisms and procedures, means little if people do not understand how its creators came to the conclusions that a government needed checks and balance, for instance, or ought to avoid a king.

Year 2020 disrupted many things, including education. What is the future of education in 2021 and beyond? Ian Rowe, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, spoke about some of today’s most timely education issues at a Sutherland Institute event. Here are three important takeaways from his remarks.

For this fifth review, we are looking at how well standards teach the concept of checks and balances among the branches of federal government, and between state/local and federal governments (federalism).

“We need to focus on things like developing personal agency, understanding a sense of responsibility, strong academic backgrounds. Those are the things that allow people to prosper and propel their lives forward, not, you know, making yourself feel better by reducing expectations or reducing standards.”

Sutherland Institute is seeking to understand how well Utah’s current social studies standards help students fulfill their duties in civil society and government. For this fourth review, we are looking at how well standards teach the concept of “equality before the law.”

Even though education wasn’t a focal point in many debates, Biden’s election will mean education policy changes. What does education in the United States look like under a Biden administration?

Now that Election Day has come and gone let’s turn our attention to the important education issues that our policymakers-to-be ought to focus on

Equipping students to understand the skills and rights associated with this freedom is key for the next generation to promulgate the republic.

It is time to prioritize the teaching of complete, accurate and sequential history and civics. It is time to make civics education the new STEM education movement.

“As students properly understand the relationship between the First Amendment’s religion clauses and the public school, they will understand the proper relationship for religion in the American public square as they become adults.”