Politics remain a pressing issue in today’s teaching atmosphere, specifically in history courses like civics. The country is clearly polarized and is causing difficulty for teachers to navigate these grounds. How citizens can participate in civics in voting, volunteering, and community service, however, it is most commonly referred to as a class in the K-12th curriculum. Civics is a government based class which discusses the rights of Americans and how U.S. citizens participate in society. Considering the definition of this class it is notable how its discussion from teachers can be one-sided. Due to this concern from many outspoken parents there has been restrictions on how civics teachers go about topics such as racism, sexism, political views, and others. Many states are responding to the concern by outlawing some practices in the civics classroom. The state of Texas is outlawing encouragement towards students to take part in local political activities. States like Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Iowa are taking similar measures to ensure lack of bias in their classrooms. Although there is much more restriction on the way the teachers should go about presenting this subject, they are progressively finding solutions to keep the classroom non-controversial. Many have found that using direct political things such as the constitution, or even the declaration of independence to back up classroom conversations is the best way to avoid any tensions with parents or other outlying people. Referring to documents provides room for teachers, and a cushion of protection to let them have good class discussions. It is important to allow teachers this room as said in this quote by Edutopia, “We have to ask ourselves how we can support our teachers in breaking this cycle to create an environment where students can be active and informed citizens. We must also ask ourselves how we restore the civic mission that is at the heart of American education.” 

It is my personal opinion that this is a significant topic in America, and while some might say that civics should be removed altogether from schools, I think it is important and needs to stay. It does need to continue to be monitored however, because it is something that can easily produce bias, which can then lead to students developing opinions based off of their teachers. This can continue to be avoided by always circling back to the documents which built our country.