The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence comes at a difficult moment for democratic life in the United States. The anniversary invites reflection on the country’s founding promises, including equality, liberty and self-government. It also comes amid deep political polarisation, low public trust, and growing concern about whether democratic institutions can still command shared confidence.

This NECE Campus session explored what civic education can do in such a context. The conversation brought together Emma Humphries, Chief Education Officer at iCivics, and Louisa Slavkova, co-founder of THE CIVICS and founder and co-director of Sofia Platform Foundation. The discussion focused on the state of civic education in the United States, the historical traditions that shaped it, and the pressures educators face today.

iCivics develops free learning materials for civic education, including games, videos, lesson plans, curricula and classroom resources. Through CivXNow, it also works with a broad coalition of organisations advocating for stronger civic education policy across the United States.

A central theme of the conversation was the weakening of shared civic spaces. Emma reflected on the difference between earlier periods of political conflict and the current moment. The United States has lived through division before, including the Civil War, Vietnam and Watergate. Today’s challenge is shaped by fragmented media environments, algorithmic information flows and declining trust between citizens. Many people no longer encounter the same facts, institutions or public narratives. This makes democratic disagreement harder to sustain.

The discussion also looked at the decline of civic education in schools. Emma traced part of this decline to decades of policy choices that prioritised science, mathematics and reading, especially after Sputnik and later federal education reforms. These priorities were understandable in their own historical moments. Their long-term effect was less time, funding and training for civics, history and social studies. In many states, students now receive only limited formal civic education before leaving school.

The conversation made clear that civic education is also difficult to teach because it touches live political questions. Teachers may fear accusations of bias, indoctrination or partisanship, even when they are doing careful and professional work. This pressure affects how they approach topics such as civil rights, rule of law, protest, elections, media, constitutional powers and democratic norms.

Emma argued that civic education needs stronger institutional support. This includes dedicated courses, teacher training, assessment, funding, media and information literacy, and learning standards that give the subject real weight. She also underlined the importance of civic education beyond schools, including after-school programmes, community organisations, religious settings, summer programmes and other spaces where young people learn how to participate in public life.

One of the most practical points in the session concerned relevance. Civic education often begins with institutions, constitutions and formal structures. Emma suggested that educators can start by asking young people what they care about, then help them understand how those concerns connect to policy, local government, rights, responsibilities and collective action. This approach gives students a clearer reason to learn the tools of democratic participation.

The discussion also addressed how educators can handle current events. Emma emphasised that difficult topics can be taught in structured and nonpartisan ways. Educators can use historical comparisons, primary sources, institutional questions, evidence-based reasoning and careful facilitation. A classroom can become a place where students practise disagreement, ask for sources, test claims and learn to speak across difference.

The session ended with a broader reflection on democratic culture. Civic education cannot carry this work alone. Families, communities, institutions, media and civil society all shape whether young people learn to trust others, participate responsibly and see democracy as worth sustaining. In this sense, civic education is part of a wider democratic practice: learning how to live with disagreement without giving up on each other.

The video recording of the session is available below.