The Urgent Need To Teach Civics to Kids
Can reading to kids protect our democracy?
It started as a fun little side project. I’d been teaching History and Politics at university for 15 years and wanted to write a kids book for my 5 year old daughter. You Can Be Prime Minister was just going to be a few pages printed on a word doc, inspiring her to aim high and giving her a quick rundown on Australia’s democratic values.
Australians in general have a poor knowledge of their constitution and how our unique democracy functions. When publishing about the history of referendums, I often mention the troubling poll from the 1980s that found that half the population did not even know we had a written constitution.
If anything, our understanding today is worse.
This year the ABC reported that Australian students had their worst-ever performance in civics and citizenship and, alarmingly, that 72 percent do not understand the basics of democracy.
As a teacher, I believe whole-heartedly that education changes lives and that young minds are our hope for the future. Australia has a vibrant democracy that many people fought to create. From pioneering the secret ballot to leading the world in rights for women to the epic story of the Naku Dharuk bark petitions, our democracy is a living thing.
It is vital that our democratic past, present, and future, is taught at schools and universities but is 5 or 6 years old too young too learn?
My friend and fellow author, Sheree Chambers, is also a parent to pre-school kids and we put our heads together on how to share all that we value about democracy with an audience that splits its time between the Wiggles and Peppa Pig. You Can Be Prime Minister is the result.
With our own kids used for market research, we designed the book to be informative and inspirational. It has fun facts, explanations, and a glossary of terms. It highlights some of the quirks or our system and introduces some of the people who have held our highest political office.
Reading to young children is truly special. Unlocking the magical world of words to a curious mind is a genuine privilege. The message for young readers is to reach for the stars.
Perhaps it’s idealistic to say that anyone can be prime minister but if you can’t be idealistic at 5, when can you? And perhaps there is a challenge for parents also, to fight for the kind of country where it isn’t just a throwaway line, where anyone really can be prime minister.
Looking around the world today there are concerning developments and democracies seem as fragile as ever. With the Cold War, let alone World War II, a distant memory, many young people do not automatically assume that democracy is the best system of government or understand why so many people have fought to preserve it.
I’m not a natural self-promoter and anyone who knows me will assure you that I’m not making any grand claims that this book can combat complex political problems. As a teacher and a Dad, this book is simply something I put together to read to my own child because she, like democracy, is precious to me.
If you’d like to find out more or to buy a copy, you can do so HERE.