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Master's Thesis: “Good on paper, terrible in practice”: The Unspoken Ideals of High School U.S. Government and Civics Courses
Anderson, Aynabeth Lauren
Anderson, Aynabeth Lauren
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Political science—Study and teaching (Secondary)—United States, Civics—Study and teaching (Secondary)—United States, Education—Curricula—Political aspects—United States, Textbooks—Evaluation—United States, Marxist criticism—United States
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Abstract
Within the current literature surrounding high school government and civics courses, the primary question that is repeatedly asked is: What is the point and/or the end goal of teaching these courses? Whilst this is a very important question to ponder, it still leaves a very important question unasked—What should we be teaching? Within this paper, I argue that the ways that government and civics classes are currently being taught is both factually incorrect and morally wrong. Through the lens of political philosophy and classical Marxism, I comb through the textbook that my previous administration assigned (Magruder’s American Government and Civics: Tennessee Edition). I discover the deeply entrenched philosophical and political biases of both the textbook author and the people who continuously assign this work. The book’s anti-communist message furthers beliefs in students about the goodness of capitalism, imperialism, militarism, and nationalism. Further, I utilize these sentiments present in Magruder’s to further discuss how government and civics courses are taught as a whole in our country. This piece serves to act as a catalyst for conversations about political propaganda in classrooms and the lengths that the United States is willing to go in order to uphold the status quo of belief and faith in the U.S. government.