The Annual Benefit dinner for Discovering Justice is this evening, and I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight the organization, on whose board I serve. It is the most significant and effective group in the US that supports the civic education of younger children, grades k-8.

Relatively little is known about the lasting effects of civics at the lower grades–or even about what works best. Certainly, “civics” for younger children overlaps with character education, interpersonal skills, and personal behavior. It’s not all about laws, systems, and social issues. Discovering Justice takes a holistic approach. Still, even if we define “civics” narrowly, it is an appropriate topic for elementary students. The C3 (College, Career, and Citizenship) Framework identifies fairly specific civics content for grades k-2, shown at the right.

Kids are definitely able to learn these things. I cannot demonstrate that if they do, it will make a difference once they’re 30–especially if they get no reinforcement in between. But I’d be willing to bet that teaching these topics in elementary school is one component of an effective civic education. And the only way to find out is to develop, refine, improve, and test k-8 civics, which is the role that Discovering Justice has taken on.