Solving the national civics crisis begins in our homes

As the election results in Virginia and elsewhere demonstrate, many parents are upset with how American history and civics are being taught in schools. And it’s hard to blame them.

Some feel we are tearing down our nation’s past. Others believe we are not doing enough to tell the history of all Americans, particularly those in communities that have long been marginalized. The good news is that discussions are taking place in school districts nationwide over what we should teach our children. The bad news is that those debates may not resolved anytime soon.

But parents can take an active role in ensuring their children receive the education they want them to have.

Of course homeschooling is always an option, but short of that commitment to fully take on a child’s education, there are three great tools for parents who care about raising well-educated children and maintaining our self-governing republic:

1) Monuments and national historic sites. Nothing brings home the beauty and force of the idea of “a nation conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” than seeing it inscribed in giant letters inside the Lincoln Memorial. Every state in the country has its own sites and for a sampling of some of the best sites in the U.S., see the Living Civics Map ( levelupcivics.org/living-civics).

2) Family history. Every American is a part of the American story, it’s just that we don’t all make it into the history books. But we can write our own histories. Helping children discover their own family history can be a great way both to make up for what the history books don’t contain. Smartphones provide an easy tool for recording conversations about family history.

3) Online resources. A growing number of websites are providing free, high-quality resources on American history: the Bill of Rights Institute, ( billofrightsinstitute.org), and the 1776 Unites ( 1776unites.com/ourwork/curriculum), which focuses on elevating the stories of African-Americans.

The past couple of years have generated a lot of discussion around our history, sparked by protests, debates over statues and initiatives such as the 1619 Project.

As Mark Twain wrote, “Citizenship is what makes a republic; monarchies can get along without it. What keeps a republic on its legs is good citizenship.”

If we want to keep our republic on its legs the good news is that it has never been easier.