Teaching Across the Political Divide: Civic Education in an Era of Intense Polarization Diana E. Hess Senior Vice President , Spencer Foundation Professor, University of WI-Madison

Questions What is political polarization? Why is the US so politically polarized? What happened in the November election that is important for teachers to understand? How does political polarization create barriers to high quality civic education? What might we do differently?

What is Political Polarization? Political polarization refers to moments in time when political discourse and action bifurcates toward ideological extremes, causing a crowding out of voices in the middle, leaving little room for political compromise.

The Story of Political Polarization

Liberal Conservative The story of the parties ideologically homogenizing is just one part of the story. But, let’s stick with the parties for the moment and look at the effect its had on Congress.

Movement toward ideological extremes Conservative Liberal Evangelicals move right, social conservatives Movement toward ideological extremes

Income Inequality and Political Polarization This has happened twice in the last century…

Liberal Conservative

Effects of Ideological Sorting Ideological sorting is happening residentially, and in our social spheres. When we talk with people who agree with us, our views tend to move toward the extremes. One result is a more active, but also more hostile, political sphere.

The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart

The Big Sort, 2008 Red = 70% Rep Blue = 70% Dem

The Big Sort, 2008 Correcting for population Red = 70% Rep Blue = 70% Dem

2012 Presidential General Election - Colorado

Why the Big Sort is good and bad for democracy People are able to only interact with people and read material that support their views. = Ideological amplification = less tolerant public, but more likely to vote/participate

Conversation with people who disagree “Talked about news and current events with people who disagree with you” Response Percent 1 – Not at all 31.5 2 17.5 3 12.5 4 11.5 5 8.9 6 6.4 7 3.7 8 – Very Frequently 4.9

Distrust

• Since 2004, there has been increasing polarization in vote choice among racial groups. Whites across all age groups support Democratic candidates at considerably lower rates than Blacks and Latinos, while support for Democratic candidates has increased among Blacks and Latinos. For the past 6 consecutive elections, youth have voted Democratic, but there is still significant Republican support.

Youth Voters & Turnout Presidential Election The chart above highlights the difference between turnout and share. The youth share (percentage of voters who are young) has stayed steady since 1996 as more people of every age have voted. Youth turnout, on the other hand, has grown consistently, with half of all 18-29 year olds voting in the 2008 election. -CIRCLE

General Election Youth Turnout in Colorado 50% 52% 40% Source: CIRCLE, http://www.civicyouth.org

Polarization in Youth Vote by Age and Race • Young Blacks and Latinos supported President Obama in 2012 at about the same rates they did in 2008, while support for Obama among young whites dropped substantially. • In 2012 the majority of white youth—51%—voted for Governor Romney. This is a substantial change from 2008 when the majority of white youth—54%—voted for Barack Obama.

Young Voters in Colorado (ages 18 to 29) 2008 2004 2000 1996 Young Voters Party Identification Democratic Party 26% 37% 27% Republican Party 40% Independent 30% 29% 28% Political Ideology of Young Voters Liberal 13% 36% Moderate 45% 42% 46% Conservative 31% 20% Vote Choice Democratic Candidate 50% 51% 49% Republican Candidate 48% 47% 41% 39% Other Candidate 2%

Latino Vote in 2012 Presidential Election In Colorado, Obama carried the Latino vote by a wide margin—75% to 23%. The president’s performance among Latino voters in Colorado was better than in 2008, when Obama won the Latino vote 61% to 38%. Hispanics made up 14% of Colorado voters this year, up from 13% in 2008. http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/11/07/latino-voters-in-the-2012-election/

US Support for Social and Fiscal Issues

What does this mean for teachers? Schools are institutions experiencing growing public distrust. Teachers’ political views under scrutiny. In many schools, it is much harder to engage students in high quality, non-partisan civic education. Is it in your school?

Open vs. Closed Issues Open Issues: Closed Issues: No one right answer - would expect disagreement and teachers would aim for multiple and competing views, best care-fair hearing of competing points of view Open Issues: Question for which there is a right answer that teachers want students to build and believe Closed Issues: 26

What Might We Do? Don’t abandon the project. Schools a good place for non-partisan political education. Activate the differences you have. Choose questions and topics carefully (open political and ethical questions). Play fair. Don’t encourage/model the values of polarization. Make the case to the public, parents, school board members, and administrators.

The Political Classroom

What is the Political Classroom? The political classroom is one that helps students to develop their ability to collectively make decisions about how we ought to live.

Democracy is a Verb

Presidential Debate Viewing Students have a viewing session of the first Presidential Debate sponsored by their school.