Taking Civics Education into Her Own Hands in 2020: Interview with a High School Senior

We are thrilled to feature the important voices and work of the many organizations and individuals that make up the Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition on our blog. This post was written by Wendy Rivenburgh, Senior Associate at Education Development Center and member of the MCLC since 2019.

Youth across the Commonwealth are seizing new opportunities for civic learning and engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Edie Pike, a senior at Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts, always had a packed schedule. But with less programming and more unstructured time since March, she says, “I have been so much more involved, and it’s led me to educate myself more on Black Lives Matter and systemic racism.”

We asked Edie to share her thoughts on civic education. She feels “civic learning opportunities are lacking in high school,” with the history curriculum focused on historical events rather than current issues, or, critically, civic engagement.

The new civic education law requiring student-led civics projects, among other provisions, is designed to change this dynamic. The law builds on the 2018 Framework for History and Social Science that re-envisions 8th grade as a civics course and embeds civic learning in the curriculum. As schools implement these changes, more students like Edie will have opportunities to embrace civic purpose and take action in their communities.

What civic learning opportunities have you been involved in through school or extra-curriculars?

I learned a lot through my Generation Citizen 8th grade project. Everyone had to bring an idea to the table, and five students would go to the State House. Our topic was recreational marijuana – urging the government to add bills about how recreational use can be more safe. It was definitely eye-opening. I learned a lot about how local and state government works and how a bill has to go through all these different stages.

In 9th grade, a friend started a civic engagement club. We did a presentation on mental health outside the cafeteria for students, and we participated in Newton Serves, a citywide service day. We held a Local Government Day at school to educate our peers about local government and how it impacts our lives, even if we don’t necessarily realize it.

The goal of the club was both to start projects ourselves but also to teach our peers how they can be civically engaged. I think that the educational opportunities provided by school are good but not great. Newton North has the Center for Civic Engagement, though a lot of people don’t know about it or get involved.

The Generation Citizen project in 8th grade was the catalyst. That project helped me learn how government on a local or state level is helpful for pushing change. It was a kickstarter.

What are your typical sources of information for news and commentary on current issues?

I follow different Instagram accounts that share slideshow resources, ones that talk about the Asian-American experience. More recently, I repost about voting, e.g., how to properly vote by mail. I’ve been posting a lot about microaggressions and anti-racism, like what are things you’re doing that you should stop doing. Instagram provides a huge variety of different things you can post. Depending on the user, you can really post the message that you want to get out.

There are two sides to the social media presence of young people right now: one that is very informed, and the other is performative. This has been a whole issue with the election and also with Black Lives Matter. There has been a boom of student-run accounts for different candidates, for example, Newton for Markey. They provide resources on issues he’s looking at. There are enough students willing to put the time into social media accounts to share what’s going on in state and local government.

A lot of my education has been what I choose to learn. We don’t watch the news too much at my house. We consume a lot of political comedy, which is entertaining and also educational, for example, The Daily Show.

Can you talk about your podcast and what inspired you to start it?

I have been on this long journey figuring out my racial identity, probably the most central thing in my life for the past three years. My podcast is about sharing my story with others and listening to others share their story with me. I take what I learn from my individual experience into the work that I do collaboratively.

One of the biggest things with helping facilitate the social media for Overdue: Conversations about Race and Racism in Newton is using my voice as an Asian-American. The idea is to engage non-Black residents with Black residents, with a focus on Black Lives Matter. At first I was hesitant to get into that because I was thinking about all the other communities of color in Newton, but I realized that the Black community is really small in Newton, just 3.5 percent. The way that they are so disproportionately treated in our school system, policing, housing, etc. – no other community of color is treated that way. I’ve taken my own personal education about Asian communities into that work. One of my personal goals is to figure out how I can engage the non-Black people of color community with Black Lives Matter. The Asian community has been dealing with a lot of racism because of the pandemic. I came to this place where I’ve been ruminating on Black Lives Matter and want to help others too.

What are your reflections on youth action around racial justice?

I’m so impressed by what youth have been doing recently – student-led marches and social media accounts where students speak up to use their voices for what they think is right and what they think needs to be changed in Newton. We were all so busy before that we didn’t have time to do this work, and now we do. I had no idea what all these students were capable of – especially the Infinity March at Newton North, which was student -organized with speeches at the end. I heard how many different people the planners needed to get into contact with. It is great to see so many of my peers rise to the occasion and be true leaders in the community.

What message do you want to send to policymakers and the broader public about youth civic engagement?

One of them is to listen to the youth. It is really our future and all these changes that policymakers make are for us as we grow with our communities. Just because we’re younger does not mean that we don’t know or care about these things. Because of quarantine, we’ve been doing a lot of education about different laws and bills. And students are educated about what’s happening and have an important voice on what they want the community to look like in the future.

In terms of civic engagement, it’s important to get youth to know about how local and state government works. So, when they figure out what they want to change, they know how to go about changing it.

How are you taking action in your community? Share your stories about civic learning and engagement.