Civics, everyone?

by Vince Durnan, director

A lesson on civic engagement from USN's Contemporary Civics "teacher."
The flurry of events in Washington, D.C., with confirmation hearings, inaugural festivities, associated protest events, and all things related to the “peaceful transfer of power” make this an uncommon new year. And what should it mean for schools?
 
This is also the month when I resume “teaching” a half-credit course (for soon-to-be graduating seniors) called Contemporary Civics. Suffice to say it’s a bubbling font of anecdotes and one of the guaranteed highlights at USN for me. We start by taking stock of what we know about the world around us and how we know it.  With regard to our engagement with and in public discourse, here are two unsettling points of departure:
 
Most people in our country don’t know much. A recent University of Pennsylvania study indicated only one-third of Americans could name Joe Biden as vice president, or name the three branches of government, or even one Supreme Court justice. You’ve seen these figures and maybe become inured to them. Maybe we all have. I’ll leave out the part about pop culture stuff we do all seem to know.
 
Past that, the truth is routinely cited as an endangered species. My so-called class just reviewed a Pew Research Survey that found three-quarters of Americans see news providers as favoring one side of any issue. And alarmingly, only 10 percent of the 18 to 29-year-old demographic trusts national news sources—10 percent. No wonder two-thirds of them say they rely in part or exclusively on what they hear from others rather than reading (or even watching) for themselves.
 
These figures and the corresponding degree of national discontent about the nature of our electorate will likely wake a snoozing educational giant. It’s not hard to find nostalgic references to the civics classes of old, to halcyon days of widely read print newspapers that didn’t compete with eyeball chasing cable news channels in a race to the bottom. We heard chapter and verse on that from Nashville Scene founder Bruce Dobie and editor Steve Cavendish (who puts out a weekly now often half the length it used to be) in their campus talk three days ago.
 
The predictable result will be a renewal of required civics courses in the country, an additive move from an additive bureaucracy. There will be standards and exams and seat time mandates, but will they help? Our own state legislature added into law only last year a citizenship test with 25 to 50 multiple choice questions that high school graduates must pass with at least 70 percent accuracy. Surely some effort is better than none, and an additional voice at the curriculum table is better than systematic exclusion. But civic content may not translate to civic engagement.
 
USN has no civics credit distribution requirement. We study our city in second grade, our state in fourth grade, our nation in fifth, eighth, and 11th grades, among other times, and we offer two large Advanced Placement Government electives to seniors, so we could claim curricular inclusion. But how baked in is civic participation in our school culture? 

Model United Nations and Youth Legislature draw big High School numbers for weekend programs, and our Community Service Club is the school’s largest, tending our partnerships locally. The benefit of learning by doing is universally acknowledged around here, and I’m sure we/I have work to do on that front. So stay tuned as we talk about next generation initiatives.

What can you do? Start a family conversation about how you encounter the news, what you read, why you choose those sources, what you see as your civic responsibility to stay informed, how curated your perspectives are, to use the current vernacular. To what extent are the Pew Survey numbers reflective of your experience? Then think of what you might do.
 
Consider the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. observance as a day on and not a day off. Think about attending the citywide program at Tennessee State University on Monday, Jan. 16. Sign on to a community service project with Hands on Nashville, or attend one of the talks Vanderbilt University is so good for sponsoring. And realize that we are in this together, that we each matter, and that there are consequences to our being too busy or cynical to stay up to speed.
 
Feeling the imperative,
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School News

List of 3 news stories.

  • University School of Nashville students Eleanor Mixon '27 and Dylan Omary '27 voted first the first time on Thursday, October 29, 2026 at the Scarritt Bennett.

    Seniors take field trip to cast first ballot

    All 40 eligible University School of Nashville students in the Class of 2037 registered to vote ahead of the voter registration deadline, and Eleanor Mixon '27 and Dylan Omary '27 walked across the street from USN to the Scarritt Bennett Center to cast their first ballots on the final day of early voting.
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  • The ballot box and beyond: USN Seniors civically engaged

    Students in High School History Teacher Cameron Parsons' Advanced Topics: American Government and Politics Class have been working diligently on civic engagement projects that required them to participate in the democratic process.
    Read More

  • An evening of erudition: 22 seniors enter Cum Laude Society

    Congratulations to the Class of 2027 inductees of the USN Cum Laude Society: Jack Barrett, Charlie Blau, Alder Brandon, Olivia Brown, Elisabeth Crane, Alexandra Drewry, Lucia Gellert, Melis Kurtulus, Abigail Manoukian, Lily Margalit, Eleanor Mixon, Louisa Nordberg, Mia Orefice, Karsen Puzniak, Ruchika Ramachandran, Jacqueline Seale, Elliott Spiller, Laine Theobald, Alexander Truss, Yifan Wang, Madeleine Wiseman, and Julia Young.
    Read More
Archive

Athletics News

List of 3 news stories.

  • Mountain Bike Team Takes on “Electric" State Champs Trails, Dehner Snags Overall Podium Medal

    Steve Smail & MTB Team Coaches
    With trail names like Megawatt, Electric Avenue, High Voltage and Livewire, the mountain bike team knew it was time to pedal out some extra watts for their NICA/TICL State Championships at Raccoon Mountain, and survive the technical trails above Chattanooga full of boulder gardens, rock drops and sandy rubble.
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  • Mountain Bike Team Takes on Winged Deer Trails, HS Makes Podium Appearance

    Steve Smail
    Winged Deer Park and trails in Johnson City hosted our 4th race on Sunday October 11th, and despite a bit of hurricane outwash winds and showers - and reduced team numbers due to fall break and distance from Nashville - our racers utilized all available skills and speed which helped “wing" Sophomore Claire Dehner to a 4th place podium spot, our first podium appearance and medal for the season.
     
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  • HS athletics recaps for September 11-17

    Tiger golfers have officially qualified for the region tournament, and our other teams are not far behind. Volleyball sits near the top of the district, finishing up regular season play next week with Senior Night. Girls soccer continues to hold first place in the district after another 9-0 win, and our cross country runners are chasing after some school records. To round it all out, our mountain bike team traveled to Oakfield to continue to improve on their times for the season. There’s plenty more where that came from- so be sure to come out to the River Campus, Sperling Gym, or out on the road to cheer on our Tigers before their seasons end.
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Contact

Edgehill Campus
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212

Phone:  615-321-8000
Fax:       615-321-0889 
Email:    info@usn.org

River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218

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USN Mission: 
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.