Civics 101

Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein spent nearly a decade making a twelve-hour documentary on the American Revolution. This is what they learned from the thousands of stories and events that resulted in the United States of America. It's a story of world-changing ideas, contradictory figures, myths that do us no good and what it means to be in pursuit of a more perfect union.

You can watch Ken Burns The American Revolution on PBS, PBS.org and the free PBS app.

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Today we complete our trio of episodes in collaboration with iCivics, where we explore why people of myriad groups are having a tough time, civics-wise. In this episode, we tell you how to eradicate your cynicism and make a difference.

First, we share Jill Lepore's presentation on conventions; how we used to interact with our many constitutions. And then, we talk with Eitan Hersh. Eitan is the author of Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change. He tells us what works (and what doesn't) when it comes to engaging in politics.
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Whether you fly it, wear it or want nothing to do with it, the American flag says a lot in and about the United States. Red, white and blue is far from exclusive to our nation and yet it is very much our brand... and very much branded on anything we can think to put it on.

So where did the American obsession with our flag come from?
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Today we share our second installment on why things are tough in the civics world. Specifically, we talk about how students are doing in civics classrooms and on national assessments.

But! It's not all bad news. Shawn Healey (Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer at iCivics) takes us through the myriad state bills that are currently in the legislative process which will affect civic education, and we hear from three students (Ava-June Tackett, Shreya Raman, and Ben Kurian) on what they think can improve civic learning and reduce partisanship.
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Once upon a time, American British colonists were separated from power, decision-making, culture and information by thousands of miles and many weeks. As Helena Yoo-Roth puts it, time flowed evenly outward from the homeland.

This is the story of waiting, longing and realizing that time might just be on our side as we approached the American Revolutionary War. Helena Yoo-Roth is the author of the forthcoming American Timelines: Imperial Communications, Colonial Time-Consciousness, and the Coming of the American Revolution.
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