At a time when our democracy hangs in the balance, Louise Dube, CEO of iCivics, reminds us that our Constitution is nothing more than a sheet of paper without the commitment of each successive generation to teach and learn it.

In this episode, Raphael talks to Louise about the hope and opportunity inherent in the American ideal, the knowledge, skills and dispositions required for self-government, and why it’s crucial to teach the next generation how to be engaged citizens capable of finding common ground and taking collective action.

“We're never going to have a system where we all agree,” says Louise. “So you need to have those skills to be able to do that, to find ways to argue, to find evidence for what you're saying, to engage in conversation.”

A firm believer in the American idea, and a Canadian immigrant whose mother was a trailblazing lawyer, Louise’s personal journey and belief in the power of civic participation is a hopeful inspiration for us all.

Tune in to learn:

The importance of civic learning in the context of the upcoming election
About Sandra Day O'Connor's founding vision to bridge the generational gap in the perception of American democracy
What knowledge, skills, and dispositions are needed for civic engagement
How educators, students, parents, and administrators can get involved with iCivics

Our Guest:

Louise Dube is CEO of iCivics, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring a passion for civic learning so young people can shape the world around them and believe in our country’s future. Louise began her career as an attorney in Montreal, Canada. She discovered the power of education in the early 1990s as a co-founder of CASES, a New York alternative-to-incarceration program for youthful offenders where education helped reshape lives. Inspired by a deep commitment to creating pathways to lives of learning and purpose, she has devoted her career to ensuring that all students are prepared for civic life.

iCivics provides digital learning tools to teach young people how the system works, to value what it does, and to develop skills of critical thinking and problem solving. CivxNow, a project of iCivics, has formed the nation’s largest cross-partisan Coalition to fuel our constitutional democracy through K-12 civic education.

You can read more about Louise’s perspective on the importance of each generation learning and embracing civics in her piece, “Reading Between the Lines of the United States’ Founding Document.”

You can also learn more about BBMG’s work rebranding iCivics in our case study: https://bbmg.com/work/icivics/

Raising Our Democracy with Louise Dube from iCivics