Ep. 137 - How to Raise a Citizen

In this latest episode, we speak with Dr. Lindsey Cormack about ways parents can support their children in becoming engaged citizens. Lindsey is a civics expert and the author of the book HOW TO RAISE A CITIZEN (And Why It’s Up to You to Do It). We speak with Lindsey about how Americans’ civic knowledge is alarmingly low; how young voters struggle to navigate the complicated system of voter registration, and that civics instruction receives the lowest number of K-12 hours out of any subject. Further, as Lindsey notes, we have a culture of considering political talk to be taboo which means many adults, on both sides of the aisle, aren’t having productive conversations with children about government issues. Because of this, Lindsey speaks to how parents and caregivers can create a solid foundation of civics knowledge for their children and provide them with strategies and necessary know-how to be able to raise engaged and informed citizens.  Lindsey Cormack is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Diplomacy Lab at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. She earned her PhD in Government from New York University and is raising a daughter on the Upper East Side. She currently serves as the Secretary for Community Board 8 in Manhattan. She created and maintains the digital database of all official Congress-to-constituent e-newsletters in the DCInbox Project.