No Citizen Left Behind

Abstract

At the recent Pathways to Achieving Civic Engagement Conference, sponsored by North Carolina Campus Compact, Barbara Holland delivered closing remarks that included a call for higher education to pay closer attention to primary and secondary education, as well as its students (personal communication, February 5, 2014). Paraphrased, she reminded us that many of their students would soon be enrolled at our institutions. What better reason to forge stronger understanding and connections? At the time of the conference, I was knee-deep in the reading of No Citizen Left Behind by Meira Levinson and Holland’s sage words resonated loud and clear. With a title that plays off of the No Child Left Behind mandate, Levinson’s text argues for robust civics education across primary and secondary educational levels, with particular focus aimed at reducing what she terms the civic empowerment gap.