Lost in the System: The Importance of Civic Education

Recently we sat down with high school sophomore Kashvi Shah to talk about her own experiences and views of the legal system. We started off talking about civic education. Shah shared with us the extent of the civic education in school she experienced. She stated that the only civic education she received in school was a middle school class that was “broad and focused on just teaching us the branches of government”. 

Shah spoke about a general lack of civic education for teens and tweens. Stating that it was only through congressional debate that she was truly able to gain an education about politics and our legal system. 

Civic education may seem trivial, but a simple conversation proves that legal education is the gap between our constituents feeling safe or overwhelmed within the system. Shah touched on this herself, recounting a story of a family member going through the citizen process. She spoke about how intimidating the process was, in part due to how complicated the U.S civic system is. 

This is exasperated for immigrants looking to seek citizenship who face a language and financial barrier. Speaking from her own family’s experience, Shah spoke about how when going through the legal process, children sixteen and over had to enter interviews on their own. 

Shah shared that she believes some of the biggest flaws in the legal system, and challenges that immigrants face are language barriers and monetary cost. Shah speaks to the lack of accessible legal resources and the barrier that creates. 

Shah’s experiences highlight the importance of legal accessibility and education as a tool for empowerment. Within a vast system, education is a lifeline of strength.