The A250 Interviews

In civic education, we are often asked to prove something no other subject is asked to prove in quite the same way: What will a student do 10, 20, or even 40 years after taking the course? That is a high bar. But it is also the right aspiration. Today on the A250 Interviews, we speak with two people who have spent years thinking about what civic learning should measure and what we can reasonably k...

Richard Haass is president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, a longtime diplomat, and the author of The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens . He has spent his career thinking about America’s role in the world, the use and limits of diplomacy, and the fragile conditions that make peace and democratic order possible. Today we talk about Richard's concerns about American...

Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison. How do we teach students about these people, taking into account 250 years of hindsight? Were they heroes? Villains? Or ordinary people in extraordinary times? Today we talk with Jane Kamensky, CEO and President of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Previously, Jane was a professor at Harvard University, and served as head of the Schlesinger Library. Jane is also...

In the world of civics education, one of the most hotly debated topics is what we teach and how we teach it. So how, in a hyperpolarized era, can education standards even be written? Today we talk with Andy Rotherham, founder of Bellwether and author of Eduwonk. Andy served on the Virginia Board of Education during the recent redesign of the Standards of Learning for History & Social Science.

The ballot box is where we give the Constitution meaning. So how did elections become the frontlines of the culture wars? Today to talk with us about the evolution of election security and access is Ben Ginsberg, a nationally known political law advocate representing participants in the political process, including during the much-disputed Florida recount in 2000.

Today we speak with Larry Kramer, constitutional scholar and President & Vice Chancellor of the London School of Economics. We explore judicial review, popular sovereignty, and the power of the People in our constitutional order.