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It argues that schools and universities must respond by strengthening civics education and shaping a shared national identity grounded in democratic values rather than ethnic heritage. The text frames the American Identity Project’s goals: clarify binding values and implement practical ways to instill reflective patriotism and healthy civic debate in students.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/teaching-students-what-it-means-to-be-an-american/587315/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/teaching-students-what-it-means-to-be-an-american/587315.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"วิน","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":29},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What four major challenges does the text describe facing the United States today?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It describes eroding social cohesion across the political spectrum, declining faith in America and democracy among young people, schools falling short on democratic norms and leaders’ tolerance, and the paradox of autocratic tendencies being seen as patriotic by some Americans.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the document connect public schools to the survival of American democracy?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It argues that beyond literacy and job skills, public schools must instill shared democratic values so the nation’s civic creed can hold together a self-governance experiment.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What does the American Identity Project aim to determine and how should schools apply it?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It asks what best ideas and aspirational values bind Americans and what the most effective ways are to instill those values in school children through public schools and colleges.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},587315,1792062403,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":29,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},2336475104736,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c4c5e0e5b17e70?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786591360781797222","Teaching Students What it Means to be an American  \n @ppi |  @progressivepolicyinstitute |  /progressive-policy-institute  \nADVISORY BOARD  \nDavid Brooks, Presidential Senior Fellow, Yale University, and Staff Writer, The Atlantic (co-chair) William A. Galston, Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in Governance Studies, Brookings Institution (co-chair)  \nDanielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor, Harvard University Anne Applebaum, Staff Writer, The Atlantic and Senior Fellow, the SNF Agora Institute,  \nJohns Hopkins University  \nHon. Don Beyer, U. S. Representative (Va.)  \nHon. Bill Bradley, Former U. S. Senator (N.J.)  \nLinda Chavez, Chair, Center for Equal Opportunity Francis Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow, Stanford University Hon. Doug Jones, Former U. S. Senator (Ala.)  \nDavid McCullough III, Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer, American Exchange Project Elisa New, Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literature, Emerita, Harvard University, and Director and Host, Poetry in America, Public Broadcasting Service Johnny Taylor, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, Society for Human Resource Management Hon. Ritchie Torres, U. S. Representative (N.Y.) Darren Walker, President emeritus, The Ford Foundation  \nRichard D. Kahlenberg is Director of the American Identity Project at the Progressive Policy Institute. He is the author or editor of 20 books, including Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race and Democracy (2007) and Class Matters: The Fight to Get Beyond Race Preferences, Reduce Inequality, and Build Real Diversity at America’s Colleges (2025)  \nTEACHING STUDENTS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN  \nToday, America is facing four profound and interrelated challenges:  \n• Social cohesion is eroding on both sides of the political spectrum. Right-wing white nationalists see some citizens as more American than others and have poisoned the discourse by labeling opponents as enemies, while left-wing race essentialists undermine what we have in common as Americans.  \n• Historically, our civic creed has provided the glue that unifies Americans of diverse backgrounds, yet today, young Americans report much less faith in America and in  democracy than older Americans.  \n• America’s founders believed education was the safeguard of democracy. Yet our schools have fallen short, as many Americans have demonstrated a troubling tolerance for political leaders who defy long-standing liberal democratic norms.  \n• Paradoxically, figures who show autocratic tendencies are sometimes seen by Americans as particularly patriotic, underlining the need for those who stand firmly for democracy to embrace a proud American identity.  \n“It is fashionable in some elite circles to denigrate patriotism, but a deep belief in American ideals has fueled much of the progress in this country, from advances in civil rights to those for women. If our schools do not instill a healthy love of our country’s highest aspirations, we are greatly diminished as apeople.”  \nAdvisory Board Co-Chair David Brooks  \nAs America grapples with these difficulties, schools and universities offer a crucial opportunity for a better path forward. To counter rising illiberalism, foundations and researchers have pushed for sensible reforms such as enhanced civics instruction and accountability. The more profound challenge, however, lies in shaping a shared American identity.  \nIn his biography of teacher union leader Albert  Shanker (1928-1997), Richard Kahlenberg highlights a story told by former Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander. A group of education leaders was stymied when asked a basic question about why America has public schools. Shanker provided a provocative answer: “to teach children what it means to be an American.”Shanker believed that beyond literacy and job skills, public schools must instill shared democratic values to ensure the survival of America’s unique experiment in self-governance. Without this common foundation, Shanker warne","cbCaijWacfyYTUae","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijWacfyYTUae","pdf",5595434,21,"English","# Teaching Students What it Means to be an American\n## Four interrelated challenges\n## Education as the safeguard of democracy\n## The American Identity Project: goals and guiding questions\n## Quotes on patriotism and civic responsibility","[{\"question\":\"What four major challenges does the text describe facing the United States today?\",\"answer\":\"It describes eroding social cohesion across the political spectrum, declining faith in America and democracy among young people, schools falling short on democratic norms and leaders’ tolerance, and the paradox of autocratic tendencies being seen as patriotic by some Americans.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the document connect public schools to the survival of American democracy?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that beyond literacy and job skills, public schools must instill shared democratic values so the nation’s civic creed can hold together a self-governance experiment.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the American Identity Project aim to determine and how should schools apply it?\",\"answer\":\"It asks what best ideas and aspirational values bind Americans and what the most effective ways are to instill those values in school children through public schools and colleges.\"}]","Teaching Students What it Means to be an American | PDF",1792061452,53]