Civic learning does not happen in the classroom alone.

It happens wherever we're together, at home and in our communities.

At a time when our country is marking its 250th anniversary, we have a rare opportunity to reflect

on what it takes to sustain a constitutional democracy.

And that begins with a simple but profound question.

How do we raise citizens?

I'm Julie Silverbrook, Chief Content and Learning Officer at the National Constitution Center.

From the founding, Americans understood that a republic depends on the character, judgment, and habits of its people.

That responsibility was once framed as little our Republican motherhood, the expectation at our

nation's founding that mothers would help pass those values onto the next generation.

But today, it belongs to all of us.

Civic parenting is not just for moms.

It is also for dads and all parents, caregivers, families, and communities who are shaping

how the next generation understands

its role in our shared system of self-government. I see this every day in my own life, starting

with my own children who are two and a half and almost five. In our home, civic parenting begins

with the every day. We read civics and history books together after bath time and before bedtime.

We speak in the language of citizenship as part of our everyday lives.

Putting toys away, helping clean up after dinner, and taking turns all become opportunities to talk about what it means to be a good citizen in our home.

We also look for ways to connect those small habits to the larger American story. We show up for

our community. We take part in our local 4th of July bike parade. We talk about what it means to

welcome others into civic life and to be part of something bigger than ourselves. We sing patriotic

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