In an era when trust in government is fragile and civic knowledge is at historic lows, Dr. Lindsey Cormack opened her 2025 ICMA Annual Conference “Game Changer” session with a thought-provoking question: “Are we passengers on this ship called democracy, or the crew?” Her message was clear: local leaders have a pivotal role in rebuilding civic readiness, beginning with the youngest members of our communities. Drawing on her book, How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It’s Up to You to Do It), Cormack called on the audience of local government professionals to see themselves not just as administrators but as everyday civic educators.

Understanding How Citizens (Especially Youth) Perceive Government

Cormack began with sobering data: most American students leave high school without even a basic understanding of how government functions. The national report card on civic proficiency has shown little improvement since the 1990s, with only 23 percent of eighth graders scoring at or above proficiency. Even among advanced placement students, the average score in U.S. government and politics fails to reach a passing score of three.

Why? Because most states teach civics only twice, once in middle school and again at the end of high school. “We give our kids a crash course in democracy just as they’re tuning out of school,” Cormack observed. “By the time they’re 18, we expect them to understand how their world works, but we haven’t taught them since seventh grade.”

She shared her experiences teaching engineering students, ones with bright, analytical minds. Students who could build bridges, but surprisingly couldn’t name the three branches of government. “These are brilliant students heading into the workforce who don’t know their local representatives or how laws are made,” she stressed.

Beyond the classroom, Cormack tried her own “street-corner civics” project, involving no more than two chairs, a timer, and a sign reading ‘Will you talk politics with me for three minutes?' A project that when executed, revealed that many adults also feel disconnected with the civics that govern them. “People talk about politics like passengers on a ship they can’t steer,” she gleaned. “But democracy isn’t a cruise, it’s a crew! Everyone has a role.”

Cormack’s research shows that this type of civic disconnection starts early and is reinforced by culture. Popular media often portrays mayors or government figures as bumbling or corrupt. In some regions, families treat politics as impolite dinner talk, while in others, children hear constant cynicism about government motives. These mixed or negative messages create generations that neither trust institutions nor see themselves reflected in civic life. Her conclusion: civic readiness must begin long before voting age. Furthermore, it can be achieved through consistent, positive exposure to how local government works, and more importantly, with adults who model engagement rather than avoidance.

Local Government as a Civic Learning Environment

Cormack challenged attendees to see every public interaction as a civic learning opportunity. “Schools can’t carry this alone,” she urged. “Teachers are under pressure, curricula are inconsistent, and only five cents of every 50 dollars in federal K-12 funding goes to civics.” That means local governments must fill the gap.

Local government, she argued, is uniquely positioned to foster “developmentally appropriate democratic participation.” A city hall visit, a community board meeting, a youth advisory council, or even a public works open house can become living classrooms.

Examples abound. In Ulster County, New York, officials invite middle and high school students to design the county’s official “I Voted” sticker. This small but powerful gesture links creativity, civic pride, and participation. “Kids see their art on every voter’s jacket, and it tells them their voice matters.” In Kentucky, the “We the People Junior” curriculum introduces elementary students to the roles of the city manager, clerk, and council, terms that might otherwise remain mysterious until adulthood. While Vermont’s “Citizen Academy” program teams students with mentors to identify a local problem and craft a community solution, combining civic literacy with project-based learning.

These examples, Cormack explained, prove that civic readiness thrives when governments open their doors. “When children and teens meet the people behind the counter, or the engineers fixing their roads, or the staff running elections, they realize government isn’t a faceless bureaucracy, it’s their neighbors.”

She urged this audience of local government professionals to think creatively to achieve this type of community engagement: offer childcare at council meetings so parents can attend; host “meet your city” days where families can explore public facilities; partner with schools, libraries, and nonprofits to bring local government into everyday spaces. Even small gestures like acknowledging a child’s question during a meeting or highlighting public works successes on social media send a powerful message that civic engagement is both accessible and valued.

Cormack also stressed the importance of tone. 

“Children absorb our attitudes about government. When we point out only what’s broken, they learn cynicism. When we celebrate clean water, safe parks, and fixed roads, they learn democracy works.”

Modeling Nonpartisan Civic Engagement

Perhaps Cormack’s most urgent lesson centered on how adults model politics. “Our kids don’t need to be mini-Democrats or mini-Republicans,” she said. “They need to be citizen athletes.”

Her metaphor captured the essence of nonpartisan civic education. Raising a citizen, she explained, should be like training an athlete: teach the rules, practice the skills, build stamina, and encourage fair play. “If you were raising a soccer player, you wouldn’t only teach team chants and colors—you’d teach how to dribble, pass, and play the game,” she said. “But that’s what we do when we raise partisans instead of citizens.”

The goal, then, is not to prescribe beliefs but to model inquiry, respect, and curiosity. That can mean admitting when you don’t know an answer and exploring it together. It can mean inviting youth councils or interns to sit in on meetings, showing them how compromise and collaboration actually happen. It also means protecting civic spaces from polarization.

Cormack acknowledged that in today’s climate, even basic civics lessons can be politically charged. Teachers face scrutiny for mentioning government functions, while parents fear bias. But she argued that local governments—especially ICMA members bound by the ICMA Code of Ethics—can offer a stabilizing example. “You’re already modeling equity, efficiency, and service,” she told the audience. “That’s civic education in action.”

Engagement doesn’t have to be formal. Even a simple conversation about voter registration with a college student can be transformative. Cormack described coaching a hesitant student to register locally rather than in her distant hometown. “She said, ‘I didn’t want to offend the locals,’” Cormack recalled. “I told her: you live here, you study here, you spend most of your year here. This is your community.” Every such interaction can help both build and rebuild civic fluency, one conversation at a time.

Be the Crew, Not the Passenger

Cormack closed with a reminder that civic renewal isn’t someone else’s job. “If we want a forest, we have to plant seeds. Our children are those seeds.” Local government, she emphasized, is the soil where those seeds can take root through repeated, meaningful, and positive encounters with public service. “Kids learn what they see,” she told attendees. “If they see community meetings filled with care and problem-solving, they’ll learn that’s what democracy looks like.”

For this audience of local government professionals, the message resonated deeply. Rebuilding civic readiness doesn’t require new mandates or massive funding, rather, it takes intentionality, openness, and the willingness to show up as the crew of the democratic ship, not just its passengers.

In the words of Dr. Lindsey Cormack, “Attention is the greatest form of generosity.” Giving attention to civic learning today may be the most generous and impactful investment local leaders can make for the future of democracy.

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