How do we teach students about civics and generate excitement around civic engagement in the 21st century? Like our ever-evolving American experiment, we try new tools. iCivics leverages a suite of interactive video games that put students at the center of the educational action.
By the time Justice O’Connor retired from the Supreme Court, she had grown increasingly concerned about the lack of understanding, awareness, and appreciation of the basic tenets of democracy and civic engagement during her time on the Court. In 2009, she founded iCivics and worked with a team of educators and engineers to reimagine and reinvigorate civics education through gaming. iCivics has become the nation’s premier non-profit civic education provider of high-quality, non-partisan, engaging, and FREE resources to more than 9 million students annually, in all 50 states.
Today, we are honored to speak with Louise Dubé, the Executive Director of iCivics. Louise was born and raised in Quebec, Canada. After earning a law degree from McGill University in Montreal, she came to the US and earned an MBA from Yale. She became a US citizen. Working in the criminal justice system in New York in the 1990’s, Louise co-founded CASES, a mentoring and skills program for young offenders that offered an alternative to incarceration. This experience ignited in Louise a passion for the transformative power of education, and in particular, the use of rapidly evolving technology to deliver memorable content. She and her team at iCivics are committed to activating our young citizens, preparing them to solve problems and engage in challenging, but respectful debate in their communities.
Episode Links and Resources
A Supreme Court Pioneer, Now Making Her Mark on Video Games, New York Times, March 27, 2016
New Poll Shows Strong Support for Civic Education Across Party Lines, Cision PR Newswire, October 27, 2022
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