Sharing the Good Stuff: “Where Politics is Still Possible” in Commonweal
In the article “Where Politics is Still Possible” in the April 2025 issue of Commonweal, we read about a required civics class at a small college in Oklahoma, which the writer offers as a counterbalance to the portrayals of college students that we see on the news. Writer Jonathon Malesic shares his perspective that the kinds of students who are protesting and setting up encampments at Columbia and Harvard are not indicative of the average American college student, many of whom are working-class or low-income and attend smaller colleges and universities within seventeen miles of their where they grew up. He uses Rose State College in Oklahoma and its required American Federal Government class as examples of how students can be (and are) educated to live with and work with politics in a pluralistic and diverse nation, which stands in opposition to images of students at elite universities obstructing daily operations over global political issues. Ultimately, he proposes that steady and focused grassroots efforts, rather than high-profile movements, will probably be the most successful in making America a better place to live.
As a writing teacher, I was also particularly pleased to read this from a Rice University student who is acts as editor for the institution’s public policy journal:
“I think writing forces students to think more abut their beliefs,” he said. “And because having to defend an argument is much different than simply believing it, I think students come to realize a lot more of the counterarguments and issues with their own beliefs.”
I have long taught from the NCTE’s Beliefs on the Teaching of Writing that “writing is a tool for thinking.” It’s good to see an affirmation that others understand that, too.
