There’s been a lot of discussion about young people lacking civic knowledge and a number of initiatives in recent years to try to address those gaps. I just learned about the National Civics Bee, created around four years ago. The finals were held in DC this week. Here’s a description from their website:

The National Civics Bee is an annual competition that inspires young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. As they compete for a spot in the National Championship, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders from across the country showcase their civics knowledge and skills, winning prizes and recognition along the way.

More than 20,000 kids competed. The program is nationally designed but locally delivered through Chambers of Commerce, universities, and other community organizations. The winner, from Colorado, won $100,000 for college. The finals were livecast on CSPAN. Some of the questions were really hard. I watched some of the finals and was impressed at how much knowledge these kids had.