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Episode 2: Learning Civic Hope, Optimism, and Resilience Alongside Our Children

Exploring how to build civic muscles in the everyday

In this episode, we explore how families can cultivate civic hope, optimism, and resilience at a moment when many parents and children are navigating narratives of distrust, division, and social isolation. Ashley Berner, director of the Johns Hopkins University's Institute for Education Policy and an associate professor of education, joins Julie Silverbrook, Lindsey Cormack, and Sarah Vacchiano to discuss how resilience, hope, and optimism begin in the everyday moments of family life — learning frustration tolerance through a difficult puzzle, negotiating responsibilities at home, caring for shared spaces, and practicing how to disagree respectfully while remaining connected to one another. 

Throughout the conversation, we examine how these small relational experiences help children build the psychological and civic muscles necessary for life in a constitutional democracy. We talk about the importance of teaching children that democracy is not built on unanimity, but on learning how to live, work, and solve problems together despite our differences. Together, we reflect on how families, schools, libraries, museums, and local civic institutions can work together to nurture the next generation of engaged citizens and strengthen the habits of self-government that sustain constitutional democracy.

Follow Civic Parenting, We the People, & Live at the National Constitution Center on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. 

This episode was produced and mixed by Bill Pollock. With production support from Charles Sahm. Research was provided by Anna Salvatore, Trey Sullivan, and Tristan Worsham. 

Participants 

Ashley Rogers Berner is director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy and associate professor of education. Berner is the author of Pluralism and American Public Education: No One Way to School and Educational Pluralism and American Democracy: How to Handle Indoctrination, Promote Exposure, and Rebuild America’s Schools. She has published dozens of journal articles, book chapters and op-eds, as well as a widely watched TedX talk on citizenship formation, academic outcomes, pluralism, and the political theories of education in different national contexts. 

Julie Silverbrook is chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center where she leads the strategy, development, and delivery of the Center’s content, public programs, and educational initiatives, advancing its mission of nonpartisan constitutional education and civil dialogue. 

Lindsey Cormack is an associate professor of political science at Stevens Institute of Technology. She has authored two books, How to Raise a Citizen (And Why it’s Up to You to Do It) and Congress and U.S. Veterans: From the GI Bill to the VA Crisis. She created and maintains a digital database of all official Congress-to-constituent e-newsletters at dcinbox.com. 

Sarah Vacchiano is an entertainment lawyer, author, and founder of Civic EQ, a Substack publication that empowers parents to raise civically curious, engaged, and emotionally intelligent humans. She is the author of Soft Launch: A Coming-of-Adulthood Novel. 

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