With renewed emphasis on civic education in K–12 schools, educators and politicians call for young people to engage in civic action. Worth considering are the kinds of ideas taken up, the performances deemed critical enough, and actions recognized in schools as civic engagement. Drawing from a case study of second graders in New York City (NYC), I move away from hypervisible expressions of civic participation to show how children take up critical literacy and civic action through everyday, ordinary moments. Beyond public displays of social action, how do we build up critically literate citizens who question, disrupt, and engage civically in their daily lives? Highlighted throughout this article are children’s questions, inquiries, and tensions around diverse identities and practices (e.g., religion, race, gender, politics). In centering children’s political agendas, I argue that the production of civic engagement is lived out in the curricular, conversational, and playful moments leading up to social movements.

中文翻译：

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批判性公民素养：二年级的时刻和运动

随着 K-12 学校对公民教育的重新重视，教育工作者和政治家呼吁年轻人参与公民行动。值得考虑的是采取什么样的想法，被认为足够重要的表现，以及在学校中被认为是公民参与的行动。从纽约市（NYC）二年级学生的案例研究中，我不再用超可视化的公民参与表达方式来展示孩子们如何通过日常的、平凡的时刻进行批判性的识字和公民行动。除了社会行动的公开展示，我们如何培养具有批判性文化的公民，他们质疑、破坏和参与日常生活？贯穿本文的重点是儿童的问题、询问以及围绕不同身份和实践（例如，宗教、种族、性别、政治）的紧张局势。