As families gather to celebrate Independence Day, it is time to rethink the notion that civics instruction is less than vital in the global economy of the 21st century. If you want to succeed, the message seems to be: Take advanced science and math classes, but don’t worry about those civics classes. In a time of texts and tweets, and the instant democracy of the Web, civics instruction seems as antiquated to some students as studying the Dewey Decimal system...