Many totalitarian communist states throughout the world have broken up during the 1990's, and citizens in those countries, from Central and South American to Central and Eastern Europe, are working to build constitutional democracies out of the rubble. Part of creating these new governments is devising new school curricula to include civic education--which addresses civic knowledge, civic skills, and civic virtues--and to teach young citizens the theory and practice of constitutional democracy. The objectives of civic education are: (1) to teach basic ideas thoroughly so that students can discern between an authentic constitutional democracy and a bogus one; (2) to develop intellectual participatory skills so students can, as citizens, think and act on behalf of their rights and the common good; and (3) to nurture civic virtues such as self-discipline, civility, compassion, tolerance, and respect. Effective democratic teachers must develop lessons and activities for students that emphasize and combine these three elements of civic education in a classroom environment that promotes the theory and practice of constitutional democracy and liberty. The democratic teacher must challenge students to take responsibility for achieving educational objectives; foster academic freedom by encouraging and protecting free and open expression of ideas; establish and apply rules fairly; and create a respectful atmosphere. The digest includes a 17-item bibliography. (LP)