Or take maths. Maybe it is reductive but I think the difficulty of it helps build character. Most kids need to do a lot of exercises and memorisation, and the feeling of accomplishment of getting it and doing well? That is character building. Obviously immensely useful too.
Civics (we had "social studies" and I don't recall ever discussing our political system, but at least in theory) involves:
- teaching facts about the system (how many representatives there are, how often elections are held, who is responsible for what, what do courts do, what do juries do, what do MPs do, what do the police do, how are they structurally different from civil servants or the media or universities etc)
- teaching skills (how to vote, how to think about political/societal structures, etc)
- teaching character (instilling civic pride, understanding the long and rich history that led us here today, etc)