Truth, Jusitce, and the Academic Way

As we have seen Citizenship Education can be a process fraught with controversy and pitfalls. At the center of this contentious field are the questions of “what kind of citizens do we (teachers) want our students to be?” vs. “what kind of citizens do they (various political, academic, and market interests) want our students to be?” For Kahne & Westheimer the answer to the former question is simple, they want students to be politically hyperaware activists who fight the never ending struggle for Truth, Justice, and the American/Canadian Liberal Way. Although my sympathies lay in this approach, I feel that Kahne & Westheimer’s philosophy on civic education can lead less experienced teachers into several traps. Although this “firebrand” approach to Citizenship might be readily accepted in a good number of schools in the New York Metropolitan area, I’m not sure it would play in Peoria.

More importantly Kahne & Westheimer downplay a vital part of Citizenship Education, namely community service. “These programs aim to promote service and good character, but not democracy.” [Kahne & Westheimer 2003] I think that this is a specious argument, as service and good character go hand in hand with democracy. The root of the word idiot comes from the Ancient Greek word idotis which means a citizen who is not concerned with the society and issues that surround him(sad to say, the Greeks where a misogynistic bunch, who didn’t see women as citizens). In order for democracy to work, we need people who are committed to and take an active interest in what is happening around them. This starts with providing children with an ethical lens with which they can view the world. Although I see their point in the fact that if all we do is teach children to be good, obedient, and loyal little hatchlings we are in danger of losing our democratic ideals, I feel that a happy medium must be found. In order to become a good, active citizen one must have a solid ethical/moral foundation upon which one can base his/her actions.

Oddly enough, Kahne & Westheimer found this happy medium. In their article “What Kind of Citizen: The Politics of Educating For Democracy” they outline two programs that incorporate this synthesis of ideals and action. Both the Madison County and Bayside projects had students address issues that where prevalent within their respective communities, collect and analyze data, reflect on what that information specifically meant to them, and then take actions to ameliorate the problems. I think that both of these projects provide a valuable guide for future social studies teachers.

I found the Wade article highly entertaining. Picturing a group of second grade girls petitioning so they can have an equal quality of playtime with the boys, or imagining a group of first and second graders pelting a mid level government official with questions reminds me why I enjoy working with primary school students so much. The Kahne & Westheimer and Wade articles work very well together. Teach younger students the value of fairness and justice, allow them to try to change their immediate surroundings, and then, when they are older, teach them how to enact those ideals on a larger level.

Works Cited: Kahne & Westheimer “Teaching Democracy: What Schools Need To Do” Kahne & Westheimer “What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating For Democracy” and Wade “Service Learning For Social Justice in the Elementary Classroom: Can We get There from Here?”