Citizenship and the Curriculum
In my schooling, the main focus was creating a personally responsible citizen, to be a functioning part of society. I was taught to be personally responsible as my elementary schools motto was the "3R's: responsible, respectful and ready". Students were expected to be responsible, be respectful and be ready while being honest, obeying the rules and using our manners. I remember an emphasis on learning how to recycle, taking part in walks around the school yard picking up litter, as well as donating non-perishables to the local food drive. In high school there was a slight shift in citizenship as it became more of a focus of participatory citizenship. There was more of an emphasis on the students taking the leadership roles through organization of school fundraisers for things like sports teams, dances and graduation.
Having most of my school experiences focus on the personally responsible citizen I was never really taught to push for change, or made aware that change was needed. This formed the basic, conforming society member that obeys what is asked of them, works hard and does not ask questions. From the "What Kind of Citizen" reading, it mentioned how the focus on personally responsible citizens and the emphasis on the character traits "hinders democratic participation and change"(Westheimer & Kahne, 2004, p. 244). I wasn't able to recognize or have an informed opinion about issues of social justice and ways to change them until I began University. Westheimer and Kahne also mentioned how the personally responsible citizen focuses on "individual acts of compassion and kindness, not on the collective social action and the pursuit of social justice."(p.244). In teaching personally responsible curriculum, my teachers produced students with what Westheimer and Kahne call "valuable character traits for good neighbours and citizens" with limited critical thinking skills. (p. 243). They produced what they value, which is functioning members of society. I think if I had teachers who wanted to encourage their students to be justice oriented, they would provide opportunities within their curriculum to do so.
Alex, thank you for sharing some of your personal experiences in a school. It's great to see and hear how everyones experiences in schools have similarity and differences. I can also relate on the emphasis about recycling and taking part in school activities. I do agree that these activities put leadership roles on us based off of our personal experiences and how we learn from those experiences.
ReplyDeleteAlex, your experiences were similar to mine in terms of having more emphasis on being a socially responsible citizen than the other two categories. Do you think if you were taught more about justice oriented citizenship it would have changed the kind of citizen engagement you participated in? Also, what are some ways you could provide justice orientated opportunities within your classroom? Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteAlex, you show great understanding of how your school experiences have shaped you. I can relate to your experience in that my elementary school also placed a strong emphasis on being respectful, responsible and ready. I remember that being ready was especially important because it was always the first student finished or the first student lined up that was praised, and therefore the last student was deemed lesser. This makes me wonder why there is this strong emphasis on readiness and whether it compromises the quality of work done in school?
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to hear how you have combated your training to not push for change. When did you realize that you had been trained to do this? Have you tried pushing for change, and what has been your experience?