Citizenship education Essay

The purpose of citizenship education is to contri onlye to the health of our re in the public eye(predicate)1 and to empower students to sympathise their vox populis into runs and their ideas into policies. The primary goal of the De up businessness be Civics Standards is student consciousness of the purpose and think ofs of organisation agency2 and granting immunity3 and the forgiving relationship mingled with them. Civics directly addresses citizenship education inwardly the context of semipolitical systems. Students subject the assumptions upon which governings atomic number 18 founded, and the organizations and strategies politicss employ to compass their goals. With sort outicular pro commit respect to the coupled States, students pass up geniuss mind the fundamental principles of representative mass rule, the perfect separation of powers, and the rule of law. They imply to read that an indispensable premise of representative state is the get outingness of citizens to place a superior premium on their own personal responsibility for participation in favorable decision- reservation.see to a greater limitunderstand the context of supporting skills for routine lifeStudents develop the skills which citizens must possess in order to illuminate those responsibilities while protect their rights and the rights of others. The study of civils prepares students to translate their beliefs into actions and their ideas into policies. Governments exist and are instituted for detail purposes and employ a variety of organizational structures to pursue their objectives. Constitutional democracy attempts to balance separate liberty with the necessitate of the society as a whole. American citizens claim a grassroots brain of the structure of assorted forms of regime and a detailed knowledge of a constitutional democracy. Students support learn the underlying principles of representative democracy,4 the constitutional sep aration of powers,5 and the rule of law,6 with specific respect to the united States.The American political system was in decennarytion exclusivelyy created to relaxation on a foundation of somebody palliatedom, freedom of religion, representative democracy, friction match opportunity, and lucifer protection under the law. These principles and ideals are codified in the United States Constitution, the file of Rights, and other significant documents. Understanding, achieving, and upholding these principles and ideals represent a major argufy to sever in ally succeeding generation of Americancitizens. Students forget develop the skills which citizens must possess in order to accept their responsibilities while protecting their rights and the rights of others. The political, religious, and scotch freedoms stomachd to American citizens are accompanied by the responsibility of active civic participation at the individual, conjunction, demesne, and national levels. impelling citizens take to understand the lettering and commitment requisite to safeguard those rights for themselves and future generations as well as the likely consequences of inaction. They should excessively be able to distinguish in the midst of rights and privileges. Students depart learn to translate their beliefs into actions and their ideas into policies. The intent to participate in the American political system must be matched with the specific skills necessary to be effectual. much(prenominal) skills accept, but are not limited to, registering to suffrage, interacting successfully with government agencies, organizing and works in civic groups, exploreing and advocating a position, or serving in an king of public trust. The Delaware Civics Standards call for reason the purposes,7 principles,8 and world-wideizations9 that infuse the concepts in the commonplaces with their contextual means. CIVICS sample ONE Students forget insure the structure and purposes of g overnments with specific tenseness on constitutional democracy Government.Enduring UnderstandingsStudents will understand thatConstitutional democracy10 as a structure of government developed from the tension between the need for authority and the need to constrain authority. Governments are structured to address the basic needs of the bulk in a society. The key to savvy the purposes, principles, and generalizations called for in the standards is to begin with the question wherefore? For example, Standard superstar says, Students will examine the structure and purposes of governments with specific emphasis on constitutional democracy. The purposes of governments, of course, are the wherefore of governments. Beginning with the question, wherefore do we consent government? yields the question, What needs does government address? The answer to this question is the foundational sagacity for the benchmarks of the standard. The structure of governments is determined in part by history and custom, but aroundly they grow from what causality and experience run through taughtsocieties close the organizational conductments for achieving the purposes of government.11 You can come the basic purposes of government by imagining a community and questioning what needs of a community strength require authority to address. In fact, most famous political philosophers (Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, for example) give up used the device of the imaginary community to explain their version of the purposes of the declare in terms so aboveboard that even grade domesticate students can easily understand them. wholly governments invariably address basically the same needs security, order, and the welfare of the commonwealth. They all rent, enforce, and adjudicate law to concern the need for order, organize the common defense, and provide inspection and repairs to promote the welfare of the citizens. The structures of governments reflect the slipway governments are nonionised to perform these turns. The basic purposes and principles of governmentincluding the responsibilities of citizenship12 in a general hotshotcan be illuminated with the experiences of the students.Families meet needs of security, order, and welfare with the principle of authority, as do schools and communities. The themes of authority, obedience, responsibilityand the very important constraints on authority for the protection and freedom of the ruledare found in the social context of every student. If students can learn how to see the purposes, principles, and generalizations suggested by the standard in their own experiences, they extend easier to understand and retain and more relevant. The emphasis on constitutional democracy called for in the standard reflects the enduring human struggle to find a way to protect ourselves from our protectors. The tension between the need for authority and the need to constrain authority is a bighearted theme of his tory and is an inherent condition of life.The historically remarkable intensify and spread of constitutional democracy evolved from both the call of authority13 and a rekindled belief in the desirability of individual freedom14. The embedded concepts of a higher law15 that constrains the givers and enforcers of law (constitutions), accountability of rulers (democratic processes), and courteous rights16 arose from an abundantly justified distrust of power and a growing consensus that one of the purposes of the state is the protection and promotion of the freedom of its citizens. newly structures of government were devised to better fulfill and secure this new purpose of government. The need forauthority and the need to constrain it is the foundational understanding called for by Civics Standard One. The structures of innovational governments developed from the experiences of muckle trying to meet these twin needs. Civics Standard One 6-8a Students will understand that governme nts have the power to make and enforce laws and regulations, levy taxes, conduct foreign policy, and make war. congenital Question wherefore does a government have certain powers?The focus here is on understanding the need for these powers (the why?) and having a general knowledge of what these specific powers entail. The need for order and security within is addressed through the power to make and enforce laws and regulations. The need to promote national interests abroad, especially security and scotch interests, is addressed by the power to conduct foreign policy. The power to make war arises primarily from the need for security. The power to levy taxes arises from the need to repair for it all. Open-ended questions that t separatelyers aptitude ask in a classroom include1. why does the government enforce their laws with police force rather than allow commonwealth to be free?2. why does the government take taxes out of our paychecks?3. Why does the government participate in wars?4. Who gave the U.S. government the power to enforce laws? Why?5. What does it mean that governments have powers?Civics Standard One 6-8b Students will analyze the antithetic functions of federal, state, and topical anesthetic governments in the United States and examine the reasons for the different organizational structures each level of government employs.Essential QuestionWhat different needs should be addressed by the different levels of government? The student should understand the general concept of federalism17 a territorial division of power based on the overall sovereignty of the national government with constitutionally guaranteed powers for state governments within the boundaries of their respective states. In theory, this division of power is clearly delineated and distinguishable. In reality, however, the flow of power has shifted overtime between the federal and state governments and has resulted in alternating periods of cooperation, conflict, and controversy throughout the course of American history. more than 200 years after the signing of the Constitution, Americans continue to disagree about the proper role for these levels of government.Then the student should understand the United States has espouse a federal system for a variety of reasons including our negative experiences with unitary18 (as British colonies) and confederal19 systems (under the Articles of Confederation), the distrust of centralized power, the relative sensitivity of state or local anesthetic governments to the particular needs and views of their citizens, and the relative efficiency of state or local governments in responding to these needs and views. Advantages to federalism include allowing a variety of local governments to deal with local problems while allowing local voters to hold local officials accountable, permitting more points of entre and greater opportunities for political participation, better protections for individual rights, and fewer constrai nts on innovation.The benchmark also explicitly calls for knowledge of the reasons for the different structures of government at each level, which essentially arise from the differences in needs addressed. Generally declared, the functions of the national government include national defense, monetary policy, and foreign representation. Infrastructure, protection from crime, welfare, education, and other hard-nosed needs are more clearly the responsibility of state governments. Sewage, garbage, culture, urban development, and traffic control are usually the tasks of local government. Open-ended questions that teachers king ask in a classroom include 1. What functions does the federal government have that state governments do not have? Why is on that point a difference? 2. Why great power the different functions of federal, state, and local governments require them to have different organizational structures? 3. Why do states usually generate garbage collection and parking laws up to towns and cities in the state? 4. Why do most cities in America have their own police force? CIVICS STANDARD TWO Students will understand the principles and ideals underlying the American political system Politics.Enduring UnderstandingStudents will understand thatThe principles and ideals underlying American democracy are designed topromote the freedom of the American people. Fundamental ideals are enumerated in the introduction to this standardindividual liberty, freedom of religion, representative democracy, equal opportunity, and equal protection under the law. This is not a complete list of the main ideals of American democracy, but they are umbrella concepts. For example, the principles of limited government and civil rights are means to achieve individual liberty. As with the previous standard, understanding requires answers to the question, Why? Yet the standard calls for a more developed understanding of the meaning and issues involved with liberty and equality.An essen tial question for this standard as a whole powerfulness be, Why should people be free? Fundamental assumptions about the value and competency of human beings and the importance of freedom to human purpose underlie these ideals. These ideals also have a dark side and involve serious tradeoffs and costs. This deeper understanding of American ideals belongs to the free minds of a free people and is required by Civics Standard Two. Civics Standard Two 6-8a Students will understand that the concept of absolute majority rule does not mean that the rights of minorities may be disregarded and will examine and apply the protections accorded those minorities in the American political system.Essential QuestionsHow might the majority threaten individual and nonage rights? Why are citizens defend by the Constitution?Should individual rights be limited?Students should understand that democracy means rule by the people, and that majority votes are just an exacting indicator of what the people indirect request. Although that principle is central to the American political system, it is not absolute. People, including large numbers of them (i.e., majorities), sometimes act out of anger, prejudice, or ignorance and are not always well cognizant. By limiting the principle of majority rule, Americans have attempted to balance the interests of individuals with the common good20. Majority rule places a very important constraint on governmental authority, but it is completely insufficient to protect individual liberty. Every student destined to become an American citizen should understand that the majority can be as ofttimes of a tyrant as all dictator. They should understand that the addition of the placard of Rights21 to the U.S.Constitution wasmotivated by the recognition that citizens need protection from abuse of governmental authority, even when the government is theoretically obedient to the will of the majority of the citizens. There are umteen instances in Americ an history where minority groups once did not receive the same protections as the majority. The benchmark is middling misleading in speaking of the rights of minorities, be generate minorities are not now accorded any more or less rights than members of a majority. What we now call the rights of minorities is founded on individual rights. The Constitution does not specify group rights. So understanding this benchmark really comes down to understanding the meaning and purpose of the Bill of Rights with the expectation that students should also appreciate how these rights protect minorities from discrimination.There are many examples of how minorities were served by political documents and rulings that protected individuals from discrimination. Open-ended questions that teachers might ask in a classroom include 1. If most people follow one religion, why shouldnt the government pass a law that restricts the rights of people with other religious beliefs? 2. If most Americans are offend ed by people who protest a war, why not allow the government to withstand protestors unpatriotic and put them all in jail? 3. Why might Americans be unable to prevent newspapers or websites from printing letters that tease other people? 4. What is meant by the tyranny of the majority and why should we idolize it? 5. How are minorities protected by individual rights?Civics Standard Two 6-8b Students will understand the principles and content of major American state papers such as the settlement of Independence United States Constitution (including the Bill of Rights) and the Federalist Papers.Essential QuestionsHow are the principles of major American state papers guaranteeing liberty to contemporaneous Americans? It would be a bit much to insist on an understanding of the whole content of these papers, especially the Federalist Papers22, but students can well achieve an understanding of the main principles reflected in these documents. The overriding principle is individual lib erty most of the other principles concern the means to achieve liberty. The principles of the major state papers are the principles and ideals ofAmerican democracy. The introduction to Civics Standards Two draws specific assistance to the fact that the American political system was intentionally created to rest on a foundation of individual liberty, freedom of religion, representative democracy, equal opportunity, and equal protection under the law.Political equality, rights, limited government23, checks and balances, and other principles of American government are pronounced, assert, and discussed in the state papers. The understanding of the principles called for by this benchmark is the understanding reflected in these papers, which requires some perspective on the times in which they were written. An psychoanalysis of what the authors really meant in their assertion of a principle and why they asserted them could help students achieve this benchmark. For example, what did all men are created equal mean at the time of the Declaration of Independence? To truly understand a principle, one must be able to recognise its practical applications. such understanding is addressed more directly in Standard Three, but the focus there is on the Bill of Rights. Students should be able to identify the practical applications of the principles not included in the Bill of Rights. While these principles are sometimes in conflict and while disparities have always existed between the realities of daily life and the ideals of American democracy, the preservation and improvement of American constitutional democracy depends largely on the efforts of each succeeding generation to stand up to these principles and narrow the disparities. Open-ended questions that teachers might ask in a classroom include1. What is the meaning of We the People?2. Why is the claim that all men are created equal important to American democracy? How has the meaning of the phrase changed over time?3. Why was there a make out about whether we should have a strong federal government or not? Should the debate continue?4. What was the purpose of amending the constitution with the first ten amendments called the Bill of Rights? 5. What was the purpose of the Federalist Papers?6. Why did the signers of the Declaration of Independence think they had the right to declare independence from Great Britain? Here is a released full point from the Social Studies DSTP that illustrates the assessment of thisbenchmark. This test item focuses on the inalienable rights stated in the Declaration of Independence and how the Constitution of the United States ensured those rights. The student should provide evidence to support the answer. The item is open ended, which means that there is more than one way to answer this question correctly.The following is an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends (life, liberty, and the h obbyhorse of happiness), it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it How did the writers of the U.S. Constitution ensure that the government would not damage the rights stated in the Declaration of Independence? rear your answer with evidence. A student should provide an answer that gives a binding explanation of how the writers of the U.S. Constitution ensured that the government would not damage the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. A student should also include evidence to support the explanation. foregather the DSTP webpage for more items and sample, annotated student responses. http//www.doe.k12.de.us/aab/social_studies/Social_Studies_item_samplers.shtml CIVICS STANDARD THREE Students will understand the responsibilities, rights, and privileges of United States citizens Citizenship.Enduring UnderstandingsStudents will understand thatEffective citizens are committed to protecting rights for themselves, other citizens, and future g enerations, by upholding their civic responsibilities and are aware of the potential consequences of inaction. Distinctions between a citizens rights, responsibilities, and privileges help to define the requirements and limits of personal freedom. erst again, the why of responsibilities and rights, and the distinction between rights and privileges is central to understanding the standard. American citizens have the right to certain individual freedoms and liberties found in the U.S. Constitution. But, individual freedoms and liberties have limits imposed by the fact that others also have the same freedoms and liberties. detect for the rights of others, for example, limits some individual actions.Suppose two neighbors are in enmity over a tree growing on ones lawn that extends shade over the others lawn. The man who does not want the shade cannot cutdown his neighbors tree, only that part of the tree that hangs over his belongings. His retention rights end at the marge of his airscrew, and the boundary between the two neighbors extends to other rights as well. American democracy imposes a cost on its citizens. For government to be stiff, it must have an effective citizenry that understands what is required to maintain individual freedoms and liberties. Citizens have responsibilities that, if met, ensure the health of American democracy. Citizens should hold governmental officials accountable byVoting and tutelage informedContributing to the common defense through military service if necessary Checking the judicial powers of government and safeguarding the rights of the accused by serving on juries Contributing to public safety and order by obeying the law and inform violations of the law and Performing public service when the need arises.Privileges may be defined by what they are notthey are not rights, and therefrom a citizen has to earn a privilege. For example, it is not a birthright to move a car. Driving well benefits society and the driver, co ntinues the privilege, and costs the driver and hence all other drivers less in insurance. Driving poorly or dangerously costs more insurance and may even cause loss of a drivers license. A classroom handling with students could elicit other examples. Civics Standard Three 6-8a Students will understand that civil rights secure political freedom while property rights secure scotch freedom and that both are essential protections for United States citizens.Essential QuestionsIn what ways are citizens protected from the government? From each other? How might shared rights lead to conflict between citizens or citizens and the government? To what extent do property rights24 define an individuals freedom? This benchmark calls for a further elaboration of the ideal of freedom by making a distinction between political and sparing freedoms25. At this stage, a student should understand the connection between civil rights and the requirements of democracy, which is the means by which politi cal freedom is secured. Freedom of expression, the right to vote, the right to due process, etc., are clearly necessary to democracy, and thus tothe securing of freedom. Yet the lack of property rights would make even these rights precarious, blurring the distinction between political and sparing rights in practice. just about basic property rights can be considered essential protections for political as well as economic freedom. The enormous powers and resources that governments possess pose immense threats to a relatively defenseless individual. Civil and property rights impose commonsense limits on those who hold power and create the conditions in which fundamental individual liberties might be protected and enjoyed. The center of gravity in this benchmark is the understanding of the connection between property rights and freedom in general. Citizens, by applying civil rights, can grasp property or make economic decisions freely. The student will have to understand the concep t of economic freedom to see how property rights relate to the subset of human activities we label economic. In essence, economic freedom is the right to own, use, and dispose of property, but it also involves the right to shit ones labor.A well-developed understanding would include the realization that property rights can also conflict with freedom, and that they are subject to the same conflicts and tradeoffs as other rights or values and may actually curtail or even deny other peoples liberties (e.g., claiming slaves as property or attempting to keep minorities out of neighborhoods). Open-ended questions that teachers might ask in a classroom include1. Why is private ownership of businesses and homes seen as important to freedom?2. How might the property rights of a business owner threaten the freedom of others? 3. Which is more important making sure everyone has a job or allowing everyone to choose their job? Why?4. How do political rights secure political freedom?5. When migh t someones property rights conflict with the freedom of others? Civics Standard Three 6-8b Students will understand that American citizenship includes responsibilities such as voting, jury duty, obeying the law, service in the armed forces when required, and public service.Essential QuestionWhy should American citizens perform certain civic duties?Responsibilities is the word that dominates this benchmark. The benchmark lists examples of what citizenship in a democracy requires, andunderstanding why each is necessary elaborates the understanding of the general purpose of citizenship responsibilities. The general purpose, of course, is to meet the requirements of freedom. Demands for freedom create the potential for great disorder unless citizens of a free society act responsibly. Open-ended questions that teachers might ask in a classroom include 1. How can people be free if they have responsibilities like jury duty and possibly military service? 2. Why are people responsible for ob eying the law even if they dont agree with it? 3. Why should we be concerned if many citizens do not vote in most elections? 4. If voting is a responsibility of citizenship, why are citizens not required by law to vote? 5. Do citizens have responsibilities mainly for the good of the government or for the good of their swain citizens? CIVICS STANDARD FOUR Students will develop and employ the civic skills necessary for effective, participatory citizenship Participation.Enduring UnderstandingsStudents will understand thatEffective citizens can research issues, form reasoned opinions, support their positions, and engage in the political process. Effective governance requires responsible participation from diverse individuals who translate beliefs and ideas into lawful action and policy. There is a change in focus from understanding to skills with the quarter standard, but understanding is necessary to show evidence of such skills on the test. Why is still important, but how and what ha ve equal billing on this standard. Why does a citizen participate? How does a citizen participate in democracy? What does a citizen do? Civics Standard Four requires students to demonstrate and use effectively the skills of a citizen. Such skills include, but are not limited toRegistering to voteInteracting successfully with government agenciesOrganizing and working in civic groupsResearching and advocating a position orServing in an office of public trust.Teachers should use activities in the classroom which simulate or model the skills. Civics Standard Four 6-8a Students will follow the actions of elective officials, and understand and employ the mechanisms forcommunicating with them while in office.Essential QuestionsWhich means for communicating with office holders is usually more effective and why? Why is it important to know about the person and mountain when communicating with an officeholder? This benchmark moves from becoming informed about candidates to staying informed about elected officials. Student understanding of participation is expected to spiraling at the grade 68 level so that students acquire the skills and understandings needed to monitor the actions of, and overhaul effectively with, officials after they have been elected to office. Understanding the mechanisms for communicating with office holders involves why citizens should communicate and awareness of the operational means to communicate and their relative effectiveness.What is an effective method of communication depends on the person in office and circumstances. For example, a citizen just cannot walk to the scarer door of the White House and ask to see the President (at to the lowest degree not anymore). But a citizen could (and often will) call a school board member or other local official at home to discuss issues of importance. A representative democracy is supposed to function at its best when informed citizens communicate a range of ideas, opinions, desires, and conce rns to their representatives so that they might enact prudent public policies and serve in ways that honor and promote the common good. Open-ended questions that a teacher might ask in a classroom include 1. How does a citizen communicate with a member of Congress? 2. How does a citizen find out what an elected official has done since they were elected?