Picture Writing

Rationale

Margaret Branson in The Importance of Promoting Civic Education wrote, "One of the most important things we know about civic education is that Americans profess it to be an essential— if not the essential— purpose of education." ¹ In my school district, as well as far too many others, the truth is that civic education is not at the forefront. With standardized testing focused on math and English, the social studies and science curriculums have become secondary in importance. In my conversations with elementary teachers, I learned that most of the instructional time in the elementary classroom is devoted to math and English instruction. This makes sense as the incentives for teaching these subjects are high because school and teacher ratings are based upon the standardized test scores of students in these areas. At my school in particular, the supports for social studies and science have been redirected to the math and English departments. As a result, the social studies and science departments face higher class sizes, broader range of student abilities, and fewer resources inside and outside of the classroom.

The focus of educational reform is to make students "college and career ready," but shouldn't we also be preparing our students to participate in the civic process? How did we get so far from the principles of our founding fathers? Jill J. Tokumoto explains, in "The Importance of Civics Education in K-12 Schools," that the founding fathers argued for civic education to ensure our country would maintain the principles it was founded upon. I was surprised to learn that Thomas Jefferson "considered elementary school more important than college because the lower grades reach more people." ² Waiting until high school to teach civics is too late; therefore, the students should learn the civic principles throughout their years so that they can apply them in their everyday life. We need to empower the students with the skills to critically evaluate governmental actions and learn the means to make positive social change.

So what does this mean for educators? What is the practical application of these ideas? M. Branson explains, "True, the golden age was never this one, but as scholars and practitioners we can and must work together to at least brighten the aura of civic education in our own time, because nothing less than the maintenance and improvement of our constitutional democracy is at stake." ³ As educators we can work to incorporate more instruction in the area of civics into our curriculum. This can be done by producing and seeking out research-based lessons. The Center for Civic Education is an excellent starting point for finding resources. ⁴ Next, educators should attended professional development on civics education. If no professional development opportunities are available, teachers should encourage their districts to seek them out. Throughout the school year, students should have a hand in governing the school and making decisions that will have a direct impact on the school. Finally, discussions of school governance should not be limited to student council or similar organizations; it should include the entire student body.