Civic literacy
Civics education fits within the social sciences. However, the entire school culture can be an object lesson in democracy, the social contract, and good citizenship. Schools are at the forefront of communicating the civic values enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights. Those values include freedom of religion, speech, and press; equal protection; nondiscrimination; and fairness and due process under the law. Schools also promote shared social values, such as responsibility, honesty, kindness, and respect for others. Recognizing that parents are the primary moral educators of their children, the schools must work in partnership with them.1
Mike Schmoker ties civic literacy to authentic literacy. Just as students need to read, write, and speak about what they have learned, he argues they also need to “think, discern, and make distinctions that inform our conversations, our decisions, how we vote.”2
A federal requirement, enacted in 2005, designates September 17th of each year as Constitution Day. The requirement calls on schools to “hold an educational program on the United States Constitution” on that day. When September 17 falls on a Sunday, schools can hold their educational activities on the following Tuesday.
In September 2006, the offices of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Secretary of State formed a partnership called the Student Voting Project (Outside Source) to promote civic engagement and participation in the elections process by students and young people.
Recommendation 2, Instruction, Assessment, and Intervention, includes a discussion about civic education in the section on history/social science instruction. Additional resources on civics education are noted below.
Related Links
- Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids (Outside Source), Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office.
- Center for Civic Education (Outside Source)
- Civic Literacy and the Civic Mission of Schools, Document Library, TCSII.
- Civility, Ethical Behavior, and Social Consciousness: Needs and Commitments for Students, Parents, and Teachers, Document Library, TCSII.
- Constitution Day (Outside Source), Constitutional Rights Foundation: Educating Tomorrow's Citizens.
- Constitution Day and Citizenship Day Resources, California Department of Education.
- Constitutional Rights Foundation: Educating Tomorrow's Citizens (Outside Source)
- History-Social Science Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kidnergarten Through Grade Twelve (PDF; 846KB; 68pp.), California Department of Education.
- History-Social Science Framework for California Public Schools (PDF; 3MB; 249pp.), California Department of Education.
- Library of Congress (Outside Source)
- National Constitution Center (Outside Source)
- The Bill of Rights Institute (Outside Source)
- The National Archives (Outside Source)
- U.S. Constitution (Outside Source), Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE): Teaching and Learning Resources from Federal Agencies.
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Footnotes
1"Taking Center Stage". Sacramento: California Department of Education, 2001, 209.
2Mike Schmoker, "Results Now: How We Can Achieve Unprecedented Improvements in Teaching and Learning". Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2006, 72.
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