Smart & Good High Schools - The Flippen Group

CHAPTER 5: Fostering the 8 Strengths of Character—Outcome 7Outcome 7:CONTRIBUTING COMMUNITY MEMBERAND DEMOCRATIC CITIZENA CONTRIBUTING COMMUNITY MEMBER ANDDEMOCRATIC CITIZEN . . .◆ Contributes to family, classroom, school, andcommunity◆ Demonstrates civic virtues and skills needed forparticipation in democratic processes◆ Appreciates the nation’s democratic heritageand democratic values◆ Demonstrates awareness of interdependence anda sense of responsibility to humanity.Character education requires far more than helping individualsembrace proper values or make moral choices for theirpersonal lives. It must also enable participation in a democraticpublic life that encourages citizens to collectivelyshape a common, public good.—JEANNIE OAKESI always tell my students, “If I see you in the grocery storefive years from now, I will measure my success not bywhether you can tell me Alexander Hamilton’s financialplan, but by whether you voted.”—A HISTORY TEACHERThe past several years have seen a series of educationalreports calling for the renewal of the schools’ civicmission. In 2000, the National Study Group on Citizenshipin K-12 Schools—a panel of teachers, universityscholars, and representatives of civic education organizationsbrought together by the Education Commission ofthe States (www.ecs.org)—issued Every Student a Citizen:Creating the Democratic Self. It laid down this challenge:More and more Americans seem to be disengaging fromeven the most fundamental acts of citizenship, such as votingand keeping informed about public issues. These disconnectsemerge in sharper, more painful relief among thenation’s youth . . .Young Americans need an invitation to something betterand higher. The purpose of school is not merely to providethe next generation with the tools they need to make a living,but also to help them discover the personal and collectivemeans—the perspectives, strength of character, and values—theywill need to sustain our civilization. Young peopleneed help in moving toward a higher regard for democraticinstitutions and a greater willingness to be involved inthem. 1Educating for citizenship is a moralenterprise that must help studentsdevelop a “democratic self.”“Educating for citizenship,” the report went on to say, “isa moral enterprise,” one which must help studentsacquire a “democratic self,” a “civic self-understanding.”In the view of the National Study Group, when we have ademocratic self, we:1. see ourselves as members of a public, a communitythat shares a heritage and hopes2. realize our personal stake in public deliberation anddecision-making3. acquire and practice civic skills, including the abilityto find out the facts about a public issue, to participatethoughtfully in public deliberations, and to makeethical judgments about what is good for the whole. 2Every Student a Citizen urged schools to take bold steps todevelop the democratic self in staff, students, parents, andthe wider community (see box on page 178). These recommendationssupport and extend the practices we presentedin Chapter 3, The Ethical Learning Community,under Principle 3, “Have a Voice, Take a Stand.”Every Student a Citizen was followed in 2003 by The Civic Mis-The fundamental reason for publicschooling is democracy. Education fordemocratic citizenship should be active,engaging students in real tasks, oftenof their choosing, from which theylearn a variety of skills.—GEORGE WOOD177Smart & Good High Schools