Why are so many students apathetic and/or ignorant when it comes to political knowledge and the basic structure of our government? Is it as simple as "dull teaching" and an "overreliance on textbooks" as Sansone claims? In his article "Get your Students Involved in Civics", he provides a very structured formula for getting students to form a political identity and understand various issues and concepts. I think it's helpful for students to have the framework for how to dissect issues and arguments. But I also believe, much like Sansone, that the only true way that students will take a vested interest in these issues and their civic duties is to engage in a relevant discussion of these topics themselves. I remember talking to my parents about issues at home, and walking away with a much better understanding of why each side held a certain belief. The classroom can provide a more neutral ground for students developing a political identity. The issues don't even have to be particularly controversial- anything that can be argued is a potentially valid topic.
The author points out that adolescents are actively forming their social identity but not their political one, unlike the youth of the 1960s. For many students in high school today, the social identity forms out of necessity. They are faced with questions of how their peers perceive them each day. But they can ignore their political identity with little consequence on their daily routine (unlike the 1960s youth who faced the possibility of war). I think teachers should try to impress upon students the relevancy of issues in their lives. The author provides details on the debate over National Health Insurance. Rather than just learning about what each side argues, students can be impacted if they know how certain changes can directly affect their lives and their families. Instead of just teaching facts from a textbook, the classroom should always serve as an open forum to discuss the issues in an authentic way.
Oh, kids today! Spending all their time on their social lives without developing their political identities! Perhaps the problem is students’ inability to connect the two. I believe most students would agree with the statement: “women and men should be treated equally (socially, economically, politically, etc)”; but ask them if they identify as “feminist”, you’ll get a different answer. Students’ political identities exist, but understanding and expressing these identities is a different matter. The context of a classroom, particularly a civics classroom, gives students a chance to make the personal-political connection, and a good teacher can show his or her students how social issues have great relevancy to their lives.
ReplyDeleteJayme,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post! The disconnect between social and political identity is so true. And I agree with your point that it is our job to help make this connection, to help make the political identity relevant again. Students are very quick to give their opinions about some issues, but often I feel as though they are simply regurgitating what they heard at the dinner table. We need to critically challenge them to develop their own thoughts and stance and teach them how to support these arguments on their own. As you said, relevancy is key - great thoughts!!
Ah Chris. Interesting comment. You know it was a feminist who coined the phrase the personal is the political? :)
ReplyDeleteJayme, do you think the students think there is no consequence to their lives or are they simply unaware that a vast majority of legislature and decisions that are being made now effect them both today and in the future? I agree with what both Chris and Emily have said that relevancy is the key. And while I liked the example of the Health Care, I still think that's a "wider" picture issue that will affect their parents more and them later and is less intrinsically interesting. I think there are issues that affect them now, or affect their age group now, such as children as young as twelve being tried for crimes as adults? That there are more poor children than their are poor adults? I think there's an interesting arguments that half of adults don't vote because they didn't get started earlier enough. What do you think could be some issues that affect them at the age they are now that they could work to change both now (in other forms of civic participation that aren't voting) and when they do get to vote so that they understand that being a good and informed and invested citizen can come in many forms?