Pe langa reforma in educatia timpurie, o alta preocupare a administratiei educationale din SUA se refra la consolidarea educatiei civive in scolile americane, educatie care nu este un lux ci o necesitate. Aceasta deoarece in economia bazata pe cunoastere, matematica, cititul, scrisul, stiinta sunt componente vitale ale unei educatii solide. Insa educatia civica este esentiala pentru a fi siguri ca generatiile viitoare vor pastra democratia si libertatile din America.
Un articol interesant in aceasta privinta este cel al lui Danielle Friedman, din care redam o serie de consideratii:
"As families gather to celebrate Independence Day, it is time to rethink the notion that civics instruction is less than vital in the global economy of the 21st century. If you want to succeed, the message seems to be: Take advanced science and math classes, but don’t worry about those civics classes. In a time of texts andtweets, and the instant democracy of the Web, civics instruction seems as antiquated to some students as studying the Dewey Decimal system.
The education historian Lawrence Cremin once observed that educators often follow the principle of “when in doubt, leave it out.” But we believe it is a great mistake to push civics to the sideline in schools. From the dramatic uprisings for democracy in the Mideast to the tragic shootings in Tucson at a Congress on Your Corner event, Americans have been reminded once again that freedom matters—and that informed citizens are the lifeblood of democracy. Civics education is not only about knowing your rights but also knowing your responsibilities. We the People must continue to safeguard the principles of democracy to perfect the union.......
Nationwide, more than a third of all high school seniors today lack even basic civics knowledge and skills. High school seniors that score below the basic level cannot, for example, describe the structure and functions of American government or identify an activity that is a part of civic life. This civics- knowledge dearth is even more acute among Hispanic and black high school seniors. Half of Hispanic 12th graders and more than 60 percent of black 12th graders lack basic civics knowledge and skills.
Ill-informed high school students soon become ill-informed citizens. Less than half of Americans today can name all three branches of government, yet three in four can name all of the Three Stooges. Less than half of the public can name a single Supreme Court justice. But more than 80 percent of Americans know Michael Jackson sang “Beat It” and “Billie Jean.”
Not surprisingly, civic ignorance has current consequences. In February, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that nearly half of the public was either unsure if the health-care law was still the law of the land or mistakenly believed it had been repealed.
Students scored much higher on the 2010 NAEP assessment if they had taken civics and government classes. Yet while civics education continues to make a difference, it is also the case that civics classes need to become far more rigorous and relevant........................
Civics education has thus long been the great leveler, the foundation that ensures that all Americans have the tools they need to participate. Horace Mann, who fathered the Common School movement that created the nation’s public school system, believed that leadership and political participation were not to be reserved based on wealth, parentage, or rank. “Equal educational privileges,” Mann presciently wrote in 1841, were greater than “all others means ever devised . . . to approximate the idea of a Republican government.”
As a consequence, Mann’s common schools offered lessons on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and American history. If each citizen was expected to participate “in the power of governing others,” Mann said, “it is an essential preliminary that he should be imbued with a feeling for the wants, and a sense of the rights, of those whom he is to govern.”
When done well, civics education in fact equips students with the very skills they need to succeed in the 21st century—the ability to communicate effectively, to work collectively, to hone critical questions, and to appreciate diversity. As the education professor Tony Wagner has pointed out, there is a happy “convergence between the skills most needed in the global knowledge economy and those most needed to keep our democracy safe and vibrant.”
In the knowledge economy, few question the fact that math, reading, writing, and science are vital components of a good education. But a world-class education requires a well-rounded curriculum. Civics learning is essential to ensuring that future generations will keep our republic and nourish the freedoms to help America move forward. In 2011, a strong foundation in civics is not a luxury but a necessity."
Un articol interesant in aceasta privinta este cel al lui Danielle Friedman, din care redam o serie de consideratii:
"As families gather to celebrate Independence Day, it is time to rethink the notion that civics instruction is less than vital in the global economy of the 21st century. If you want to succeed, the message seems to be: Take advanced science and math classes, but don’t worry about those civics classes. In a time of texts andtweets, and the instant democracy of the Web, civics instruction seems as antiquated to some students as studying the Dewey Decimal system.
The education historian Lawrence Cremin once observed that educators often follow the principle of “when in doubt, leave it out.” But we believe it is a great mistake to push civics to the sideline in schools. From the dramatic uprisings for democracy in the Mideast to the tragic shootings in Tucson at a Congress on Your Corner event, Americans have been reminded once again that freedom matters—and that informed citizens are the lifeblood of democracy. Civics education is not only about knowing your rights but also knowing your responsibilities. We the People must continue to safeguard the principles of democracy to perfect the union.......
Nationwide, more than a third of all high school seniors today lack even basic civics knowledge and skills. High school seniors that score below the basic level cannot, for example, describe the structure and functions of American government or identify an activity that is a part of civic life. This civics- knowledge dearth is even more acute among Hispanic and black high school seniors. Half of Hispanic 12th graders and more than 60 percent of black 12th graders lack basic civics knowledge and skills.
Ill-informed high school students soon become ill-informed citizens. Less than half of Americans today can name all three branches of government, yet three in four can name all of the Three Stooges. Less than half of the public can name a single Supreme Court justice. But more than 80 percent of Americans know Michael Jackson sang “Beat It” and “Billie Jean.”
Not surprisingly, civic ignorance has current consequences. In February, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that nearly half of the public was either unsure if the health-care law was still the law of the land or mistakenly believed it had been repealed.
Students scored much higher on the 2010 NAEP assessment if they had taken civics and government classes. Yet while civics education continues to make a difference, it is also the case that civics classes need to become far more rigorous and relevant........................
Civics education has thus long been the great leveler, the foundation that ensures that all Americans have the tools they need to participate. Horace Mann, who fathered the Common School movement that created the nation’s public school system, believed that leadership and political participation were not to be reserved based on wealth, parentage, or rank. “Equal educational privileges,” Mann presciently wrote in 1841, were greater than “all others means ever devised . . . to approximate the idea of a Republican government.”
As a consequence, Mann’s common schools offered lessons on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and American history. If each citizen was expected to participate “in the power of governing others,” Mann said, “it is an essential preliminary that he should be imbued with a feeling for the wants, and a sense of the rights, of those whom he is to govern.”
When done well, civics education in fact equips students with the very skills they need to succeed in the 21st century—the ability to communicate effectively, to work collectively, to hone critical questions, and to appreciate diversity. As the education professor Tony Wagner has pointed out, there is a happy “convergence between the skills most needed in the global knowledge economy and those most needed to keep our democracy safe and vibrant.”
In the knowledge economy, few question the fact that math, reading, writing, and science are vital components of a good education. But a world-class education requires a well-rounded curriculum. Civics learning is essential to ensuring that future generations will keep our republic and nourish the freedoms to help America move forward. In 2011, a strong foundation in civics is not a luxury but a necessity."
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