UNIT 14 | CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION

UNIT 14 | CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION

A.  Reading

About You

1.    Have you got citizenship education like PPKN in our country?

       Yes  þ                   No  o

2.    What domains covered in this kind of education?

       (put a thick in the given box for your answer)

       a. cognitive domains                 o

       b. affective domains                 o

       c. psychomotor domains           o

       d. a and b                                  þ

Before Reading

1.    What does citizenship education mean to you?

       Citizenship education is an important education that explains nation and its citizen, human rights, law, and government policy.

2.    List topics that can be associated with this education using the web below!

Read the text below carefully!

Citizenship and the Common Curriculum

            In high school, citizenship education is often seen as belonging to the disciplines of social studies and history, or to extra-classroom activities like student government¹. In lower schools, it is believed to be served by interactions in the classroom, in the lunchroom, and on the playground. Few schools devote² an actual block of time to citizenship education.

            If one considers citizenship education in more deliberate³ terms, a basic agreement on its objectives has to be negotiated. The following are some possibilities. First, citizenship education needs to center directly on understanding and interpreting Constitutional rights and liberties. This means that youth should not only have a basic grasp of the tenets⁴ in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights⁵, but they should also have an operational idea of how these rights and liberties have been interpreted and how they apply to one’s own actions and attitudes. Citizenship education also needs to deal with current social injustice, all forms of social tensions and disaffection, and should be conducted in a climate that models democratic attitudes and principles. It must be required of all students and be organized instructionally with heterogeneous group. It must also develop skills of political and community action and offer a forum for ongoing conversation and public debate. Furthermore, it should cultivate critics of the state, whose loyalties are with the causes of democracy.

            This is obviously a tall order for any single course or for a single discipline or broad field like social studies. The idea of citizenship education, at virtually all levels, is probably best realized in a common curriculum arrangement. The common curriculum of the school, which has been frequently equated with a liberal arts education for all youth, could be conceived as the ground where issues common to youth are examined and where the pervading problems of the society are probed. Its purpose is expressly civic in orientation. It is not beholden to any discipline and is usually organized through integrated schemes, because the kinds of problems that are the focus in common learnings typically transcend traditional subject matter lines.

1.    student government    :      student senate

2.    devote                         :      give up oneself, time to

3.    deliberate                    :      slow and cautious

4.    tenet                            :      principle

5.    Bill of Rights              :      a formal statement of fundamental rights of the people of a nation (in Constitution of the United States)

1.    Refer to the text and decide whether the statements below are true (T) or false (F). Then, write T for true and F for false in the given space.

       a.  [ T ]  Citizenship education belongs to social studies.    (line 2-3)

       b.  [ T ]  Interactions among students in school can be regarded as a part of this education.    (line 5-6)

       c.  [ T ]  Understanding and interpreting Constitutional rights are objectives of citizenship education.    (line 12-15)

       d.  [ F ]   Citizenship education does not necessarily relate to social problems.

                     (line 21-23)

                     The correct statement is:

                     Citizenship education relates to social problems because it needs to deal with current social injustice (all forms of social tensions and disaffection)

       e.  [ T ]  Economic conditions can not be regarded as social problems.

                     (line 22-23)

       f.  [ T ]  Social studies can be regarded as broad field.    (line 32-35)

       g.  [ T ]  Civic education can be the orientation of citizenship education.

                     (line 43)

       For point h-j, answer the questions below concisely!

       h.  Mention two objectives of citizenship education stated in the text!

·      Citizenship education needs to center directly on understanding and interpreting Constitutional rights and liberties.    (line 12-15)

·      Citizenship education needs to deal with current social injustice (all forms of social tensions and disaffection).    (line 21-23)

       i.   In what condition, a basic agreement on objectives has to be negotiated?

            A basic agreement on objectives has to be negotiated if one considers citizenship education in more deliberate terms.    (line 9-10)

       j.   Mention two examples of social problems!

·      Crime

·      Poverty

                                      

2.    Replace the word(s) in italics with other words or expressions to make the meaning clearer!

       a.  “.... it is believed to be served by interactions in the classroom ....” (line 5-6)

            Citizenship education

       b.  “This means that youth should not only have a basic grasp of the tenets in Constitution and the Bill of Rights, ....” (line 15-17)

            Understanding and interpreting Constitutional rights and liberties

       c.  “.... but they should also have an operational idea of how these rights and liberties ....” (line 17-19)

            Youth

       d.  “Its purpose is expressly civic in orientation.” (line 43-44)

            Curriculum of the school

B.  Speaking

       Questionnaire:

·           Ask your friend in a group of five about the following items!

·           Then, write the result in the given table.

       Questionnaire:

1.    Do you think that citizenship education is important?                            Yes/No

2.    Does this education focus on cognitive aspects?                                     Yes/No

3.    Should this education cover both cognitive and affective aspects?        Yes/No

4.    Do you think that citizenship education in other countries can be

       adapted and applied in our countries?                                                     Yes/No

The result of survey:

	Number	%
1.  Number of students asked 2.  Students think citizenship education is important 3.  Students say that this education focuses on cognitive aspects 4.  Students say that this education covers both cognitive and affective aspects 5.  Students say that citizenship in other countries can be adapted and applied here	5 4 5 3 4	100 80 100 60 80

C.  Writing

1.    Compare what you know about citizenship education in our country with what you learned from the text. Then, write down in the table below!

What you know about citizenship education in our country	What you learned from text
- In middle school or lower, citizenship education is believed to be served only in the classroom. -   All schools devote2 an actual block of time to citizenship education. - Citizenship education does not always offer a forum for ongoing conversation and public debate.	- In middle school or lower, citizenship education is believed to be served by interactions in the classroom, in the lunchroom, and on the playground. -   Only few schools devote2 an actual block of time to citizenship education. -  Citizenship education must offer a forum for ongoing conversation and public debate.

2. Now, write you want to know more about the topic in the table below!

What I want to know more about the topic

- How to educate students to be a good citizen. - How to educate students to actively participate in politic world. - How far the government grants its citizens their freedom. - How to be a good politician. - How to amend the Constitutional law.