This week's readings, albeit not surprising, are thought provoking, especially given where we live (in the center of civic engagement). They also get to the heart of some of the issues behind the reasons I want to teach overall.
I found this quote particularly relevant: "while political engagement is up, community engagement is down." People continue to form civic opinions without a basis steeped in reality, or in their physical communities, for their decision making; the increase in news intake in our society has allowed the general public to grow ever increasingly self involved, and at the same time continue to develop opinions on civics and community. In my mind, this is what bridges the gap in participation between political engagement and community engagement--people believe they are participating because they form opinions, but they are lacking an external investment (believing they are part of a community) to drive engagement in that realm.
I'm inspired by this article to encourage empathy and community engagement as reasons behind teaching civics.
The notion of English and Math being the only tested subjects also drives me to be a social studies teacher. I understand the fundamental logic--that these two classes teach the basic skills of reading, writing, and math. But the social studies classroom (in theory) is so rich with Language Arts practice, that it's almost a matter of fiction versus nonfiction (when it comes to reading and writing material). It should be on the same pedestal.
Long, rambling rant, but the article spoke to my inner social studies teacher!
I am completely on the same page as you in terms of the need to develop community engagement in our students. Like any other valuable skill, we cannot assume that our students will know how to productively and meaningfully engage with their community before entering our classroom. It is something that we need to develop and teach throughout our course.
ReplyDeleteAs you point out, English and Math are the subjects that are held up to be tested, but these subjects are worthless unless students know how to use these skills in interacting with the world around them. It is through our social studies classroom that we can encourage and develop a connection between these skills and the community they live in.
I really enjoyed your post! I am in complete agreement with you on all accounts. A driving force behind my desire to be an educator, particularly a social studies educator, is to reintroduce the idea of forming one's own opinions and making them count for something. Like you said, we are now in a society that simply believes what the talking heads tell us - we do not ask for evidence or context. This willingness to simply adopt another's thoughts and make them our own is upsetting and only contributing to the current lack of community. As society dismisses the need to interact with one another in order to fully understand an issue, we become isolated individuals with little to no connection to those around us. It is our job as social studies teachers to encourage lively discussions and debate in order to show our students that not only can they form their own ideas and opinions, but interaction and involvement within a community gives meaning and purposes to these ideas and opinions.
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