This phenomenological study examined how eighth grade students in a privileged suburban community and school district understood their civic identities and saw their roles and responsibilities as citizens. Through analyzing artifacts the student participants generated in their eighth grade civics social studies class and conducting semi-structured…

Rachel Carson made history as a science writer challenging governmental and industrial authorities about the safety of pesticides. Characterized as a "gentle subversive", Carson raised public awareness about the dangers of the pesticide DDT, including its bio-accumulation in the food chain, threats to living organisms, and impact on the…

For almost three quarters of a century, advocates have worked to give comparable federal stature to September 17, the day on which we celebrate the anniversary of the 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution by the nation's founders. As President John F. Kennedy noted in his 1961 Constitution Day proclamation, it is a day for…

This article investigates one small aspect of the work of secondary social studies teacher preparation at Michigan State University (and, of course, the surrounding public schools where so much of this preparation actually takes place). The authors have come to see that there cannot be a successful program without having close, warm, collegial…

Few scholars have achieved the level of recognition and respect among the wider public as Howard Zinn. This should not come as a surprise, given the "unconventional" ways that Zinn embodied and enacted his scholarship. He often took his teaching and writing into those seemingly restricted spaces of popular protest, converting words into…

The ultimate responsibility of education is to affirm and to restore people's sense of their own nobility. (RC)

This study guide is a product of the Idaho Humanities Council (IHC). The guide is the result of IHC's July 2002 summer institute for teachers held at Albertson College of Idaho (Caldwell). Twenty five Idaho teachers participated. They explored U.S. Constitutional issues and political decisions and participated in a simulated congressional hearing…

A role-playing activity puts students into the roles of public officials and concerned citizens who decide through a public hearing whether or not to allow the construction of a high-rise apartment in their city. (Author/KM)

Discusses the initiation and development of the Citizenship Education Project in Texas, based on the concept of infusing citizenship objectives into the social studies curriculum. (Author/WD)

Focuses on the importance of voting by presenting articles from experts who work in civic organizations: (1) "Rocking the Vote: How We Can Reach Young Americans" (Kay Albowicz); (2) "A Bold New Direction in Civic Participation" (Melanie L. Campbell) and (3) "Voting--What's in It for Me?" (Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins). (CMK)

This paper is a chronologically-organized narrative history of law-related education (LRE) in the United States. The paper begins by delineating the differences between LRE and citizenship education and describing the motivations for the creation of LRE programs in the early 1960s. Turning to the analysis of LRE, the paper argues that there have…

The central question of this book is, how can schools that are already overloaded with assignments from society find the time and techniques to produce effective citizens? Six chapters examine this problem. Chapter 1 documents the need for civic education and the problems related to providing an effective civic education. Chapter 2 explores the…

Suggestions are given for teaching students to be constructive, critical assessors of presidential decision making. The "benign leader" image presented in traditional textbooks is criticized, and a decision-making model and source materials are suggested for guiding students' discussions. (AV)

This book opens with an exploration of the fundamental trilogy of economics - scarcity, choice, and cost. Students then examine the broad social goals of an economy in preparation for lessons treating many topics new to the precollege level such as the stock market, public choice, and aggregate supply and demand. The set of 20 lessons include: (1)…

Discusses the purposes of history in the curriculum. Presents several examples of using history to explain contemporary events. Argues that historical knowledge is essential for effective citizenship in a democratic society. (CFR)