What kind of citizen? : educating our children for the common good / Joel Westheimer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Westheimer, Joel.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Citizenship--Study and teaching--United States.

Citizenship.

Citizenship--Study and teaching.

Democracy--Study and teaching.

United States.

Democracy--Study and teaching--United States.

Democracy.

Civics--Study and teaching--United States.

Civics.

Civics--Study and teaching.

Physical Description:

vi, 121 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Teachers College Press, [2015]

Summary:

How can schools teach the skills required for a strong democracy to flourish? What Kind of Citizen? asks readers to imagine the kind of society they would like to live in--and then shows the ways in which schools can be used to make that vision a reality. Westheimer draws on groundbreaking research on school programs and policies to sharply critique the current direction of school reform. He points to the many varied and powerful ways to teach children and young adults to engage critically, to think about social issues, and to participate in authentic debate that acknowledges that intelligent adults can have different opinions. But today's teachers are being forced to abandon these practices in favor of test-preparation in only a very narrow set of academic subjects. How did this happen? What can we do to set schools back on the right track? How can we realign school goals with what research shows parents, children, and teachers actually care about? How can we save our schools from today's myopic interpretation of what constitutes an education? Westheimer answers these questions and makes a powerful call for schools to become more engaging, more democratic, and more educative.

Contents:

1 Changing the Narrative of School 5

The Script in Place 5

What Archeem Taught Me About Teaching 6

2 No Child Left Thinking 11

Teaching Questioning-Essential for Schools in Democracies 12

The Attack on Critical Thinking 13

3 No Teacher Left Teaching 19

Standardization: A Solution in Search of a Problem 20

De-Professionalization and the New Hypocrisy 23

4 How Did This Happen? 27

What Gets Tested Gets Taught 28

The Test Scores That Ate Humanity 30

Reclaiming the Profession: Teacher Professionalism and Democratic Thinking 32

5 What Kind of Citizen? 35

Three Kinds of Citizens 37

An Interlude for Reflection 41

The Many Faces of "Good" Citizenship 41

6 Personally Responsible Citizens 44

Why Personal Responsibility Is Not Enough 44

Are Evaluations Asking the Wrong Questions? 47

7 Participatory and Social Justice-Oriented Citizens 50

Participatory Citizens: The Madison County Youth Service League 52

Justice-Oriented Citizens: Bayside Students for Justice 57

The Importance of Recognizing Different Conceptions of Citizenship 63

The Influence of Community Context 66

Pursuing Dual Goals 67

8 Thinking, Engaged Citizens 68

Connecting Learning to Social and Civic Goals 69

Scaling Up: Regional and National Programs 77

Scaling Down: Thinking About a Thinking Curriculum 78

Engaging with the Community 82

9 Seven Myths About Education 84

Myth 1 National Standards Ensure Quality Education 84

Myth 2 Dissent Should Be Medicated 85

Myth 3 The Only Way to Teach Democratic Thinking Is to Make the Entire School Democratic 87

Myth 4 When It Comes to Community-Based Experiences, Knowledge Must Always Precede Action (You Have to Know Stuff Before You Do Stuff) 89

Myth 5 Teachers Who Care About Whether Students Can Think for Themselves Don't Care About Facts or Basic Skills 91

Myth 6 Politics Should Be Kept Out of Schools 92

Myth 7 Community-Based Experiences Must Be Successful 92

10 What Kind of School? 96.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780807756355

0807756350

9780807756362

0807756369

OCLC:

904183082