Lake Forest Third Graders Explore Citizenship
Citizenship is an embedded theme woven in the third grade curriculum this year at Everett School.
The information below comes from Lake Forest Elementary School District 67.
What does it mean to be a citizen?
Third graders at Everett School have been exploring this topic in their Information Literacy Class with Ms. Susie Oh.
Citizenship is an embedded theme woven in the third grade curriculum this year. Using Google Docs, students brainstormed what citizenship means to them and explored ways to display citizenship in their everyday lives. They worked in collaborative groups to create a product that shows what they can do to help make our community a better place. Some groups made a video using iMovie with an iPad while others made an online poster with Glogster. There were other groups that created their own songs and poems about citizenship as well.
To get a deeper understanding of citizenship, students are now researching what it means to be a global citizen. In order to have a better grasp of this and to have a discussion with someone who exemplifies characteristics of a global citizen, Ms. Oh contacted Erik Winkler. Erik is a Programming and Training Specialist with the Peace Corps in Barranquilla, Colombia. A graduate of Lake Forest High School, Erik was first interested in the Peace Corps after finishing college and got a teaching position in Nicaragua. He was asked by the Peace Corps to return to share his services in Colombia and now trains volunteers who come through the Peace Corps.
The goal is to help our third graders have a richer understanding of the world around them and to appreciate a different culture and its people.
There had special Skype session with Erik on Tuesday, March 19 in the Information Learning Center at Everett School.
Gary
10:04 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Merriam Webster:
The definition of a "citizen"
1 : an inhabitant of a city or town; especially : one entitled to the rights and privileges of a freeman
2 : a member of a state
3 : a native or naturalized person who owes allegiance to a government and is entitled to protection from it
Our children are citizens of Lake Forest, Illinois, and the United States of America. They have representation in all those communities, and enjoy the rights, privileges, and protections guaranteed by those various levels of governments.
There is no global government, so our children can not be global citizens in the strict sense that they are citizens of the US. They have no representation at the global level, and have neither global rights nor protections guaranteed by a global government.
We should not be teaching our children that global citizenship is the same as citizenship in the United States or Illinois, and certainly not in the same context as implied by this article.
Elizabeth Rich
7:31 am on Thursday, March 21, 2013
Dust off that Merriam-Webster's dictionary from 1841. It's time we broaden our narrow definition of citizenship and defining the groups that we belong to. When children can communicate via Skype in real time with someone on another
continent, it's time to rethink the scope of the word citizenship. We live on the same planet and everyday our global connections touch closer and closer to home. Webster's definitions are not set in stone. They evolve as our language does. Since entries and definitions are adjusted based on word frequency and commonality of word use, it's only a matter of time before 'global citizenship' becomes a bona fide entry! Glad schools are teaching children that they are part of a vast world in which they can learn much from others, make positive contributions, and that the affiliation comes with inherent responsibilities.
Gary
9:57 am on Thursday, March 21, 2013
You have defined the word "humanitarian", not "citizen".
Your definition of citizenship is based solely on the notion that we all have a responsibility to make the community a better place, and help out others whenever we can. That's a fine idea, but it isn't citizenship.
Your definition does not include the reciprocal responsibility of the State to protect the rights of its citizens. There can be no such thing as a "citizen" of a State that does not exist. There is no global government with laws and mechanisms to protect the members of its society, so there can be no global citizens.
The article asks the question:
"What does it mean to be a citizen?"
Apparently our schools do not know the correct answer to that question, and are continuing to misinform our children on the true meaning of the word.
Let's try this. Would it make sense to teach our children that if they are really nice generous open minded people, then they can declare themselves to be citizens of Argentina? If not, why not?
Words mean things. Who is redefining what it means to be a citizen, and why? Parents have a right to know.
marco sangria
8:43 am on Thursday, March 21, 2013
kudos to the teachers, staff and administrators at Everett. You are doing a fine job in preparing our children to be responsible and kind citizens. Good citizenship is also linked to ethics. And in todays world we dont have enough good practices in place for ethics. Your school is a model for others to follow.
Stephanie Victor
11:18 am on Thursday, March 21, 2013
I hope there is a discussion of immigration and how a person becomes a naturalized citizen.