Unit I: The Office of Citizen: What Does it Ask of Us?

               I have to start by admitting that social studies has never been my strong point.  In fact, that is exactly why I chose to take the course.  As I browsed through course offerings, I realized that I need to focus my time and energy on improving this area of my teaching and life, rather than shying away from a course that might provide so much growth for me both professionally and personally.  So often I have all of these deep feelings regarding politics, social studies, what it means to be a “good citizen”…such emotion regarding some of the prevalent issues in our country right now…but I feel as though I don’t always have knowledge of the hard facts, the theories, the names that have been so influential in driving our democracy forward, to really speak my mind in a way that is educated, makes sense, and can make anyone truly buy in to my ideas/arguments.  So, in a way, you might say that it was quite meaningful for me to take the time to sit down and read the information presented within the articles, absorb the philosophy behind, and the investigation into, why our social and political systems work the way they do, and allow myself time for personal reflection.

                Growing up in East Lansing in the 90s, I attended a school system that was more diverse than much of the surrounding area, but not as diverse as the neighboring, more urban, Lansing.  With the university so close, my elementary/middle/high school experience was filled with relationships with peers who looked, talked, and acted very differently, yet also very similarly to me, as their parents would travel from afar to spend some time working or taking classes at MSU.  Some of us may have sounded nothing alike, may have looked nothing alike, but we all had similar basic needs, we all wanted to play with one another and be loved, all of our parents wanted us to have positive experiences at school.  My classrooms housed students of many different races, cultures, abilities, languages, social classes, religions, and belief systems.  As a child, I didn’t bat an eye at it.  It wasn’t even really until college that I realized that I was a bit color blind and had a lot of waking up to do to fully understand that America isn’t quite the land of opportunity and dreams that it’s cracked up to be and that hard work doesn’t always afford someone a comfortable, stable life.  This “melting pot” of East Lansing isn’t an accurate depiction of what the world is truly like, despite its ability to give you a taste of that ideal.

                The articles presented within the unit really got me thinking about my experiences as a child in school, as well as the experiences for learning that I have provided my students with in the past.  Additionally, the readings had me reflecting upon the adult relationships in my life and applying Dewey’s ideas to what I am seeing both personally within my extended family unit and my own community, as well as on the news (throughout Michigan, the United States, and even the world).   My first thought was that Dewey’s presentation of the ideals of democracy and the behaviors/tendencies that tear apart democracy works perfectly for today just as it did when he wrote the piece so long ago.  Our work is still moral.  Our problems are still those of divisiveness, individuals who yearn for ultimate power, personal gain, and wealth rather than tapping into the innate traits bestowed upon us, as children, to look out for one another despite our differences and shortcomings (as in the ladybug catching example).  I found myself thinking: Why haven’t we learned?  Why have we not evolved?  Could they be wrong? Are human beings that broken?  Or is it the system that has been perpetuated forth for us?  Divisive tactics, bribery, manipulation, coercion. Surely the heart of life is better than all of that. 

So then I turn my attention to where that shift seems to happen…maybe as early as the end of grade school or middle school.  Perhaps our education is still too focused on testing, skill & drill, isolated practice, rather than those rich experiences that Dewey called for.  Furthermore, perhaps there isn’t enough time spent in the classroom on character development.  As we’ve now read, It’s one thing to donate a few cans of food, or even be the person driving a bake sale or community toiletry collection for the homeless or veterans…but are we personally doing enough to look at those root causes of social disruption and shortcomings in order to truly act as justice oriented citizens?  Do we even care enough to make that effort?  I know I care deeply…but I also know that I’m not acting.  And I’m saying that as a teacher who realllllly tries to get my students talking about our differences and our similarities and how we can work together and simply be kind enough to treat each-other better than our ancestors might have. 
                Our elementary school is one that focuses behavior management and social/emotional lessons upon The Leader In Me framework, which outlines 7 Habits of Happy Kids (a spin-off of Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”).  They follow as: 1) Be Proactive 2) Begin with the End in Mind 3) Put First Things First 4) Think Win-Win 5) Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood 6) Synergize 7) Sharpen the Saw (and an 8^th extension habit of “Find Your Voice”).  We teach lessons through explicit instruction but also refer to the framework when classroom issues arise.  The program calls for students to “Carry Your Own Weather” and remain positive, upbeat, and have a “can do” attitude.  I thought about what we’ve been doing quite a bit when reading the articles, as this really is just one piece of the puzzle (as we read about within the unit).  Yes, these habits teach kids how to present themselves as “happy” and act “safely” and “orderly”, and think of others, but I liked that the article called attention to the idea that some disruption, argument, discussion, discourse, is good for democracy.  We aren’t robots without feelings, and we should feel comfortable speaking our minds and acting when change is needed and situations feel unjust….and students should know that negative feelings…and talking about these feelings…are okay.  They should know how to deal with conflict and how to assert themselves in ways that won’t make others feel some type of way.  They should know how to do this peacefully and productively.
                I believe I could continue to write about many of the things presented with Unit 1 for quite some time, but to wrap it up, I had some eye-opening moments while reading and found some major take-aways.  For instance, I’d like to give my students more time to work together without so many rules and directions.  I’d like to watch what happens when they do so and see what they learn throughout the process.  I’d like to still present that Leader In Me framework, but allow students to understand that it’s okay to not always “be sunny” and how to deal with those moments in order to provide them with experience for their futures (as Dewey called for).  I really want to give my students those real-world, school-home-school connections that will actually prepare them for when situations are similar, but different as adults.  To do this, I will definitely still need some more guidance and education.  I’m excited to see where the coursework will take me!