The weeks after Florida School Shooting, Feb 14, 2018 sees increasing student unrest and anxiety. Some protests are being subsidized by self-interest groups. Concers about civics education are being raised. See Joanne Jacobs – From anger to activism: is this civics education?
http://www.joannejacobs.com/2018/03/from-anger-to-activism-is-this-civics-education/ My comment below, March 6, 2018
I think civics education should be about government in general, how we are governed and how people, voting citizens and others (those too young to vote or others nor registered as voters), can participate in a democracy.
Schools are expected to socialize students to live in a democracy and be active participants in their school life. I do not think they should be encouraged, directly from their lessons or their reading materials, to be social justice warriors.
I find it disturbing that a good number of books have already been published in that regard. And, some are for the early primary years at that! Here are a few titles:
• A is For Activist
• A Rule is to Break – A Child’s Guide to Anarchy
• Tales for Little Rebels, a collection of radical children’s literature
Mind you, with a balanced approach, and with good discussion, I think these books can be part of valuable discussion. But, care should be taken that the curriculum does not bend that way. As it did in Edina.
Joanne did mention Edina Schools in an earlier post about scores slipping when an ‘equity’ focus was adopted http://www.joannejacobs.com/2017/10/scores-slip-after-equity-focus/ That was last year.
But Edina continues in its radical agenda with the latest story getting international attention: “a leading edge of a full-scale ideological reeducation campaign”. I wonder if they will be participating in these student protests currently in vogue? See the story: Inside a public school social justice factory http://www.weeklystandard.com/inside-a-public-school-social-justice-factory/article/2011402
One Grade 10 student on the Rate My Teachers site said: ““This class should be renamed . . . ‘Why white males are bad, and how oppressive they are.’”