Civic Education in the Learning Curriculum
Civic education should be a part of the learning curriculum because it is so important to young people. Public education is sometimes referred to as learning in self-administration in democratic countries. It suggests that a nation’s population are actively involved in their governance and do not accept claims made by others, even their leaders, without proof (Perloff 39). When every political society participates in its regulation and governance, the ideals of equality are ultimately realized. Citizenship in a democratic nation is membership in the political body since citizens are the members of the political community. Civic training in a democratic nation most certainly requires being anxious with encouraging indulgent of the principles of equality as well as a coherent obligation to the values of democracy. For it to be effective, civic education requires being realistic in the sense that it addresses the fundamental reality concerning political truth. Recently, the American political science society developed a task force on civic education (Perloff 46). The primary purpose of the working group is to help the US government to disseminate the civic education to young generations in schools and colleges. The states administrations should also necessitate the students to take this persuasive course in high school.
Importance of Civic Education in the United States
Societies in the United States of America have had a close interest in the ways through which their young generation is equipped for citizenship and in how they acquire the knowledge to take part in the civic lifestyle. Since the US is a democratic nation today, the interest can be described as a concern (Perloff 106).However, there is no country across the globe including America which has fully acquired the level of acceptance and understanding of the rights as well as responsibilities of its citizens. The federal and the state administrations are still struggling to train their citizens on the importance of civic education in schools. Funds have been set aside during budgeting to include the civic learning in the US education system.
Teaching Democracy in High Schools
All Americans should understand that civic education is important to sustain the nation’s lawful equality. What constitutes democracy, the behavior of the people and equality ethos are not inherited rather they are taught (Jowett and O’Donnell, 86). Consequently, the best level of education to teach the student’s democracy education is at high school. Several scholars have pointed out that a new generation of people should be in a position to obtain knowledge, acquire competence and develop the traits of public as well as a private character which undergirds a legitimate democracy. The characters must be adopted and nurtured by study and through the influence of example. Democracy is not a machine which would run by itself rather it must be deliberately reproduced from one cohort of people to another (Jowett and O’Donnell, 86). To achieve this objective, civic education which constitutes democracy needs to be taught in high schools. Public education should then be a major concern to the state governments. Democracies are continued by civilians who have the necessary information, competence as well as dispositions (Jowett and O’Donnell, 86). Lack of a consistent obligation on the side of the citizens to the basic values and philosophies of equality. An open and free society cannot succeed. It is authoritative hence the policymakers, educators, as well as the members of the civil community, make the case by supporting the dissemination of civic training in the community.
The Role of High Schools in Civic Education
In the contemporary society, the citizens are more informed about the role of both the central and the states administrations. There is a lifestyle in which the Americans want to live, and there are set standards of the type of government the people would like to rule in the nation (Perloff 146). People would want a rule where the human rights are respected and a scenario where the status of the law is maintained. Citizens would like a situation where the people’s dignity and worth are recognized. Also, people need to know their responsibilities in the government such as taking part in the election of leaders (Perloff 68).All this information can be taught well in high schools since the individuals have fresh minds to absorb such knowledge. America has two main political parties that are the democratic and the republican. If one party wins an election, the other automatically becomes the opposition of the day. The primary role of an opposition party is to criticize the government of the day (Perloff 56). Through the efforts of the opposition party, more information about the governance of the nation is availed to the people. Some of the information may be misleading that is why the citizens need to be taught civic education in high schools so that they can absorb what is right and avoid the wrong.
Leadership Development in High Schools
Some great leaders can be made out of students through availing the information necessary concerning governance. In high schools, there are students governing councils which consists of a group of young leaders who advocate for rights of other learners (Perloff 38).In most of the high schools today, the leadership positions are elective posts where the student’s candidates require to compete so that they can be elected. The selections in schools need to give a true reflection of the real elections that happen in the country. Students borrow much of the campaigning techniques from the national political system.The system has been so successful since the civic education have been availed to the students (Perloff 46).They are aware of the rules and responsibilities of leaders hence those vying for various posts feel like they can accomplish the tasks. Also, through civic education, the students get to know their rights as human beings. When the rights have been violated, students are aware of where they can address the issues. In the past we have seen, high schools students ending up in courts to fight for their rights (Perloff 126).Then, civic education has enabled learners to get to know much about leadership and human rights hence this education should continue to be taught in schools.
Understanding the Role of Government
Civic education assists civilians to comprehend and evaluate the limited administration they have ordained and established as well as how the power is shared. Civilians who are aware of the role of their government understand why the administration has to make some hard decision (Perloff 98). In the bad times, the government is forced to make decisions which humiliate the citizens in one way or the other. People who have in depth knowledge on civic education are aware that such decisions had to be made for the sake of peace (Perloff 132). Decision making in the US government is made by several bodies and not the president or a few people. Then, a number of governing bodies cannot be wrong in making decisions since they do thorough consultations, as well as they, know the consequence of the choices.
Work Cited
Jowett, Garth S, and Victoria O’Donnell,. Propaganda & Persuasion. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2014. Print.
Perloff, Richard M. Special Issue: Communication and Racial Disparities in Health Care. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2012. Print.
Perloff, Richard M. The Dynamics of Persuasion. 6th ed. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. Print.
Perloff, Richard M. The Dynamics of Persuasion: Communication and Attitudes in the 21st Century. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. Print.
