by John Doyle and Stephen C. Shenkman

Page 30

Forty state constitutions mention the importance of civic literacy among citizens, and 13 constitutions state that the central purpose of their educational system is to promote good citizenship, democracy, and free government.1 Schools, as institutions, are systematically responsible for developing citizen norms and building civic knowledge and skills such as critical thinking.2 Within this framework for developing effective citizenship skills, our democracy can improve and flourish.

A study released by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, suggests that formal school-based civic education classes are on the decline.3 Today’s civic education curriculum is a matter of too little, too late — consisting of a one-semester high school government course, usually in the senior year. Disturbing trends are emerging. With civic education declining, so too are students’ interest in public affairs, their political and civic knowledge, voter participation, and attitudes toward government.4 Students need practice developing the skills of effective citizens and opportunities to grow in their knowledge of public issues.

Florida’s Civic Education Curriculum
A recent survey took an inventory of Florida school districts to identify how civic education is addressed in the curriculum. Most districts reported little time available in elementary school to teach civics, mainly because of FCAT related priorities. At the high school level, students are required to take a semester of American government before graduating. In reviewing the middle school curriculum, however, we found fewer than 10 percent of Florida’s school districts have a required civics course in middle school. The majority of Florida school districts reported offering two years of geography and one year of history at the middle school level or two years of history and one year of geography. Some school districts, however, including the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, have implemented a more practical and applied curriculum for 6th – 8th graders designed to prepare them not only for high school, but also for active participation in a democracy. The Miami-Dade County Public Schools, along with a handful of other districts in Florida, require a year-long civics course in middle school in addition to one year of geography and one year of history.

The lack of civics in middle school will change this year, however, with the passage of legislation requiring Florida students to take a semester of civics in grades six, seven, or eight, before progressing to high school. This new mandate will provide middle school students with the opportunity to improve their civic knowledge and skills throughout Florida. The Miami-Dade County civics curriculum can serve as a model for other districts to implement the legislatively mandated middle school civics education course.

The Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Approach to Civic Education
The goal of civic education is to develop knowledgeable, responsible citizens whose words and actions at school and home, in the community, and in the voting booth reflect a commitment to the fundamental values and principles of the American constitutional democracy. To maintain our nation’s “civic health,” students must understand the structure and function of government. Furthermore, students must understand, analyze, and evaluate public issues, and learn to defend positions on those issues. In Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the responsibility for helping students acquire a sense of civic participation rests primarily with social science educators.

The Social Science Competency-based Curriculum
Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Division of Social Sciences and the district’s social science teachers reinforce civic responsibility and civic activism through a required Social Science Competency-based Curriculum. The “civic responsibility” competencies (the content knowledge or skills a student should be able to demonstrate following instruction) and objectives emphasize democratic principles and the importance of civic activism, including community service and voting. Furthermore, the students are afforded the opportunity to apply those principles through civic participation.

The Miami-Dade County Public School District was the first to require an annual civics course in middle school. The district’s current 7th grade civics course was the primary model the Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc., used to share with districts across the state. In addition, Miami-Dade County Public Schools offers all state-approved middle and senior high school law and civics elective courses. When senior high school honors level courses are not available in the state’s Course Code Directory, the district has worked to offer the courses with a local honors designation. This provides students with opportunities to explore civic and legal content and concepts at a challenging academic level. The state-approved senior high school ethics elective course was also developed by teachers and staff from Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

District Initiatives
In addition to the core social science curriculum, three major district-wide initiatives directly related to civic education are administered by the Division of Social Sciences: the annual Student Voter Registration Drive, the district’s community service graduation requirement, and the district’s character education initiative.

Each spring, as part of the annual student voter registration drive, eligible students are registered to vote in all senior high schools; social studies teachers identify and register eligible 17-year-old high school students, primarily targeting those students enrolled in the required 12th grade American government and economics courses. During the 2005-2006 school year, 11,651 students were registered to vote. Since the program’s inception in 1972, over 249,000 students have been registered to vote. Eligible students and employees are provided an additional opportunity to register to vote during the fall preceding each presidential election. The Division of Social Sciences works closely with staff from the Miami-Dade County Department of Elections on this important project.

The Division of Social Sciences also administers the district’s community service graduation requirement. Defined as “well-planned, organized, and voluntary efforts to address a specific need in the community,” a community service project must be completed by all high school students prior to graduation. Required since 1996-1997, all projects must be approved by school staff and must follow the requirements as outlined in the “Community Service Implementation Guidelines.” As a result, students have had many opportunities to work with nonprofit organizations, community groups, and government agencies on a wide range of projects. Many community service projects also provide students with school-to-career experiences.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools was the first district in the state to require character education and one of the few districts to develop its own curriculum support materials to support the requirement.

The district’s character education requirement is based on nine core values adopted by the school board in 1995, including respect, responsibility, cooperation, citizenship, fairness, honesty, integrity, kindness, and pursuit of excellence. Under the direction of the Division of Social Sciences, a team of teachers developed specific lessons to support this requirement. Each lesson targets one or more of the nine core values while also meeting one or more of the required grade level objectives from the social science competency-based curriculum. The Division of Social Sciences is exploring additional means to support and refine the current character education initiative, such as pursuing partnerships with organizations like Global Ethics and the Youth Ethics Initiative, Inc., and developing grant proposals.
In 2005, the district was awarded a highly competitive Partnership in Character Education grant for $1.5 million by the U.S. Department of Education. This four-year grant will be administered by the Division of Social Sciences. Grant funds will be used to develop additional ethics-based instructional materials for secondary students. High interest, real-world ethical issues will be explored across the academic disciplines in an effort to make these issues part of every student’s education. Comprehensive professional development for teachers, including training on the foundations of ethical reasoning and teaching strategies to encourage thoughtful classroom discussion on ethical issues, will also be provided through the grant. The development of a home learning parental component to support character/ethics education is also planned.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Division of Social Sciences is proud to be recognized as a leader in civic, law, and character education at the state, national, and international levels. Their effective curricular and co-curricular programs help students gain civic knowledge and skills and provide them with opportunities to practice civic virtue both within the school and the community. The education of our students and, ultimately, the health of our democracy are directly dependent on our continued work in this area.

Co-curricular Programs for Students
The Division of Social Sciences, in partnership with law and civic education organizations across the state and nation, offer a wide range of co-curricular programs to complement the required Social Science Competency-based Curriculum and provide students with opportunities to think critically and become actively engaged in their learning. These student programs include:
• Justice Teach In (in partnership with the Florida Law Related Education Association).

• Law Week Programs (in cooperation with the Dade County Bar Association and the Florida Law Related Education Association).
• Mock Trial and Moot Court (in partnership with the Florida Law Related Education Association and the Dade County Bar Association).

• Project Citizen (in partnership with the Center for Civic Education and the Florida Law Related Education Association).

• School Violence Prevention Demonstration Program (in partnership with the Center for Civic Education).

• “We the People...” Programs and Competition (in partnership with the Center for Civic Education and the Florida Law Related Education Association).

• Youth Ethics Initiative (in partnership with Youth Ethics Initiative, Inc.).

• Brief Writing Program (in partnership with The Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc.).

Special Programs to Support Elections
Additionally, as part of the presidential elections of 2004, the Division of Social Sciences provided teachers and students with opportunities to become more informed voters prior to the election. A highly successful student political forum sponsored in February 2004 at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School, combined elements of a political convention and a presidential debate. Over 400 high school students representing each senior high school in the district listened to and questioned representatives of each major presidential candidate. The division also developed and distributed a special instructional packet titled Election 2004 prior to the November 2004 election. Eligible high school students and employees were registered to vote in a special registration drive held prior to the November 2004 elections. The division also sponsored a district-wide, Internet-based mock election for all students. Using Survey Gold software, students cast ballots electronically for the presidential, senate, and county mayoral races.

Student Government Association
Staff in the Division of Social Sciences also coordinates all activities of the district’s Student Government Association (SGA). The SGA is composed of elected representatives from each of the district’s senior high schools and is responsible for representing student views and making recommendations regarding district programs and policies. SGA also sponsors special programs including a student leadership conference and various community service activities. Full SGA meetings are held at the district office on a monthly basis. The SGA executive board receives academic credit as part of the executive internship program. The SGA board is elected by the SGA membership in the spring, as is the student advisor to the school board. These elections are coordinated by the Division of Social Sciences.

Staff Development for Teachers
The division also recognizes the importance of teacher education and provides regular staff development programs for teachers to broaden their knowledge of content and effective teaching strategies. The Division of Social Sciences proudly partners with numerous civic organizations and the legal community to implement professional development. District teachers also participate in state and nationally sponsored workshops and seminars, such as the Florida Supreme Court’s Justice Teaching Institute, and institutes sponsored by the Center for Civic Education and the Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc.

Additionally, staff members from the Division of Social Sciences and select district teachers serve as national and international trainers for “We the People…Project Citizen” and the School Violence Prevention Demonstration programs. Staff members have presented workshops at numerous state, national, and international conferences on civic education. Through a grant partnership with the Center for Civic Education and the Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc., selected staff and teachers are also working with teachers in Peru and Panama through a civic education exchange program known as Civitas International.

Nationwide Campaign
A nationwide campaign is underway to advance civic education. Congressional conferences convene annually in Washington, D.C., annually with delegations from every state participating. The Florida delegations have consisted in past years of Florida Rep. Curtis Richardson (D-Tallahassee); Florida Supreme Court Justices Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince; Annette Boyd Pitts, executive director of the Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc.; John Doyle, administrative director, Division of Social Studies, Miami-Dade County Public Schools; Levon Terrell, Florida Department of Education; and Dianne Wheatley-Gillotti, Florida League of Women Voters. The conference presents studies on the status of civic education and provides a range of ideas and models for states to consider in revitalizing this vital area of instruction.

The Florida campaign identified the middle school curriculum as a high priority for the campaign in 2005-2006. Superintendents statewide were asked to consider adoption and implementation of a year-long middle school course based on the Miami-Dade model. During the 2006 legislative session, Florida legislative leaders supported a proposal to mandate the teaching of civics in middle school. A semester of civics was added to HB 7087 as part of the middle school promotion statute. Florida Rep. Curtis Richardson (D-Tallahassee) spearheaded the legislation in the House.

Other areas of emphasis for the Florida campaign have included the development of respected state standards in civics and government. The Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc., employed a team of scholars and practitioners to rewrite Florida’s state standards in this specific subject area. Two models have emerged from this deliberate process and have been presented to the Department of Education for review. Copies are available to other states attempting to undertake the review process.

The Florida Civic Alliance Campaign will continue to work to raise awareness of the need for quality civic education programs in Florida’s public schools. The new middle school civics legislation will provide a huge boost to Florida’s civics initiative. While schools bear a unique responsibility of educating students for democratic citizenship, other democratic institutions must also play a role.

Government officials need to interact more regularly with youth and with teachers. The Supreme Court of Florida’s law-related and civic education programs provide an excellent model for this essential interaction. The justices on the court regularly visit classrooms to present lessons on the courts and the Constitution, and interact directly with students at all grade levels. Additionally, the court hosts an annual teacher institute for middle and high school teachers where the justices serve as faculty to teach about the courts and the administration of justice in Florida. Finally, thousands of elementary and secondary students visit the courts to participate in mock oral arguments and explore the administration of justice in Florida. Law Week and Constitution Week offer opportunities to begin partnerships with the schools. The Supreme Court has developed annual student-based programs for both events to educate middle and high school students about the courts and the Constitution.

The new Justice Teaching Program spearheaded by Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis provides an organized plan for teaching about the courts and the Constitution. This innovative initiative partners judges and attorneys with every school in Florida to build relationships, educate students, and engage young people in the judicial branch. Exciting case studies and mock oral arguments provide a hands-on experience with the Florida justice system.

Conclusion
Preparing students for their roles as competent, responsible citizens in a democracy requires a strong and lasting commitment. As our democracy ages, we cannot allow our commitment to civic education to fade away. Schools bear a distinct and historic responsibility to sustaining and improving this vital area of instruction. But judges, attorneys, and other government officials also play an important role in this educational process.

Florida’s middle school curriculum presents one opportunity to engage students and support the civic mission of our schools. Reconstructing the middle school curriculum to provide a course in applied civics will provide one avenue for effectuating change and regenerating the great American citizen.q

1 Talking Points: Why Civic Education?, 11 Service-Learning Network 1 (Spring 2005), available at www. crf-usa.org/network/network11_1/ net11_1_talkpoints.html.
2 CIRCLE & Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Civic Mission of Schools 7 (2003), available at www.civicmissionofschools.org/site/campaign/documents/CivicMissionofSchools.pdf.
3 Id. at 16.
4 Michael A. Neblo, Civic Education Programs, Report of the Task Force on Federal Election Systems (July 2001), available at www. tcf.org/Publications/ ElectionReform/NCFER/ hansen_chap4_civic.pdf.