More Likely To Join A Gang - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2742 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/04/12 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Gang Violence Essay Did you like this example? Introduction The four-letter word Gang has three definitions according to the dictionary. A gang is a couple of youngsters or adolescents that are close, a group engaging in delinquent behaviour, and/or a group of people that have similar interest. In the year, 2015 there was 480 Chicago residents that was murdered. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "More Likely To Join A Gang" essay for you Create order The next year there was 754 people killed which made the homicide rate increase by 58% in just one year. The Times Newspaper quotes this. Amongst that 754 was my God brother Jeffery A. Mattix Jr. Throughout my paper I will give you different reasons of why individuals joins gangs. I will give you stats about individuals in gangs, gang members that are in jail, Gang members that have been killed due to gangs and other stats about gangs and gang members. I will also provide statics on teen crime rate, teen prison rate, teen dropout rate, and history on gangs so we can have a better understanding of how everything takes part in blacks joining gangs. Methods Design My survey was created to produce statics on how many blacks ae in a gang and how many have family members that are in a gang. I want to gain knowledge on why African Americans choose to join gangs even after knowing what can possible happen when they are in a one. I want to learn the main reasons why blacks join gangs. With this survey, I plan to see if having family members in a gang go hand in hand with blacks joining a gang. I am asking questions to see if they are in a gang because of a family member or personal reasons. There is also questions to see why some people are not in gangs and their perspective of gangs. I asked questions about pros and cons of joining a gang. Participants The participants are all from Chicago, Illinois. The age group ranges from 14-65. I will include men and women that are African American. Some of the participants will be a part of a gang and some will not. I am also going to include participants that are in college, never went to college, graduated college, and those that did not finish high school. I am including high shooters and elementary students. My participants are also from different neighborhoods in Chicago. Procedure I was not quite sure how to execute my survey because I have never had to have 75 participants in a study. The planning of getting my survey to everyone was what I thought about most because I wanted to be effective and did not want to spend a lot of time on that part. I first planned to make a survey on the internet so it is easy to access and pass along. After I came up with that idea I searched free survey cites. Survey monkey was the first to come up in my google search so I used that one. While exploring this website I saw other surveys and saw some surveys that were similar to mine. Seeing that helloed and guided me on what questions I should and should not ask. I decided to make my survey short but to the point so my participants would not get bored or distracted. I decided to make my survey 10 questions, which was straight to the point. After I created the survey, my next plan was to send it to as many friends and family as possible. I then copied. I will also p ost it in different groupme chats. This way I will have a variety of individuals. I will also send it to my high school principal so she can have her students to take it as well. By doing this I plan to reach the 75 individuals that I need. Once I receive all of their feedback, I will tally each answer. Instruments This survey was created to get knowledge behind African Americans joining gangs because their family members are a part of a gang, I plan to find out how they are connected and why teens and adults join gangs even after knowing the after effects of it and the consequences. I will find if some people do not join gangs even though they have family members in gangs. Certain gangs were created for different reasons and sought out to have certain outcomes. Gangs in jail was started by inmates in jail to help or protect one another from other inmates. Their intentions were not to harm the security or be violent but many events changed that, these gangs being violent posed a threat to security. People that are not from here do not really associate America with gangs or horrific violence. Horrific violence as far as gangs started in the Middle East between the Crips and bloods. When gangs was first created, they were not about violence or about killing but it changed once whites started trying to take over our house and neighborhoods. In 1961, a young back boy wanted to join the boycotts but was denied by a troop because he said none of the other parents would agree with him joining. The other parents would not agree because he was black and they were white. This influenced the boy to create his own club so he would not feel left out and feel less because he was not white. This group was created to make him feel equal and socially accepted. After the first club was created, fighting only happened if it was necessary, but in 1950 during the riots, this is when the clubs turned violent. The Black Guerrilla Family was begun in the year 1966 by W.L. Nolen, Lester Jackson, James Carr and other bigot who were dark in the San Quentin state jail in California. The originators received the volunteer army structure and belief system of the Symbionese Liberation Army. The possess were begun in order to join the dark detainees and dispose of a fierce uprising. This uprising was accepted to be from a supremacist jail organization that was white. The group pulled in thousands dark American guilty parties, and was recorded for various staff strikes and the homicide of Marin County judge in 1970. It has around 50,000 individuals. On the off chance that one needs to join the posse, one must be dark and must be assigned by a current part. There are an assortment of reasons a man go into the group condition. The mental parts of group life are ample. Numerous adolescents in the internal city originate from broken homes. Accordingly, these young people may swing to the pack life as a pseudo family. The posse, which has a clear family pecking order, turns into the family for the young. Be that as it may, the motivation behind a family is to offer help, love, and security. The dangerous group way of life frequently gives damage and demise too. Numerous youngsters realize this yet at the same time join posses for various reasons like satisfaction. It satisfies the feeling of having a place and feeling needed. Posse individuals make you have an inclination that youre separated of a family and not only a business. Notwithstanding mental help, posse life regularly gives monetary help also. Adolescents who might regularly be making fifty to sixty dollars every week at low maintenance employment can acquire as much as a thousand dollars for every week by taking or moving medications in a posse setting. Many group individuals guarantee to join and remain in posses for monetary reasons(Spergel 94). The fascination in pack life is clear when taken a gander at from that point of view. For teenage boys the fast life is a better way of living because they are able to help take care of their families as well as themselves. The fast life gives them a way to make it out the hood and a way of surviving. Being in a gang also allows them to buy the name brand clothes they are not able to afford without it. The last appreciation for pack life is essentially the physical angle. Packs give the wellbeing in numbers feeling that all is well with the world for some young people who are compelled to dwell in what is in all actuality a battle region. Therefore, joining a posse may result from a normal estimation to accomplish individual security, especially, by guys new to a specific network, school, or prison(Spergel 92). Many feel a conviction that all is good when joining a group. It also gives them the sense of safeness when theyre in certain places like jail because they know they will always have someone looking out for them. There are, obviously, some that vibe these reasons are not the fundamental contributing components to pack enlistment. The principle depreciators of this hypothesis will point to the rise of groups in prosperous territories. These regions contain kids who may not originate from broken homes and might not have issues with cash or being harassed. In any case, useless families are available in every aspect of society. On the off chance that a couple of youngsters are of useless families, their impact will spread all through a social setting of other kids. Some vibe that groups result essentially out of an exorbitantly expansive number of kids jammed into a constrained zone. While the congestion of young people in a restricted zone may assume a job in the arrangement of packs, the principle contributing components to the formation of posse movement are the satisfaction of mental (family), money related, and physical requirements. Gang problems have been around for a while and is not anything new to America. Posses have filled in as a methods for assurance for people. The issue of group action has as of late gone to the bleeding edge of problems confronting our country. Chicago and Los Angeles are unending group destinations, different urban communities like Miami, Portland, Columbus, Dallas, and Milwaukee have as of late had posse issue (Conly 7). Group numbers have, beyond a shadow of a doubt, soar in the course of the last 10 to 20 years. Los Angeles, for instance, has as of late been evaluated to have upwards of 90,000 posse individuals (Conly 14). These numbers cant be neglected. Since its commencement the expression pack has had an assorted use, being connected to outlaws in the wild west and sorted out wrongdoing bunches among others (Decker and Van Winkle 2). Most concur that a posse is a gathering of for the most part guys that takes part in reprobate exercises. The definition goes a lot more remote than that. A cop, for instance, may call a posse an on-going, sorted out relationship of at least three people who separately or aggregately take part in or have occupied with criminal movement (Conly 5). That definition could incorporate a gathering of young men who at times drink liquor. Then again, it could likewise incorporate a gathering of adolescents that assaults and takes from old women. This definition clearly runs from one extraordinary end of the range to the opposite end. While pictures of young men savoring the forested areas does not evoke portrayals of bad-to-the-bone posse movement, it fits under the umbrella of the definition given above. This definition, clearly, fails to impress anyone. A humanist may depict the term group with another arrangement of qualities. A humanist may depict a pack as a gathering whom: Are commonly seen as a particular total by others in their neighborhood, perceive themselves as a denotable gathering (constantly with a gathering name) and have been associated with an adequate number of reprobate episodes to consider forward a reliable negative reaction from neighborhood inhabitants as well as authorization organizations. (Sanders 9)This definition is less dark than the past one. Nonetheless, despite everything it fails to impress anyone. As should be obvious an obvious definition is to a great degree hard thing to decide. So as to characterize the term group one must take a blend of a few definitions. Therefore, a blend of these two definitions must be faceted with the end goal of this paper. Posses, for our motivation, can be portrayed in the accompanying way: A gathering of young people that carry out wrongdoings that perceives themselves as a group. Because of an adequate definition being uncovered, the focal point of this paper can next be swung to the purposes behind joining a group. While there are an assortment of reasons one may go into the group condition, there are three unmistakable reasons that emerge. These reasons are mental, budgetary, and physical. The mental parts of pack life are ample. Numerous young people in the internal city originate from broken homes. Accordingly, these young people may swing to the pack life as a pseudo family. The pack, which has a positive family chain of importance, turns into the family for the adolescent. In any case, the reason for a family is to offer help, love, and insurance. The dangerous group way of life regularly gives damage and demise also. Notwithstanding mental help, posse life regularly gives budgetary help also. Adolescents who might ordinarily be making fifty to sixty dollars per week at low maintenance employment can round up as much as a thousand dollars for every week by taking or moving medications in a pack setting. Truth be told, many group individuals guarantee to join and remain in packs for money related reasons(Spergel 94). The fascination in pack life is clear when taken a gander at from that viewpoint. The last fascination in group life is essentially the physical angle. Groups give the wellbeing in numbers conviction that all is good for some young people who are compelled to dwell in what is truly a battle area. Subsequently, joining a posse may result from a reasonable computation to accomplish individual security, especially, by guys new to a specific network, school, or prison(Spergel 92). Many feel a conviction that all is good when joining a pack. There is dependably a danger of death from a mass of projectiles in this way of life. There are, obviously, some that vibe these reasons are not the principle contributing elements to posse enlistment. The principle spoilers of this hypothesis will point to the development of packs in wealthy regions. These territories contain youngsters who may not originate from broken homes and might not have issues with cash or being harassed. Be that as it may, broken families are available in every aspect of society. Besides, on the off chance that a couple of kids are of broken families, there impact will spread all through a social setting of other youngsters. Some vibe that posses result essentially out of an unnecessarily expansive number of youngsters swarmed into a constrained region unconstrained play bunches are framing all over the place packs in embryo(Spergel 71). While the congestion of young people in a constrained territory may assume a job in the development of packs, the fundamental contributing components to the making of posse movement are the satisfaction of mental (family), money related, and physical necessities. Maybe the most critical attract to the posse field of life is the mental satisfaction that packs give. Numerous young people that join groups originate from a family that is esteemed useless. For this situation, a broken family might be one of a damaging guardian, one parent, or even no guardians. As a representation, just about 50% of kids in the United States, 32.3 million youngsters add up to, dont live with both of their natural guardians (Korem 53). This number is much more prominent in the inward urban communities of American culture where pack life flourishes. In addition, a family may appear to not be useless outwardly, but rather if even one parent is seriously useless and an adolescent takes the brunt of that brokenness it tends to be the enacting component that starts posse involvement(Korem 55). So as to escape from this brokenness, an adolescent may swing to the family chain of importance of a group for family satisfaction. The family progression of a pack that was recently referenced is clear and nearly looks like that of a non-broken family, or that of an ordinary family. Because of packs, there are four unmistakable dimensions that look like those of a family. These four dimensions are, in particular, the center individuals, floaters, wannabes, and the veterans. This group association, it very well may be contended, substitutes in unmistakable courses for a specific example of deficiency in existing well-known connections (Spergel 70).

The Writing Style of Khaled Hosseini in A Thousand...

The writing style of Khaled Hosseini in A Thousand Splendid Suns is both sympathetic and disgusted. He feels pity on those that bear the burden of the war. He shows this mostly through the use of two major literary devices: Symbolism and Imagery. These two literary devices impact the reader because it gives a deeper insight and understanding of the pain and fear these characters were forced into dealing with every day. An example of how Hosseini feels disgusted and sympathetic is when one of the main characters, Mariam Jo, is forced to go live with her father after her mother’s untimely death on page 36, â€Å"suddenly he was standing in front of her, trying to cover her eyes, pushing her back the way they had come saying ‘Go back! No. Don’t†¦show more content†¦Her own band was a little tight, but he had no trouble forcing it over her knuckles†. The symbolism in this quote is with the description of the size of the bands and the force Rasheed used to force the band over her knuckles. Due to the fact that the bands were â€Å"thin† is a portrayal of the future marriage to come. The force Rasheed uses to put the gold band on her finger is an indication of the hidden persona that lies dormant beneath the weight of his current desire. The disgust of the forced marriage is portrayed through the physical description of Rasheed. The third example is on page 104 after Mariam has had multiple miscarriages and has yet to provide Rasheed with a male heir. â€Å"‘CHEW!’ He bellowed. A gust of smoky breath slammed against her face. Mariam chewed. Something in the back of her mouth cracked. ‘Good.’ Rasheed said. His cheeks were quivering. ‘Now you know what your rice tastes like. Now you know what you’ve given me in this marriage. Bad food and nothing else.’ Then he was gone, leaving Mariam to spit out pebbles, blood and the fragments of two broken molars†. Hosseini’s symbolism in this passage is in the location of the teeth and the blood spit out. The fact that the teeth were in the front indicated and hidden emotional pain that she will then learn to hide easily. The blood is just a representation of the physical pain to come. Reading this imagery makes us very sympathetic for Mariam and was gain a great disliking of Rasheed. The fourthShow MoreRelated1000 Splendid suns1913 Words   |  8 Pages A Thousand Splendid Suns Research Paper The People of Afghanistan have struggled with invaders in there country for many decades. The intrusion of the soviets in 1979 was the first intrusion on the Afghan people. Many people were affected by the manifestation of the soviets and either ran away or lived in fear and war. Luckily, famous author Khaled Hosseini and his family were moved out of Kabul a few years before the Soviets invaded. Khaled Hosseini and his novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, showsRead MoreAnalysis Of A Thousand Splendid Suns By Khaled Hosseini953 Words   |  4 PagesIt is Wednesday morning at Varina High School. 10:40 to be exact. I am in Pre-AP English. There are approximately 12 students in the classroom. â€Å"Good morning class† said Mrs. Martin. â€Å"To complete our style unit, we will be reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.† After learning the fact that we will once again be reading another book, many of the students had the usual reaction after receiving another inte nse assignment. â€Å"Ugh we just read a book by this guy already, the storyline is

The Role of Civic Education Essay Example For Students

The Role of Civic Education Essay The Role of Civic EducationI. IntroductionSocieties have long had an interest in the ways in which their young are prepared for citizenship and in how they learn to take part in civic life. Today that interest might better be described as a concern-in fact as a growing concern, particularly in democratic societies. There is evidence aplenty that no country, including our own United States, has achieved the level of understanding and acceptance of the rights and responsibilities among the totality of its citizens that is required for the maintenance and improvement of any constitutional democracy. In the past decade we have witnessed dramatic demands for freedom on the part of peoples from Asia to Africa and from Central and Eastern Europe to Latin America. And as we have seen one totalitarian or authoritarian regime after another toppled and fledgling democratic governments replace them, we may have become too optimistic about the future of democracy. We also may have become too complacent, too sure of democracys robustness or of its long term viability. History, however, teaches us that few countries have sustained democratic governments for prolonged periods, a lesson which we as Americans are sometimes inclined to forget. Americans, of course, should take pride and confidence from the fact that they live in the worlds oldest constitutional democracy and that the philosophical foundations underlying their political institutions serve as a model for aspiring peoples around the world. The shot heard round the world two centuries ago at the opening of the American Revolution c ontinues to resound today, and it should remind Americans that free institutions are among humanitys highest achievements and worthy of their full energies and earnest devotion to preserve. Americans also should realize that civic education is essential to sustain our constitutional democracy. The habits of the mind, as well as habits of the heart, the dispositions that inform the democratic ethos, are not inherited. As Alexis de Toqueville pointed out, each new generation is a new people that must acquire the knowledge, learn the skills, and develop the dispositions or traits of private and public character that undergird a constitutional democracy. Those dispositions must be fostered and nurtured by word and study and by the power of example. Democracy is not a machine that would go of itself, but must be consciously reproduced, one generation after another. Civic education, therefore, is-or should be-a prime concern. There is no more important task than the development of an informed, effective, and responsible citizenry. Democracies are sustained by citizens who have the requisite knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Absent a reasoned commitment on the part of its citizens to the fundamental values and principles of democracy, a free and open society cannot succeed. It is imperative, therefore, that educators, policymakers, and members of civil society make the case and ask for the support of civic education from all segments of society and from the widest range of institutions and governments. It is relatively easy for a society to produce technically competent people. But the kind of society Americans want to live in and the kind of government they want to have requires effort and commitment on the part of its citizens. Americans want a society and a governmentin which human rights are respectedin which the individuals dignity and worth are acknowledgedin which the rule of law is observedin which people willingly fulfill their responsibilities, andin which the common good is the concern of all. Making that kind of society, that kind of government a reality is the most important challenge Americans face and the most important work they could undertake. II.What is civic education?Civic Education in a democracy is education in self government. Democratic self government means that citizens are actively involved in their own governance; they do not just passively accept the dictums of others or acquiesce to the demands of others. As Aristotle put it in his Politics (c 340 BC), If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost. In other words, the ideals of democracy are most completely realized when every member of the political community shares in its governance. Members of the political community are its citizens, hence citizenship in a democracy is membership in the body politic. Membership implies participation, but not participation for participations sake. Citizen participation in a democratic society must be based on informed, critical reflection, and on the understanding and acceptance of the rights and respon sibilities that go with that membership. Civic education in a democratic society most assuredly needs to be concerned with promoting understanding of the ideals of democracy and a reasoned commitment to the values and principles of democracy. That does not mean, however, that democracy should be presented as utopia. Democracy is not utopian, and citizens need to understand that lest they become cynical, apathetic, or simply withdraw from political life when their unrealistic expectations are not met. To be effective civic education must be realistic; it must address the central truths about political life. The American Political Science Association (APSA) recently formed a Task Force on Civic Education. Its statement of purpose calls for more realistic teaching about the nature of political life and a better understanding of the complex elements of the art of the possible. The APSA report faults existing civic education because all too often itseems unable to counter the belief that, in politics, one either wins or loses, a nd to win means getting everything at once, now! The sense that politics can always bring another day, another chance to be heard, to persuade and perhaps to gain part of what one wants, is lost. Political education today seems unable to teach the lessons of our political history: Persistent civic engagement-the slow, patient building of first coalitions and then majorities-can generate social change. (Carter and Elshtain, 1997.)A message of importance, therefore, is that politics need not, indeed must not, be a zero-sum game. The idea that winner takes all has no place in a democracy, because if losers lose all they will opt out of the democratic game. Sharing is essential in a democratic society-the sharing of power, of resources, and of responsibilities. In a democratic society the possibility of effecting social change is ever present, if citizens have the knowledge, the skills and the will to bring it about. That knowledge, those skills and the will or necessary traits of priva te and public character are the products of a good civic education. III. What are essential components of a good civic education?What are the essential components of civic education appropriate for a democratic society? That question was addressed recently in the course of the development of the National Standards for Civics and Government. (Center for Civic Education, 1994.) More than 3,000 individuals and groups participated in the development and/or review process. Those voluntary standards which have been well received and critically acclaimed, not only in the country of their origin but in many other nations as well, identify three essential components: civic knowledge, civic skills, and civic dispositions. Civic Knowledge Civic knowledge is concerned with the content or what citizens ought to know; the subject matter, if you will. In both the National Standards and the Civics Framework for the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which currently is underway in schools across the United States, the knowledge component is embodied in the form of five significant and enduring questions. These are questions that have continued to engage not only political philosophers and politicians; they are questions that do-or should-engage every thoughtful citizen. The five questions are:What are civic life, politics, and government?What are the foundations of the American political system?How does the government established by the Constitution embody the purposes, values, and principles of American democracy?What is the relationship of the United States to other nations and to world affairs?What are the roles of citizens in American democracy? The choice of question format as a me ans of organizing the knowledge component was deliberate. Democracy is a dialogue, a discussion, a deliberative process in which citizens engage. The use of questions is intended to indicate that the process is never-ending, is an on-going marketplace of ideas, a search for new and better ways to realize democracys ideals. It is important that everyone has an opportunity to consider the essential questions about government and civil society that continue to challenge thoughtful people. Addressing the first organizing question What are civic life, politics, and government? helps citizens make informed judgments about the nature of civic life, politics, and government, and why politics and government are necessary; the purposes of government; the essential characteristics of limited and unlimited government; the nature and purposes of constitutions, and alternative ways of organizing constitutional governments. Consideration of this question should promote greater understanding of the nature and importance of civil society or the complex network of freely formed, voluntary political, social, and economic associations which is an essential component of a constitutional democracy. A vital civil society not only prevents the abuse or excessive concentration of power by government; the organizations of civil society serve as public laboratories in which citizens learn democracy by doing it. The second organizing question What are the foundations of the American political system? entails an understanding of the historical, philosophical, and economic foundations of the American political system; the distinctive characteristics of American society and political culture; and the values and principles basic to American constitutional democracy, such as individual rights and responsibilities, concern for the public good, the rule of law, justice, equality, diversity, truth, patriotism, federalism, and the separation of powers. This question promotes examination of the values and principles expressed in such fundamental documents as the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, The Federalist Papers, and landmark Supreme Court decisions. Study of the nations core documents now is mandated by several states including California, Ohio, South Carolina, Florida, and Kentucky. The United States Commission on Immigration Reform in its 1997 Report to Congress (U.S. Commiss ion on Immigration, 1997), strongly recommended attention to the nations founding documents saying:Civic instruction in public schools should be rooted in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution-particularly the Preamble, the Bill of Rights, and the Fourteenth Amendment. Emphasizing the ideals in these documents is in no way a distortion of U.S. history. Instruction in the history of the United States, as a unique engine of human liberty notwithstanding its faults, is an indispensable foundation for solid civics training for all Americans. Knowledge of the ideals, values, and principles set forth in the nations core documents serves an additional and useful purpose. Those ideals, values, and principles are criteria which citizens can use to judge the means and ends of government, as well as the means and ends of the myriad groups that are part of civil society. The third organizing question How does the government established by the Constitution embody the purposes, values, and principles of American democracy? helps citizens understand and evaluate the limited government they have ordained and established and the complex dispersal and sharing of powers it entails. Citizens who understand the justification for this system of limited, dispersed, and shared power and its design are better able to hold their governments-local, state, and national-accountable and to ensure that the rights of individuals are protected. They also will develop a considered appreciation of the place of law in the American political system, as well as of the unparalleled opportunities for choice and citizen participation that the system makes possible. The fourth organizing question What is the relationship of the United States to other nations and to world affairs? is important because the United States does not exist in isolation; it is a part of an increasingly interconnected world. To make judgments about the role of the United States in the world today and about what course American foreign policy should take, citizens need to understand the major elements of international relations and how world affairs affect their own lives, and the security and well being of their communities, state, and nation. Citizens also need to develop a better understanding of the roles of major international governmental and non governmental organizations, because of the increasingly significant role that they are playing in the political, social, and economic realms. The final organizing question What are the roles of citizens in American democracy? is of particular importance. Citizenship in a constitutional democracy means that each citizen is a full and equal member of a self governing community and is endowed with fundamental rights and entrusted with responsibilities. Citizens should understand that through their involvement in political life and in civil society, they can help to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods, communities, and nation. If they want their voices to be heard, they must become active participants in the political process. Although elections, campaigns, and voting are central to democratic institutions, citizens should learn that beyond electoral politics many participatory opportunities are open to them. Finally, they should come to understand that the attainment of individual goals and public goals tend to go hand in hand with participation in political life and civil society. They are more likely to achie ve personal goals for themselves and their families, as well as the goals they desire for their communities, state, and nation, if they are informed, effective, and responsible citizens. Civic Skills: Intellectual and Participatory The second essential component of civic education in a democratic society is civic skills. If citizens are to exercise their rights and discharge their responsibilities as members of self-governing communities, they not only need to acquire a body of knowledge such as that embodied in the five organizing questions just described; they also need to acquire relevant intellectual and participatory skills. Intellectual skills in civics and government are inseparable from content. To be able to think critically about a political issue, for example, one must have an understanding of the issue, its history, its contemporary relevance, as well as command of a set of intellectual tools or considerations useful in dealing with such an issue. The intellectual skills essential for informed, effective, and responsible citizenship sometimes are called critical thinking skills. The National Standards for Civics and Government and the Civics Framework for the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) categorize these skills as identifying and describing; explaining and analyzing; and evaluating, taking, and defending positions on public issues. A good civic education enables one to identify or give the meaning or significance of things that are tangible such as the flag, national monuments, or civic and political events. It also enables one to give the meaning or significance of intangibles, such as ideas or concepts including patriotism, majority and minority rights, civil society, and constitutionalism. The ability to identify emotional language and symbols is of particular importance for citizens. They need to be able to discern the true purposes for which emotive language and symbols are being employed. Another intellectual skill which good civic education fosters is that of describing. The ability to describe functions and processes such as legislative checks and balances or judicial review is indicative of understanding. Discerning and describing trends, such as participation in civic life, immigration, or employment helps the citizen fit current events into a longer term pattern. Good civic education seeks to develop competence in explaining and analyzing. If citizens can explain how something should work, for example the American federal system, the legal system, or the system of checks and balances, they will be more able to detect and help correct malfunctions. Citizens also need to be able to analyze such things as the components and consequences of ideas, social, political, or economic processes, and institutions. The ability to analyze enables one to distinguish between fact and opinion or between means and ends. It also helps the citizen to clarify responsibilities such as those between personal and public responsibilities or those between elected or appointed officials and citizens. In a self-governing society citizens are decision-makers. They need, therefore, to develop and continue to improve their skills of evaluating, taking, and defending positions. These skills are essential if citizens are to assess issues on the public agenda, to make judgments about issues and to discuss their assessment with others in public or private. In addition to the acquisition of knowledge and intellectual skills, education for citizenship in a democratic society must focus on skills that are required for informed, effective, and responsible participation in the political process and in civil society. Those skills can be categorized as interacting, monitoring, and influencing. Interacting pertains to the skills citizens need to communicate and to work cooperatively with others. To interact is to be responsive to ones fellow citizens. To interact is to question, to answer, and to deliberate with civility, as well as to build coalitions and to manage conflict in a fair, peaceful manner. Monitoring politics and government refers to the skills citizens need to track the handling of issues by the political process and by government. Monitoring also means the exercising of oversight or watchdog functions on the part of citizens. Finally, the participatory skill of influencing refers to the capacity to affect the processes of politi cs and governance, both the formal and the informal processes of governance in the community. It is essential that the development of participatory skills begins in the earliest grades and that it continues throughout the course of schooling. The youngest pupils can learn to interact in small groups or committees, to pool information, exchange opinions or formulate plans of action commensurate with their maturity. They can learn to listen attentively, to question effectively, and to manage conflicts through mediation, compromise, or consensus-building. Older students can and should be expected to develop the skills of monitoring and influencing public policy. They should learn to research public issues using electronic resources, libraries, the telephone, personal contacts, and the media. Attendance at public meetings ranging from student councils to school boards, city councils, zoning commissions, and legislative hearings ought to be a required part of every high school students experience. Observation of the courts and exposure to the workings of the judicial system also o ught to be a required part of their civic education. Observation in and of itself is not sufficient, however. Students not only need to be prepared for such experiences, they need well planned, structured opportunities to reflect on their experiences under the guidance of knowledgeable and skillful mentors. If citizens are to influence the course of political life and the public policies adopted, they need to expand their repertoire of participatory skills. Voting certainly is an important means of exerting influence; but it is not the only means. Citizens also need to learn to use such means as petitioning, speaking, or testifying before public bodies, joining ad-hoc advocacy groups, and forming coalitions. Like the skills of interacting and monitoring, the skill of influencing can and should be systematically developed. Civic Dispositions: Essential Traits of Private and Public Character The third essential component of civic education, civic dispositions, refers to the traits of private and public character essential to the maintenance and improvement of constitutional democracy. Civic dispositions, like civic skills, develop slowly over time and as a result of what one learns and experiences in the home, school, community, and organizations of civil society. Those experiences should engender understanding that democracy requires the responsible self governance of each individual; one cannot exist without the other. Traits of private character such as moral responsibility, self discipline, and respect for the worth and human dignity of every individual are imperative. Traits of public character are no less consequential. Such traits as public spiritedness, civility, respect for the rule of law, critical mindedness, and willingness to listen, negotiate, and compromise are indispensable to democracys success. computers EssayIn a survey conducted in late 1997, (National Constitution Center, 1997), more than 90 percent of Americans agreed that the U.S. Constitution is important to me and that Im proud of the U.S. Constitution. The National Constitution Center was created by Congress in 1988 to increase Americans awareness of the document. The Center measures public awareness by conducting surveys. Those surveys have shown that people have an appalling lack of knowledge for a document that impacts their daily lives. According to Mayor Edward G. Rendell of Philadelphia, current chairman of the Center, more than three quarters (83 percent) admit that they know only some or very little about the specifics of the Constitution. For example, only 6 percent can name all four rights guaranteed by the First Amendment; 62 percent cannot name all three branches of the Federal government; 35 percent believe the Constitution mandates English as the official language; and more than half of Americans don t know the number of senators. When asked to identify the causes of American ignorance of the document which they profess to revere and which they acknowledge matters a great deal in their daily lives, Rendell faulted the schools failure to teach civics and government. He said he believed Americans lack of knowledge stems partly from an education system that tends to treat the Constitution in the context of history, rather than as a living document that shapes current events. (Morin, 1997.) U.S. Secretary of Education, Richard W. Riley was equally dismayed by the results of the National Constitution Centers study. In a press release issued September 15, 1997, Riley saidThis poll suggests to me that most Americans seem to regard the Constitution like a family heirloom that is kept protectively in an upstairs sock drawer but never taken out and examined. I believe this lack of knowledge about how the Constitution functions leads to many of the discontents in our nation and current levels of distrust toward our natio nal government. Riley went on to say that: The U.S. Department of Education is one of the leading contributors to current efforts to overcome this lack of awareness about how our democracy functions. The Department support(s) the work of the Center for Civic Education, the We the People organization and the many efforts by our nations civics teachers to educate our young people about our democracy. It is clear to me, however, that we have to do much more to keep the spirit of the Constitution alive for all Americans. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a survey mandated by the U.S. Congress to collect and report information about student achievement in various academic subjects. NAEP sometimes is called The Nations Report Card, because for more than 25 years it has provided Americans with information about how much and how well students are learning in mathematics, science, reading, history, geography, and other subjects. Currently NAEP is assessing civics. Results of the 1998 survey will not be available until late 1999 or early in the year 2000. The 1990 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Report Card in Civics, however, revealed that students have only a superficial knowledge of civics and lack depth of understanding. For example, only 38 percent of 8th graders knew that Congress makes laws; and nearly half of high school seniors did not recognize typical examples of the federal system of checks and balances. Although half of the high school seniors tested displayed a detailed knowledge of major government structures and their functions, only six percent demonstrated a more developed understanding of a wide range of political institutions and processes. The same NAEP Report Card also showed that although some students made gains in civics proficiency across the twelve year period separating the 1976 and 1988 assessments, most did not. At age 17, the performance of students attending schools in each of the types of communities studied-advantaged and disadvantaged, urban and other-declined significantly. There were significant gaps in the performance of most students. Particularly disturbing were the disparities among subpopulations. Eighth and twelfth grade males were more likely than their female peers to reach the highest levels of civic proficiency as defined by NAEP. The percentages of Black and Hispanic students who reached the uppermost levels of proficiency were far smaller than the percentage of White students who did. Over the past decade, dozens of studies, commissions, and national reports have called attention to the failure to ensure that Americas classrooms are staffed with qualified teachers. The National Commission on Teaching Americas Future (1996) in a particularly hard-hitting report noted that:Although no state will allow a person to fix plumbing, guard swimming pools, style hair, write wills, design a building, or practice medicine without completing training and passing an examination, more than 40 states allow school districts to hire teachers on emergency licenses who have not met these basic requirements. Some pay more attention to the qualifications of veterinarians treating the nations cats and dogs than to those of teachers educating the nations children and youth. Teacher expertise, as research has consistently and repeatedly shown, is one of the most telling factors in raising student achievement. One extensive study found that nearly 40 percent of the differences in student test scores were attributable to differences in teacher expertise, as measured by college degrees, years of teaching experience, and scores on teacher licensing examinations. Further, teacher expertise was of more significance than that of any other factor, including parent education, family income, or other socioeconomic characteristics. A recent review of research on one of the least recognized causes of poor quality teaching (Ingersoll, 1998) is sobering. The problem is out-of-field teaching, or teachers being assigned to teach subjects that do not match their training or education. It is more widespread and more serious than has been recognized. It happens in well over half of the secondary schools in the nation in any given year, both rural and urban, affluent and low income. Low income public schools, however, have a higher level of out-of-field teaching than do schools in more affluent communities. Studies also show that recently hired teachers are more often assigned to teach subjects for which they are not trained than are experienced teachers. Lower-achieving classes are more often taught by teachers without a major or minor in the field than are higher-achieving classes. Junior high and middle school classes also are more likely than senior high classes to be taught by less than qualified teachers. More than half of all secondary school history students in the country now are being taught by teachers with neither a major nor a minor in history. No data currently are available on the subject matter qualifications of teachers of civics and government, but one could surmise that the numbers of teachers with majors or minors in political science or allied fields would be even less. In an effort to ensure that teachers are qualified for the subjects they will teach, some states have begun to test applicants for teaching positions. The National Center for Education Statistics reported in 1997 that about one half of the nations school districts now require passage of state tests of basic skills while 39 percent require passage of state tests of subject knowledge. While those efforts are a step in the right direction, they fall short of the goal of assuring that all children are taught by teachers who not only have in-depth knowledge of the subject they teach but who also have the skills and the enthusiasm to teach it well. VI. What is the relationship between civic education and character education?Interest in and concern about character education and education for citizenship are not new in America. The two have always gone hand in hand. Indeed, the basic reason for establishing and expanding public schooling was to foster those traits of public and private chara cter necessary for our great experiment in self-government to succeed. In the early days of our republic, schools were expected to induce pupils to act virtuously. Acting virtuously meant more specifically that one should act with due restraint over his or her impulses, due regard for the rights and opinions of others, and reasonable concern for the probable and the long-term consequences of ones actions. Virtue in individuals then was seen as an important public matter. Public virtue cannot exist in a nation without private said John Adams. Jefferson agreed with him saying Public virtue is the only foundation of Republics. There must be a positive passion for the public good, the public interest established in the minds of the people, or there can be no Republican government, no any real Liberty. It is interesting to note that Adams warning is echoed in the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS, 1996) Position Statement Fostering Civic Virtue: Character Education in the Social Studies. That bold and well-written position statement concludes with these words:Social studies teachers have a responsibility and a duty to refocus their classrooms on the teaching of character and civic virtue. They should not be timid or hesitant about working toward these goals. The fate of the American experiment in self-government depends in no small part on the store of civic virtue that resides in the American people. The social studies profession of this nation has vital role to play in keeping this well-spring of civic virtue flowing. Character, however, does not come pre-packaged. Character formation is a lengthy and complex process. And, as James Q. Wilson (Wilson, 1995), a life-long student of character, reminds us; We do not know how character is formed in any scientifically rigorous sense. But there is an abundance of anecdotal data and research on which to draw. Those observations and that research tell us that the study of traditional school subjects such as government, civics, history and literature, when properly taught, provide the necessary conceptual framework for character education. Further, those traditional school subjects provide a context for considering the traits of public and private character which are important to the maintenance and improvement of a democratic way of life. Research also tells us that the ethos or culture of the school and of the classroom exert powerful influences on what students learn about authority, responsibility, justice, civility and respect. Finally, we know that one dynamic by which individuals acquire desired traits of private and public character is through exposure to attractive models of behavior. Probably no one has explained that dynamic better than Robert Coles in The Moral Intelligence of Children, (Coles, 1997). Coles tells us that:Character is ultimately who we are expressed in action, in how we live, in what we do and so the children around us know, they absorb and take stock of what they observe, namely us-we adults living and doing things in a certain spirit, getting on with one another in our various ways. Our children add up, imitate, file away what theyve observed and so very often later fall in line with the particular moral counsel we unwittingly or quite unself-consciously have offered them. Because the United States is the worlds oldest constitutional democracy, it sometimes is easy to forget that our American government is an experiment. It is an experiment that requires, as the authors of the Federalist Papers put it, a higher degree of virtue in its citizens than any other form of government. Traits of private character such as moral responsibility, self-discipline, and respect for individual worth and human dignity are essential to its well-being. American constitutional democracy cannot accomplish its purposes, however, unless its citizens also are inclined to participate thoughtfully in public affairs. Traits of public character such as public-spiritedness, civility, respect for law, critical-mindedness, and a willingness to negotiate and compromise are indispensable to the continued success of the great American experiment in self government. How can civic education strengthen and complement the development of character? Primary responsibility for the cultivation of ethical behavior and the development of private character, including moral character, lies with families, religious institutions, work settings, and the other parts of civil society. Schools, however, can and should play a major role in the overall development of the character of students. Effective civic education programs should provide students with many opportunities for the development of desirable traits of public and private character. Learning activities such as the following tend to promote character traits needed to participate effectively. For example,Civility, courage, self-discipline, persistence, concern for the common good, respect for others, and other traits relevant to citizenship can be promoted through cooperative learning activities and in class meetings, student councils, simulated public hearings, mock trials, mock elections, and student courts. Self-discipline, respect for others, civility, punctuality, personal responsibility, and other character traits can be fostered in school and community service learning projects, such as tutoring younger students, caring for the school environment, and participating in voter registration drives. Recognition of shared values and a sense of community can be encouraged through celebration of national and state holidays, and celebration of the achievements of classmates and local citizens. Attentiveness to public affairs can be encouraged by regular discussions of significant current events. Reflection on ethical considerations can occur when students are asked to evaluate, take, and defend positions on issues that involve ethical considerations, that is, issues concerning good and bad, rights and wrong. Civicmindedness can be increased if schools work with civic organizations,bring community leaders into the classroom to discuss issues with students, and provide opportunities for students to observe and/or participate in civic organizations. VII. Policy RecommendationsSchool Level Sustained and systematic attention should be given to civic education in the K-12 curriculum. Although the National Education Goals, as well as the goals, curricular requirements, and policies of every state, express the need for and extol the value of civic education, this vital part of the students overall education is seldom given sustained and systematic attention in the K-12 curriculum. Inattention to civic education stems in part from the false assumption that the knowledge and skills citizens need emerge as by-products of the study of other disciplines or as an outcome of the process of schooling itself. While it is true that history, economics, literature, and other subjects do enhance students understanding of government and politics, they cannot replace sustained, systematic attention to civic education. Civics should be seen as a central concern from kindergarten through twelfth grade, whether it is taught as a part of other curricula or in separate units or courses. We recommend that states and school districts give serious consideration to the allocation of sufficient time for civics and government. A proposed allocation is offered below for purposes of stimulating discussion. REFERENCESBarber, B.(1992). An Aristocracy of Everyone; The Politics of Education and the Future of America. New York: Ballantine Books. Bellah, R.N., Madsen, R., Swidler, A., Lipton, S.M.(1985). Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Bennett, W.J.(1992). The De-Valuing of America: The Fight for Our Culture and Our Children. New York: Simon and Schuster. Bennett, W.J.(1993). The Book of Virtues; A Treasury of Great Moral Stories. Edited, with commentary, by Bennett, W.J. New York: Simon Schuster. Brody, R.A.(1994). Secondary Education and Political Attitudes: Examining the Effects on Political Tolerance of the We the People Curriculum. Calabasas, CA: Center for Civic Education. Butts, R.F.(1988). The Morality of Democratic Citizenship: Goals for Civic Education in the Republics Third Century. Calabasas, CA: Center for Civic Education. Butts, R.F.(1989). The Civic Mission in Educational Reform: Perspectives for the Public and the Profession. Palo Alto, CA: Hoover Institution Press. Carter, L.H. ; Elshtain, J.B.(1997). Task Force on Civic Education Statement of Purpose, P.S. Political Science and Politics. (December) 744. Center for Civic Education(1991). Civitas: A Framework for Civic Education. Calabasas, CA: Center for Civic Education. Center for Civic Education(1994). National Standards for Civics and Government. Calabasas, CA: Center for Civic Education. Coles, R.(1997). The Moral Intelligence of Children. New York: Random House. Commission on National and Community Service(1993). What Can You Do for Your Country. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Service. de Tocqueville, Alexis(1969). Democracy in America, trans. Lawrence, G., ed. Mayer, J.P. New York: Doubleday, Anchor Books, 523. Delli Carpini, M., ; Keeler, S.(1996). What Americans Know About Politics and Why It Matters. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Elam, S.(1995). How America Views its Schools: The PDK/Gallup Polls, 1969-1994. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. Elam, S.M., Rose, L.C., ; Gallup, A.M.(1996). The 28th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Publics Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. Phi Delta Kappan. (September). Elshtain, J.B.(1995). Democracy on Trial. New York: Basic Books. Etzioni, A.(1991). A Responsive Society: Collected Essays on Guiding Deliberate Social Change. San Francisco and Oxford: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Etzioni, A.(1993). The Spirit of Community: Rights, Responsibilities, and the Communitarian Agenda. New York: Crown Publishers. Etzioni, A., Berkowitz, M.C., Wilcox, W.B.(1995). Character Building for a Democratic, Civil Society. Alexandria, VA: Character Education Partnership. Glendon, M.A.(1991). Rights Talk: The Impoverishment of Political Discourse. New York: The Free Press. Glendon, M.A., Blankenhorn,D.,eds.(1995). Seedbeds of Virtue: Sources of Competence, Character, and Citizenship in American Society. Lanham, MD: Madison Books. Guterbock, T.M., Fries, J.C.(1997). Maintaining Americas Social Fabric: The AARP Survey of Civic Involvement. Prepared for the American Association of Retired Persons. University of Virginia: Center for Survey Research (December). Hart, P.(1989). Democracys Next Generation. Washington, DC: People for the American Way. Haynes, C.C.(1994). Character Education in the Public Schools, in Charles C. Haynes, ed., Finding Common Ground. A First Amendment Guide to Religion and Public Education. Nashville: The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. Higgenbotham, M. ed.(1995). What Governors Need to Know About Education Reform. Washington, DC: National Governors Association. Ingersoll, R.M.(1998). The Problem of Out-of-Field Teaching. Phi Delta Kappan 79, 773-776. Jennings, J.F.(1998). Why National Standards and Tests? Politics and the Quest for Better Schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Lickona, T.(1991). Educating for Character. New York: Bantam Books. Langdon, C.A.(1996). The Third Phi Delta Kappa Pool of Teachers Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. Phi Delta Kappan, (November). Lipset, S.M.(1996). America Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword. New York: W.W. Norton Company. McClellan, B.E.(1992). Schools and the Shaping of Character: Moral Education in America, 1607 to the Present. Bloomington, IN: ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies. Morin, R.(1997). We Love It-What We Know of It: A New Survey Finds Some Strange Notions about Whats in the U.S. Constitution. Washington Post National Weekly Edition (22, September). National Assessment Governing Board(1996). Civic Framework for the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Washington, DC: National Assessment Governing Board. National Commission on Civic Renewal(1998). Final Report: A Nation of Spectators: How Civic Disengagement Weakens America and What We Can Do About It. College Park, MD: University of Maryland. National Commission on Civic Renewal(1998). The Index of National Civic Health. College Park, MD: University of Maryland. National Commission on Teaching ; Americas Future(1996). What Matters Most: Teaching for Americas Future. Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Housed at Teachers College, Columbia Universi

It Has Happened... free essay sample

Running backwards across the court. Going to get that overhead, going to get that overhead†¦ And thump, I’m on the ground. I can’t feel anything. Is that really bad? Ok, you can get up, Eric. Alright, then†¦Oh! There’s the pain. I’ve never felt anything like it in my life. Can’t think, can’t move†¦ Come on, get yourself to the pagoda! Come on, move! These were some thoughts going through my head when I broke my wrist. I was attending a Five Season’s tennis summer camp. It was the last day of the camp, and I had just tripped over a tennis ball while backpedaling for an overhead, and had landed squarely on my wrist. I had no idea that the wrist was broken until I got up and moved it. Then, agony as I had never felt it before ran up and down my arm. We will write a custom essay sample on It Has Happened or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It was if someone had inserted red-hot iron rods into my wrist. I barely managed to get into a seat before collapsing. Of course, I didn’t think that this was a serious issue, and waited until my dad came to pick me up. As he was a doctor once, he recognized the signs and rushed me to the ER. It was most likely my fault, because I didn’t clear off the court. For three months I had to cope with this broken wrist, and the worst part was that I broke my right wrist, and I am right-handed. That was a serious problem. The first order of business was to learn to use my left hand. My right arm was immobilized, and even if I could’ve moved it, all I’d get was a twitching hand and more pain, so becoming ambidextrous was a good idea. Over the course of several weeks, I coached myself through much long, boring, and arduous practice. This was of course a huge disadvantage at school, because it took me twice as long to copy down the same notes, write down the same stories, or finish the same tests. So what did I learn from this experience? The first thing was patience. I was not used to having to take a long time to write down my work, or type an essay. With one functional and one disabled hand, things changed. I know now to take the time to do things, and to know when to wait for things to happen. I also learned that teamwork was important. Before this experience, during group work, I often rushed ahead and was impatient with my fellow team members. But now, since I was the one who was lagging behind because of my slower writing, I know that sometimes people just need to slow down a little to fully understand or comprehend a situation and participate fully in the group work. That also meant going back and helping those who were ‘lagging behind’. That, and other small things, when added up, made a huge different in the quality of our group work. So even though in the beginning my broken wrist was a very bad thing, after recovering from it I noticed that I had learned many new and useful things. So maybe not all the so-called ‘stumbles’ in life are all so bad – maybe some of them are good for us. As Albert Einstein said, â€Å"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.†