Civics without a Country?

Autor/in	Schaub, Diana
Titel	Civics without a Country?
Quelle	In: Academic Questions, 25 (2012) 3, S.372-376 (5 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0895-4852
DOI	10.1007/s12129-012-9307-6
Schlagwörter	Citizenship Education; Civics; Democracy; Intellectual History; United States History; Culturally Relevant Education; Democratic Values; Social Values; Educational Principles; Educational Philosophy; Educational Objectives; Educational Policy; Politics of Education + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Citizenship; Education; Politische Bildung; Politische Erziehung; Staatsbürgerliche Erziehung; Staatsbürgerkunde; Demokratie; Geistesgeschichte; Sozialer Wert; Bildungsprinzip; Bildungsphilosophie; Erziehungsphilosophie; Educational objective; Bildungsziel; Erziehungsziel; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Educational policy
Abstract	A "civic recession" is as worrisome as an economic recession. "A Crucible Moment: College Learning & Democracy's Future" (The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012) should be praised for acknowledging the peril and seeking to rebuild the "depleted civic capital." Welcome, too, is the report's conviction that colleges must offer more than workforce training. Citizenship should be a feature of education at all levels. No one stated this more clearly than Thomas Jefferson in what might be the nation's first report from the educational trenches, his 1818 "Report of the Commissioners for the University of Virginia." Acquaintance with this historic text can help one judge whether the current document provides the right sort of stimulus for the ailing civic economy. Like the authors of "A Crucible Moment," Jefferson saw the need for civic learning to permeate education from start to finish, with increasing expectations and sophistication as students proceed. There are, however, significant differences in the two approaches. Jefferson is attentive to the unique demands of the American constitutional order. The political system is representative in nature. "A Crucible Moment" manifests no recognition of this, and indeed, seems intent on rejecting or denying it. The word "democracy" is continually evoked but never once with the qualifier "representative." This is a civics that is not rooted in the actual ground of the "civitas". Another sign of the report's alienation from American politics is the downplaying of the nation-state. This author wishes for a civic education at once more patriotic and more philosophic, particularly in its willingness to interrogate democracy. Such an education would challenge the assumption that if democracy is good, more democracy is better. (Contains 5 footnotes.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10