Civic Education in the Elementary Years

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Type: Article
Topics: Early Learning, School Administrator Magazine, Social Emotional Learning

September 01, 2020

Appears in September 2020: School Administrator.

A SCHOOL DISTRICT’S CURRICULUM FOR TEACHING COMMUNITY VALUES, AFFIRMING CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND FORMULATING YOUNG STUDENTS’ SKILLS FOR CONTRIBUTING IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
Sheldon Berman talks with a student
Sheldon Berman, superintendent in Andover, Mass., has been a central force in developing a curriculum framework promoting civic dispositions in elementary school students. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDOVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Media coverage of racism, intolerance and street demonstrations has brought the fight for social justice into the nation’s living rooms. Elementary school children, who expect fairness and are at a prime age to develop political understanding, are trying to make sense of what they see. How can educators help them interpret these events in a way that prepares them to take a positive and active role in our democracy?

Our school district is developing the One Community, One Nation curriculum to capitalize on young students’ readiness for civic education; enable them to experience the value of community, culture and civil rights; and empower them to participate in making a difference for themselves and their community.


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Author

Shelley Berman
Sheldon Berman

Retired superintendent in Andover, Mass., and a member of the Council of Distinguished Educators, National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development
One Community, One Nation, an elementary social studies curriculum framework remains in development by the Andover, Mass., Public Schools. Andover has invited other school districts to join in further developing the framework and curriculum in various ways, including partnering at the district leadership or teacher level or sharing resources to support the creation of instructional units.

Those who join the OCON project gain access to the resources already developed plus future resources.
Building Civic Dispositions

Among educators, there is a growing acknowledgment of the need to develop children’s social-emotional skills — yet integrating these skills into instruction has been elusive.

The One Community, One Nation framework places a set of civic dispositions at the heart of the program, with each unit exploring and encouraging the development of different dispositions. These civic dispositions align with the social-emotional skills (the five core competencies) in the CASEL framework.

For example, the civic disposition of individual responsibility aligns with responsible decision making, open-mindedness with self-awareness, negotiation and compromise with relationship skills, and promotion of the common good with social awareness. Each is the civic embodiment of the core social skill as it plays out in the civic arena. This intentional alignment helps to equip students with the social-emotional tools to enter civic life with a sense of optimism and confidence in their ability to make change.

The accompanying chart articulates the civic dispositions covered by One Community, One Nation. The right-hand column frames each disposition in language more appropriate to elementary students. Appreciation is extended to Paul Graseck, who developed this chart during his time as director of cultural studies in the Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Ky.

One Community One Nation

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