Week 1 Discussion 2 - Preparing Students for CitizenshipAfter completing this week's readings, access the link below and read the article.No Excuses: Eleven Schools and Districts that Make Preparing S

If we accept the fact that we may need to focus more on teaching civic responsibility, how can this work with both "policies and people" in the school where you become principal?

To be honest, this was a very intriguing article because I myself never really cared for civics class.  Yes, it is important to know how the government works, but there is so much more to civics.  As a teacher it is our responsibility to prepare our students for civic life.  Students need to learn the skills necessary to become active and engaged citizens in our future.  One way this can be done in school is an administrator could require each teacher to incorporate some kind of civic action in class.  For example, in 9th grade science students are evaluating human influences on water quality in North Carolina river basins, wetlands, and tidal environments.  Luckily, I live right by the water. I could arrange a lesson in which students conduct research and then come up with a process to make a difference.  Maybe it is they want to have the class meet them at the beach to pick up litter and teach about the negatives of water/beach pollution.  As a teacher it is up to you to engage your class but the administrator needs to model this behavior and the expectations to teachers. The teacher/administrator can work with the students and community.  It could be an entire school working to reach a goal together.  As a school they may be focused on reduce, reuse, and recycle.  There are so many options.

How will you lead your staff in this part of the curriculum?

As an administrator, I will communicate my goal and talk with my staff about how to reach the goal.  I will actively engage my staff and get them motivated and eager to want to work to attain the goal.  I will make sure to model the behavior and stay aimed at the goal at hand.  If as a staff we want to reduce, reuse, and recycle we will come up with research and strategies to meet the goal. We then will take action and reflect.