PARENT & TEACHER TIPS CONTINUED
nascent friendship forged during the terrifying hours after a fight at a high school football game sparks a race riot .
Discuss with your kids the concept of patriotism , helping them distinguish between personal loyalty to individuals or institutions and civic loyalty to ideas and causes intended to increase the common good . Together identify examples of patriotic action . For prompts consider James Baldwin , “ I love America more than any other country in the world and , exactly for that reason , I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually ” or Charles Blow , “ Conservatism is rooted in preservation ; progressivism advances alteration . These are different love languages . When you think of America , do you see a country struggling to be maintained or one striving to be made better ?”
Commit to the necessity of teaching civics well . Harvard professor and director of the Safra Center for Ethics Danielle Allen has pointed to the current imbalance in investment in civic education — about $ 50 of federal funds per year per student on STEM compared to 5 cents on civics — noting that without civic strength at home we compete less successfully on the global stage . She has led development of an “ interactive roadmap ” for civics education ( https :// www . educatingforamericandemocracy . org ). Some goals include : inspire K-12 students involvement in their democracy , tell a full narrative of our plural yet shared story , explore the need for compromise to make democracy work , and cultivate civic honesty .
This is a short list of efforts that can help us all continue the hard work toward a more perfect union . •
Julie Stevens is a parent , former school psychologist , and former independent school teacher . She has written numerous articles on parenting and moral growth that can be found on csee . org .
Continued from page 30 : Teacher Tips
• Provide opportunities for experiential learning . This is a great way to allow students to exercise citizenship in the real world . •
Hadley Zeavin is the Director of Service Learning and Experiential Education at La Jolla Country Day School in La Jolla , CA . Hadley works in the Lower , Middle , and Upper Schools , focusing on building empathy and relationships and using those skills to contribute to communities . With her colleague , Michelle Hirschy , she has co-developed a course taught to school leadership as well as the ninth-graders entitled Dignity which works to increase inclusive language and support diversity , equity , and inclusion through an experiential and neuroscientific approach .
CSEE Connections Summer 2021 Page 33