# educ 7610 citizenship paper Brainstorm Jethro Jones ## Assignment Directions ## Assignment [[EDUC 7610]] [The Paper](https://docs.google.com/document/d/17weOxepJ-cBnGxYWtj2UDJiacPY0OVzyzS0ziQ7hUzw/edit) “Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.” Johnson page 132 # instructions Overview: You are to write two position papers in this class. One on the topic of Citizenship and the second on civility. Myers writes this about position papers: A Position Paper is a common type of academic argument writing assignment. Typically, a Position Paper is written after reading about and discussing a particular issue. Quite often, the readings cover more than one issue, and as a writer you must choose a particular area of focus. The central goal of writing a position paper is not only to state and defend your position on the issue but also to show how your stance relates to other positions. Your position paper should have a thesis or main idea. For example, you might argue: Schools should be Democratic institutions. That would be the main idea of the piece, you would then support this claim with logical writing and supporting citations. It is helpful to situate your position in comparison to others. This may mean citing authors you agree with or authors you disagree with and explaining why the disagreement. Purpose:  The purpose of this assignment is twofold. First, it is a writing exercise. You will be practicing writing like an academic (good prep for dissertation writing). Second, this exercise will challenge you to think deeply about what you believe regarding this important issue. Audience: In writing, it is always important to consider the audience. Your audience is an academic audience. Strategies: - _Focus_ on a narrowly defined issue. Introduce the issue very early in your writing. - _Develop_ your argument by defending your claim and showing how it relates to the positions of your sources. Show the positions of other authors. Each paragraph should build your argument. - _Organize_ your paper in a way that effectively conveys information to your readers, is easy to follow, and presents your position in relation to those of the authors. - _Document_ all outside sources (both written and field sources) using APA in-text citations and works cited. - Write in a _style_ that is clear, readable, appropriate to audience, and free from distracting errors in spelling, grammar, and usage. Bob Barker died this year.  He got the closest to 100 without going over.  Show these Letterman top ten lists to your kids and you’ll see how there is not the common knowledge around this social idea:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0b1In9RF7Y I showed this to my children, 11-17 years old. They didn't get it. ### Part 1 Parents, Values, and Education My position paper will argue that parents hold primary responsibility for their children's education, with the state assisting, not controlling. This approach highlights key issues in education. Firstly, family values and goals should be prioritized in the learning system. School standards should adapt to each family's desires, as students are part of their families. For instance, if a student from a blue-collar family aims for a white-collar career, schools should support their aspirations. The same applies to a white-collar student not wanting college. While citizens hold political power in democracy, families are the core units. Education should respect the values and beliefs of those served. Even extreme views have constitutional protection in the United States. A major challenge is people's disinterest in education. Kids enjoy learning but hate school due to its conformity and alignment with others' values. By respecting family values, we can rekindle interest in education. Consider Apple Inc.'s iPhone introduction; it drove demand for faster mobile broadband speeds, forcing carriers to upgrade networks. When families battle schools over values, they feel attacked. Educators should support families in defining their values, enriching the educational system. Interviews on the Transformative Principle Podcast discuss this idea: when students pursue interests aligned with their values, they exceed expectations. Janet Thirlby's research found that great leaders had defined values at an early age—a powerful tool for everyone. Developing leadership skills benefits students regardless of their chosen industry. # Part 2 ## Transcript The second point I would like to make is that most of our emphasis in education should be the defining of values, helping students identify and define their own values so they know how to make decisions in the future. Janet Thoroughby describes how values are formed at an early age, and then as people go through crucibles, they further define their values. These crucibles are typically challenging events or situations that cause people to lean more heavily upon the values they have. By starting with the values that the family already has and by defining that, educators are helping all of society, not just the students in their classroom. By having open and frank conversations with parents and encouraging families to have conversations about their values within their own homes, they make explicit the implicit things that families do on a daily basis. Students should have opportunities to express their values and beliefs, have disagreements with other students, and further refine their own values and beliefs as time goes on. By starting with the family values, we're starting with what we already know and believe and improving on it. It's easy to start with a place of understanding and build from there, as opposed to not knowing where you're starting from and then making suggestions or recommendations. Students should have opportunities to discuss with teachers, parents, and peers the things that they value and believe in, and to justify decisions that they make based on their own personal values. In the Weimer, Goddard, and whatever paper, they talked about activist students and how they were affected by their own personal values. Their purpose from personal responsibility to activist to participation or whatever those three things were, they talked about the different levels. What I'm proposing is a fourth level that is focused on their values, that combines taking action, organizing, and advocating for change, but basing it on students' values. If we can teach students how to make decisions early in their life based on their values, that is a skill they will be able to use again and again throughout their lives when it comes to every other facet of their life. They should be able to be challenged about their values in a loving and supportive way, without judgment from their teachers, and that will enable them to make decisions that are better for everyone. It will help them define their values earlier. As Thoroughby notes, early value definition is an important aspect of future leaders. So, let's answer this question. Why do we want students to be educated based on their values? Because when you have good values, or I should say strong, clear values, where you know what you believe, it's easier for you to make decisions, it's easier for you to make more consistent decisions. And if those values are determined early on, then you are more likely to become a leader. And whether that is leader in title, or leader in action, or leader in influence, that's what we're looking for. Thoroughby defines leadership as a process. And that is certainly what we want, is to have students continually go through a process to continually develop their leadership. Because it's not one size fits all, and it's not going to work the same for every single person. Thank you. ## Defining Values in Education The second point I want to make is that education should focus on defining values. It helps students identify their values to make better decisions in the future. Janet Thirlby explains how values form early in life and are further shaped by challenging events. By building on family values and having open conversations with parents, educators help society and their students. Students should have chances to express their values, disagree with others, and refine their beliefs over time. Starting with family values allows for a better understanding and improvement. Students should discuss their values with teachers, parents, and peers to justify their decisions based on personal beliefs. In Weimer, Goddard, and whatever paper, they discuss activist students affected by personal values. I propose a fourth level focused on values that combines action, organizing, and advocating for change based on students' beliefs. Teaching decision-making based on values early in life benefits them in all aspects of life. Challenging students' values in a supportive way without judgment helps them make better decisions for everyone. Early value definition is crucial for future leaders, as Thoroughby notes. So why educate students based on values? Clear and strong values make decision-making easier and more consistent. If determined early, students are more likely to become leaders in title, action, or influence. Thoroughby sees leadership as a process. We want students to continually develop their leadership since it's not one size fits all. Thank you. ## Transcript # Part 3 ## Transcript While there may be many excuses or alleged reasons for why educators may say we don't think we should start with the family's values, it all boils down to one thing: we don't agree with the family's values. They may say things like any reason given for this eventually get to the point where it boils down to we don't agree with those values. The beautiful thing is that you're not required to agree with the family's values, but your agreement or position on their values is immaterial to how you teach their students. I may come back to that rebuttal. I propose a framework of analyzing a values-based decision-making process to use with students. We would need to look at the content, which is the decision in a vacuum, the context, which is the decision in the context of what was going on, and the culture, which is the culture of those around us. This three-layered approach to each decision gives students ample opportunity to defend or abandon the decisions that they made without judgment, without coercion, and without consequence because our ultimate goal is not to teach them to conform, but to teach them to make decisions based on their conscience and their values. That is what is needed in a democracy. This will prevent what the guy who wrote What is Needed in a Democracy wrote about political parties and money being the driving factor in how people make decisions. Let's look at each one of these briefly. Content. When a student makes a decision, it is important to ask about that decision on its own, regardless of what other circumstances may have been around that. Was that the right decision, irrespective of everything else? This thought exercise and discussion enables students to understand making decisions in a vacuum and is simple enough that it can apply to everyone, regardless of age, from elementary, pre-k, all the way to doctoral level. This gives students the language and skills to blamelessly discern whether their decisions were right or wrong. Students may make decisions that they know are wrong in content or right in content, but may make other decisions based on the context. And so we bring in the context to help them see how things could be in a different situation. Let me insert another rebuttal here. Some educators would argue that if a student is allowed to choose their own values, they will just choose whatever is appropriate for them at the moment that puts them in the best light. This is exactly the behavior that we are trying to stop, that students will learn the value of making decisions based on values that are deeply held to them, so that they act in accordance with their values, regardless of the situation. This is where context becomes so important, that we can have a conversation with the child that blamelessly discerns whether or not they acted in accordance with their values based on the situation. What this will inevitably lead to is students making determinations about their values and the context of the situations that they're in where they need to make choices. So if a student believes that something is right or wrong as a content on its own, but then is presented with a situation where their mind changes, then it's important for them to be aware of that and determine whether or not they should change their previously held belief. Too often our schools are about compliance, as evidenced from this clip from David Richards' podcast, where he talks about wanting to be a student-driven or student-led school, but then the teachers are the ones directing all the traffic. The teachers are the ones saying, this is how we do things here, rather than allowing students to say, this is how we all do things here. So the context is important for a situation to know whether or not that decision they believed was right or wrong before, in isolation, is correct in this new context. The third piece is about the culture, and this is where it becomes so valuable to blamelessly discern and evaluate how the f Family's values align or don't align with the school's values, and what is to be done in those situations. Perhaps the clearest evidence of this is when a student gets in a fight at school. The parent has told the student, and also tells the school officials, "I tell my kid, if anybody puts hands on them, then they stand up and defend themselves and fight back." Now, in many situations, this is actually good advice, but in order to keep the peace and safety at school, we say that this is typically not good advice. However, depending on the context, it may be good advice or bad advice. If you are out in the woods with nobody close to you within 50 miles, and somebody shows up and puts hands on you, there is nobody to come and save you and protect you from getting further injured. And so it is incumbent on you to take care of yourself and your family, and not allow that person to bring harm to you. Now, the reason this relates to the culture is that we do not want the culture of our schools or the society to be defined by people fighting and coming to blows. And so you can then ask the student further, "What is the correct response to this decision as it relates to the culture that you're in in the moment?" And you can extrapolate this to how would you react if this happened at home, at school, in the community, on the bus, on public transportation, in an Uber, or any other situation to help them see where it is that they're at and what their decisions should look like. When they consider decisions that they make as it relates to the content, the context, and the culture, they are able to make more sense of why they're acting the way they're acting. Let's bring it full circle. When students comply with what the school says, nobody wins. Students learn a valuable, but ultimately harmful, lesson that it only matters whether or not you got caught. However, when teachers can work as partners with parents in helping students further define and refine their values, they are seen as partners, and everybody wins. If the teachers try to indoctrinate kids away from what their parents want, that creates unfortunate situations where parents and teachers are at odds with each other. Let's look at a couple of thorny issues. One of my classmates in a discussion mentioned that when it came to the topic of evolution and how she would teach that in school if students disagreed with what that was, she would respond that this is how you need to respond on the test. Clear evidence of compliance, not making values-based decisions, not working with the family to decide what the right thing is. What we really should be focusing on is how do we make decisions that align with our values? Let's take another thorny topic, climate change, global warming. There are Nobel Prize-winning physicists and other scientists who say that climate change does not exist because our models predicting it are wrong. Too often, political ideologies have become like religion, where attempting to convince someone that their belief is wrong becomes an unwinnable fight that both sides end up losing. How do we get to situations where we can both win, where everybody can win? It's not just about one side getting it right. Thank you. ## Three-Layered Decision-Making Approach All their reasons come down to just two main issues: 1. The educator does not believe that the parents have the capability to make the "correct" decisions about values for the child 2. The educator does not agree with the decisions that the parents would make for the child. Many educators may not agree with family values, but it's important to remember that teaching students is the main focus. A three-layered approach to decision-making can help students understand their choices and values. This includes looking at content, context, and culture. First, consider the content of a decision. Ask students about their choices without considering other factors. Was it right or wrong? This helps them think about decisions in isolation and applies to all ages. Next, bring in context. This helps students understand how different situations can influence their decisions. Encourage them to act according to their values, regardless of the situation. Context is crucial for understanding if a previously believed right or wrong choice still holds true in a new setting. Lastly, consider culture. This involves evaluating how family values align with school values. For example, discussing what to do when a fight breaks out at school. Students should think about how their actions impact the culture of their surroundings. When students comply with school rules without understanding why, nobody wins. Instead, teachers should work with parents to help students define their values and make thoughtful decisions based on content, context, and culture. Teachers and parents should be partners, and everyone can win. If teachers try to change kids' beliefs against their parents' wishes, it creates conflict. Let's look at two difficult issues. One classmate mentioned teaching evolution in school. If students disagreed, she'd say to answer the test correctly. This is compliance, not making value-based decisions or working with families. We should focus on decisions that align with our values. Another tough topic is climate change or global warming. Some scientists argue it doesn't exist due to flawed models. Political beliefs can become like religion, making it hard to convince others. How can everyone win? It's not just about one side being right. Thank you. ### Resources [You are what you think](https://read.readwise.io/archive/read/01h3vp8wmhpq2axtv35d5kewwv) [Apple did more than any regulator ever could](https://overcast.fm/+8XV2Ap3vE/44:23) we need to drive people to care. The way we do that is to make the family the central unit, partner with them, rather than try to dictate to them what they should do. This is the only education that matters. And it has to be in partnership with our parents. Because time doesn’t matter - what matters is that they learn t