Page 193 - Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students 4th Edition

CHAPTER 7 How Can I Teach the Other Social Sciences Powerfully? 165
do understand that taxes are paid specifically to governments to fund governmental activities are usually only aware of sales taxes, not income or property taxes.
Most young students in public schools do not realize that their own school is pro- vided by the local government and their teachers are paid using tax money. Many assume that the school is owned by the principal or some combination of people who work in the building, and that teachers are paid by the principal (using personal funds or money gotten from a bank) or their parents (via money paid for books and supplies) (Berti, 2005; Brophy & Alleman, 2005).
Finally, it is noteworthy that less than one-fourth of the students whom we inter- viewed said that they would like to be president when they grew up, and many of these were more focused on the prerequisites attached to the office than on opportunities to use its power for the good of the country. Despite the tendency of most of these students to attribute near-omnipotent power to the presidency, they also associated the office with long hours, daunting responsibilities, and “political stuff.” We need to do a better job of helping students appreciate the many services and functions that governments perform and socializing them to aspire to public service careers.
National Standards for Teaching about Civics and Government
The NCSS (2010) Curriculum Standards include two themes relating to civics and government, one focusing on knowledge and the other on values and dispositions. The first theme calls for experiences that provide for the study of how people create and change structures of Power, Authority, and Governance. In the early grades, such experi- ences allow students to examine the rights and responsibilities of the individual in rela- tion to his or her social group, such as family, peer group, and school class; explain the purpose of government; give examples of how government does or does not provide for the needs and wants of people, establish order and security and manage conflict; recog- nize how groups and organizations encourage unity and deal with diversity to maintain order and security; distinguish among local, state, and national government and identify representative leaders at these levels, such as mayor, governor, and president; identify and describe factors that contribute to cooperation and cause disputes within and among groups and nations; explore the role of technology in communications, transpor- tation, information-processing, weapons development, or other areas as it contributes to or helps resolve conflicts; and recognize and give examples of the tensions between the wants and needs of individuals and groups and concepts such as fairness, equity, and justice. In the middle grades, experiences related to this theme allow students to examine persistent issues involving the rights, roles, and status of the individual in relation to the general welfare; describe the purpose of government and how its powers are acquired, used, and justified; analyze and explain ideas and governmental mechanisms to meet the needs and wants of citizens, regulate territory, manage conflict, and establish order and security; describe the ways nations and organizations respond to forces of unity and diversity affecting order and security; identify and describe the basic features of the political system in the United States, and identify representative leaders from various levels and branches of the government; explain conditions, actions, and motivations that contribute to conflict and cooperation within and among nations; describe and analyze the role of technology in communications, transportation, information-processing, weapons development, or other areas as it contributes to or helps resolve conflicts; explain and apply concepts such as power, role, status, justice, and influence to the examination of persistent issues and social problems; and give examples and explain how governments attempt to achieve their stated ideals at home and abroad.
The second theme is Civic Ideals and Practices. It calls for experiences that provide for the study of the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic.
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