Discusses the essential knowledge students must acquire to hold the office of a citizen in a democratic republic. Analyzes the relationship between virtue, learning and civic work in both the public and private lives of citizens, providing a backdrop for the articles which follow.
Describes how social studies are essential to the primary classroom and should not and cannot be displaced be a narrow concept of curriculum that finds room for only math, science and language.
Describes how the integration of the social studies disciplines can inform the civic lives of upper elementary students as they learn to live “outside the box.”
Reflects on the philosophical foundations of democratic citizenship through the lens of his work with secondary students and the ability or inability of teachers to impact their social choices even when these choices lead to violence.
Constructs participatory citizenship as a role involving examination of controversial social issues and analysis of multiple perspectives. Provides a concrete classroom application in a lesson sequence focusing on the issue of gun control.