NationStates Jolt Archive

Is Civics still being taught as such in your school?

I'm not a teacher but they do teach it in my high school. It's called Problems of Democracy. It examines the U.S. government in all its' aspects and reviews other political systems from other nations. Our teacher even has discussions on world events as well.

May want to be a bit more specific on what “Teachers” you wanted. Lol I teach a few comp courses here at the university

May want to be a bit more specific on what “Teachers” you wanted. Lol I teach a few comp courses here at the university

Actually Im interested at all levels.

I'm not a teacher but they do teach it in my high school. It's called Problems of Democracy. It examines the U.S. government in all its' aspects and reviews other political systems from other nations. Our teacher even has discussions on world events as well.

That is certainly an interesting title for Civics

Actually Im interested at all levels.
well then yes they do

That is certainly an interesting title for Civics

I don't understand why they call that either. Almost makes it sound like democracy's bad.

Yes, but I am sure that what is taught in Brazil is not of great interest to you.

Yes, but I am sure that what is taught in Brazil is not of great interest to you.

I'm interested

Oh, sure ... civics begins here with Texas History at the junior high level. American History and Civics are still required high school curriculum in Texas.

Yes, but I am sure that what is taught in Brazil is not of great interest to you.

Actually I AM interested.

Oh, sure ... civics begins here with Texas History at the junior high level. American History and Civics are still required high school curriculum in Texas.

I am very glad to hear this. To quote Martha Stewart "It's a good thing"

Civics - called cidadania (which literally translates as citizenship) is taught to the 14 to 16 year old age group and is a hang over from the militrary dictatorship that has been adapted to fit a democracy.
It tends to emphasise the duties of the citizen, rather than the rights, and as voting is compulsory here, then participation in political life is seen as a duty.

The curriculum covers the constitution, the structures of government, the role of the judiciary, the types of law enforcement (very confusing here), the concept and practical demands of the nation, the roles of the federal government, state government and city councils, and more.

I don't teach it, and was never taught it (as I am an immigrant) so I may have missed out some essential part.

As an immigrant I can say that a condensed civics course would be of great use to all immigrants, as it would help with the basic knowledge of how the country works, which nearly every native assumes either that you know, or that it can not be done any other way.

I'm not a teacher, but the Ontario curriculum here in Canada requires a 0.5 credit of Civics to graduate high school. So... thats about 2.5 months learning about the Canadian government, duties as a citizen, political parties, civil society, global politics and the like. I was taught it in grade 10, it was interesting, but I felt it would have been better.

Civics - called cidadania (which literally translates as citizenship) is taught to the 14 to 16 year old age group and is a hang over from the militrary dictatorship that has been adapted to fit a democracy.
It tends to emphasise the duties of the citizen, rather than the rights, and as voting is compulsory here, then participation in political life is seen as a duty.

The curriculum covers the constitution, the structures of government, the role of the judiciary, the types of law enforcement (very confusing here), the concept and practical demands of the nation, the roles of the federal government, state government and city councils, and more.

I don't teach it, and was never taught it (as I am an immigrant) so I may have missed out some essential part.

As an immigrant I can say that a condensed civics course would be of great use to all immigrants, as it would help with the basic knowledge of how the country works, which nearly every native assumes either that you know, or that it can not be done any other way.


Thank you, that is interesting.

I'm not a teacher, but the Ontario curriculum here in Canada requires a 0.5 credit of Civics to graduate high school. So... thats about 2.5 months learning about the Canadian government, duties as a citizen, political parties, civil society, global politics and the like. I was taught it in grade 10, it was interesting, but I felt it would have been better.

Do you wish it had been longer or just better?

Well, I teach political science at the university level... but I just found out last semester that at least one college at the university has what you might call a "civics" requirement. I think, however, that the administration (as usual) has its priorities misplaced.

A former student emailed me in December to explain that he had taken my intro course in political theory the previous semester in the belief that it satisfied his "citizenship" requirement, but had now been told it does not. He was trying to appeal for credit to a college committee, so that he could graduate, and he wanted me to write a letter explaining that the course had covered topics of relevance to democratic citizenship.

Since he was a very fine student, and I believed that the course (as I taught it) should satisfy the requirement, I took a look at the college handbook. Not surprisingly, the description of this "citizenship" requirement was hopelessly vague... but the list of "approved" courses was more informative. Basically, it was a lot of "how a bill becomes a law" crapola focusing on the policy process and institutions of the United States. How this is really helpful to democratic citizens remains a mystery to me.

Anyway, I wrote my letter and my student got the credit he deserved. Strangely enough, next semester I am teaching a course titled "Democratic Political Theory," and even this does not "count"... presumably because I'm never going to quiz them on how many fucking congressional committees there are.

The lesson of the story? Don't rely on your school curriculum and administrators to tell you what "civics" is... they probably just don't have a clue.

Is Civics still being taught as such in your school?
yes, as well as Accords, Preludes, Odysseys, Ridgeline and all the other Honda Makes of Cars.

Yes, Civics is taught at our grade 11 year as an alternative option to Social Studies; basically, Civics focuses more on politics and government than history. I peer tutor for a couple blocks, and find it quite interesting; I wish I'd been able to take it in my grade 11 year. (It wasn't available until this year.)

My students do have a class in it, how much they get is another question though.

Civics is also a bit contraversal in Japan however so...

My students do have a class in it, how much they get is another question though.

Civics is also a bit contraversal in Japan however so...

Plus us students seem to get this communicable virus which makes us sleep in class..... ZZZZZZZZZ.......

My school, so far as I know, doesn't offer Civics. I've looked through our hand book several times. I wonder if LIU has it...

Plus us students seem to get this communicable virus which makes us sleep in class..... ZZZZZZZZZ.......
Not in my classes they don't. I'm not a teacher who thinks that I am attached to the blackboard. I have legs and no qualms about shaking students awake. :D

Yes, I am a mean teacher. ;)

Not in my classes they don't. I'm not a teacher who thinks that I am attached to the blackboard. I have legs and no qualms about shaking students awake. :D

Yes, I am a mean teacher. ;)

Excelent.... Here's a sailor's trick for ya (learned it from my cousin)

Take two fingers (index and middle) and poke them rappidly and hard on the fore head. Very annoying.

And another.... Make a fist, and rub on their chest with your knuckles. It's a lifeguarding/CPR technique I learned when I took the course to wake people up.

Or, you can take a fog horn and put it next to their ears....... (might get sued though).


Seriously though, what is Civics like? Since my school district doesn't have it (I've talked to several other people I know from different schools), and I've got no idea what it's like.

I had a teacher brain me with an orange one day for sleeping. That sucked.

At my (admittedly non-traditional) school, we focus on civics for about three weeks, which culminates in, of all things, a debate. The debate was fun, and I remember all that I learned, but civics itself? Kind of boring.

I had a teacher brain me with an orange one day for sleeping. That sucked.

At my (admittedly non-traditional) school, we focus on civics for about three weeks, which culminates in, of all things, a debate. The debate was fun, and I remember all that I learned, but civics itself? Kind of boring.

Debates tend to be fun... Especially if you try to argue with a stuborn science teacher when he tells you the temp in celsius. "C'mon man, celsius sucks!"

It's taught here, sort of, but it has a different name and is incorporated in with American Government. We only have three teachers to cover grades 7-12 (although we'll have four next year!), so it gets taught once every few years, or as independent study if a student needs it to graduate and it's not being offered.