Education and the roots of citizenship

In accordance with state law, each school day the Pledge of Allegiance is performed at Sandpoint High School. This daily recitation highlights an important duty and challenge that we — teachers, parents, and concerned citizens — must perform. We are charged with handing down a legacy of civic knowledge, participation, and virtue to the next generation.

But how is this to be done? How do we help our children to acquire a love and an appreciation for our nation? How do we educate and raise democratic citizens? As the author Elizabeth McPike concludes, simply living in a democracy, breathing in the “bedrock values of liberty, opportunity, tolerance, the rule of law,” is not enough. Although a daily Pledge of Allegiance may model patriotism, alone it will not instill in our students a devotion to their community and country. Instead, we must look to education, both at home and at school, to complete the task.

As our state increasingly moves toward the practice of measuring the competency of our schools by the use of yearly standardized tests in reading and mathematics, I hope to encourage local parents and patrons to consider the importance of social studies in the education of our children. Although literacy and math skills are essential, we must not allow our educational system to become so focused on the Idaho Standards Achievement Tests that we lose sight of the important lessons that are learned from the study of history, government, and economics. These courses play a vital role in helping our children to discover who we were, who we are, and who we hope to be. This intellectual understanding of the past and present is an essential building block of genuine citizenship.

Our children’s education directly affects the quality of their response to being members of our society. After all, how can adolescents become future active participants in our political system if they lack an understanding of our nation’s principles, institutions and laws? Is it likely that a child will value freedom and justice without having much knowledge of those who suffered under tyranny and injustice? Will our children, without having examined the roles others have played in shaping our nation, ever commit to the idea that they each have a role to play, however small, in promoting the health of our democracy?

Although the recent economic recession has forced our school district to cut social studies teaching positions and postpone the purchase of new textbooks, the social studies department at Sandpoint High has been spared even worse reductions because of your amazing community support for the local school levy. Our class sizes are higher, but SHS continues to offer a number of social studies electives and requires students to complete two years of American history, instead of just one. Thank you for making this well-rounded education possible.

DAMIEN GOODING

Sandpoint

Sandpoint High School

Social studies

department chairman