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Running head: EDUCATION MATIX

My Position on the Citizenship Education Matrix

Carly MacLean
Keyano College

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EDUCATION MATRIX

In life, we categorize. We do this so we can find the black and white in an otherwise grey
world; school is no different. We separate disciplines both physically and conceptually and
within those categories we create overarching themes and units. We learn a great many things in
isolation from one another, at least I did many years ago. As adults, we recognize that our world
doesnt reflect this ideal categorization yet we continue to function in this limiting way. We,
Canadians, are a complex tapestry of interwoven cultural, historical and political fabrics and our
current educational system needs to be conducive to this reality. The necessary ideological shift
that I feel is necessary to support a well-rounded education demonstrates my position on the
Citizenship Education Matrix (Case and Clark, 2013, p. 22).
With conviction I place myself on the far right of the social initiation vs. social
reformation continuum. Although Ive never seen these opposing concepts represented visually
before, they are concepts which have compelled me for the entirety of my formal and informal
education. Social reform has, and I predict will continue to be, a driving force in my decision to
pursue a career in education. I deeply believe that the moral and ethical maturation of this nation
has been dependant on social reform, exemplified by movements that have led to closing of
residential schools and voting rights for women. I want my students to think, ask and be
constantly engaged. I want to provoke thought by asking questions that dont have easy answers
and which create discussions that lead to well-informed opinions. I want my students to see
connections between classroom content and current events and most importantly, I want them to
know that formal testing does not define them intellectually. These things cannot be
accomplished without educational and social reform.

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EDUCATION MATRIX

The hypothetical students that Ive just described are emotionally invested in the material
and have developed their own attitudes and opinions of the subject matter, yet have a firm
understanding of the course content. This creates a paradoxical dualism in regards to the
personal development vs. intellectual development continuum. I assert that personal
development is the result of intellectual development simply because I believe that it is human
nature to create personal connections to information and to use that information to expand a
unique set of morals and values. To represent personal development as disjoint from intellectual
development is contrary to my understanding of intelligence. The textbook warns that we must
ensure our vision does not amount to unfocused borrowing of all four camps (Case and Clark,
2013, p. 27), however I remain central on this continuum. There is an appropriate way to ensure
learning is both child-centred (Case and Clark, 2013, p. 26) and content driven. If the teacher
is familiar with the interests of the child, he/she can use those interests to engage the learner. A
flexible learning environment with a variety of assessments is necessary to ensure that students
are not all measured on a scale that reflects the intelligence of only a few.
Reverting back to the notion of interconnectedness, these opposing ideologies have been
represented in my EDPS 360 course as sociological perspectives; structural functionalism,
critical analysis and interpretive analysis (Wotherspoon, 2013, p. 11-12). Regardless of the
different names, this curricular overlap reaffirms my position on the matrix. These contrasting
opinions only prove that there are many valid ways to see the world and our classrooms need to
nurture all of these perspectives. How can we do that if we teach only one way?

References

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EDUCATION MATRIX

Case, R. (2013). The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Elementary
Teachers. Vancouver. Pacific Educational Press.
Wortherspoon, T. (2013). The Sociology of Education in Canada: Critical Perspectives
(Fourth ed.). Oxford University Press.