Keith Benson

Civics, Citizenship and Social Education

10.12.2006
Dr. Beth Rubin

How do young people experience being American? How do we “become” citizens?

How do kids enact, engage with, and resist the concepts of civics, citizenship, and social
values?
What do schools have to do with this?

From this week’s readings, it seems young people experience being American

though mostly through observation and their own or others’ experiences. These American

observations are made through a variety of entities; TV, radio, magazines and

newspapers. But as the readings suggest, schools are places where young people

experience the larger America. Though young people may not articulate what they are

observing, either consciously or sub-consciously, the criticisms or compliments students

have toward their school could feasibly be “congruent” to their complaints about “their

lived America”. Whether referring to a student at Burnside High School who is

economically “well off and very comfortable”, or an immigrant youth at a school in

Dodge City, Kansas, the realities young people experience within their schools mirror

their larger American experience. Also, I noticed through the readings that experiencing

America can be something that “happens” to a young person. Dr. Rubin comments that

students “in a racially and socioeconomic-ally integrated setting which emphasized

analyses of social inequality had a strikingly different approach, expressing the desire to

become actively involved in social change.” The students of educational setting Dr.

Rubin describes experienced the broader America; that is the American life other
Americans citizens live. Students in the school district were racial and economic diversity

was noticeable, probably directed students become more active in American society.

Unfortunately, not every “American” experience in school is a positive one.

Immigrant youth who enter the American “Petri dish of democracy” that is public school,

often experience an environment that re-affirms their un-American-ness. Stepick and

Stepick in “Becoming American” write, “Teachers and administrators forced immigrant

youth to speak only English while at school. They demeaned, or at best ignored, what

they consider to be inferior cultural traditions of the immigrants” (Stepick, 60). As

humiliating as this, and instances like it, can be to an immigrant student, by experiencing

events, immigrant youth can receive remarkable insight into what they can expect in their

American experience. America, as different as its citizens are and have historically been,

has never been a country that embraces diversity with open arms. Immigrant youth, who

primarily spend much of their time within their own household and within their like

communities, by attending a public school, they learn the views of the larger society.

My definition of an American citizen, and the way to become a citizen, is very

simplistic and un-original. In my view, if someone was either born in America or has

gone through the proper channels to become lawful citizen of this country, they have

succeeded in earning citizenship. I do not believe assimilation into American society is

necessary to become a citizen. But I do, however, believe assimilation is vital toward

achieving upward mobility and being considered more “American”. Lizzie, the 11th

grader at Burnside explained to interviewers how proud her father was to come to

America as an immigrant with no money and through time and effort, was able to

purchase his own home. Through the willingness to accept American ideals and value as
his own, Lizzie’s father, even as an immigrant, was able to procure the American dream

of home ownership. And, while Lizzie herself, didn’t own her house, a message was

clear; by assimilating and accepting the American way of life, people can achieve success

here. I don’t believe Lizzie and her family is anymore American citizens than the

immigrant youths Stepick and Stepick describe, or Haitian émigré Natalie Neptune. But

Lizzie’s family’s willingness to assimilate and accept American ideals set them Lizzie’s

family apart.

Young people respond to their American experience in a variety of ways. The

stressing of “their America” is due to the fact that not all young people experience the

same thing in America. A person’s observations and exposures largely drive their

perceptions. And resulting from varying experiences, varying responses also follow.

Natalie Neptune, in “What Happened to My American Dream”, explains a feeling of

detachment and cynicism toward becoming an American citizen. Stepick and Stepick

describe how many immigrant youth, after being funneled toward Americanization

through assimilation in their schools and larger society, respond by grasping tighter to

their own culture and their original national identity. The response also varied among

native born American young people. In Dr. Rubin’s essay, it is conveyed that the beliefs

and values of more affluent whites and some immigrants, are in more “congruity” with

the larger accepted ideals of mass American society. On the other hand, young people in

middle to lower economic tiers and minorities, respond to their American experience in

ways that communicate higher levels of skepticism and apprehension.

Schools play an important role in how a young person views America. As

microcosms of a student’s community, the expectations and opinions a student forms

within a school, are probably similar to that which they have about their own community,

and “their own America”. But then the question becomes what is the role and goal of

public school? Nasir and Kirshner writes about the Bililian Islamic School saying the

school believes, “Children are viewed as spirits to be nurtured, as well as minds to be

taught, and teachers view their jobs as very much about teaching core principles of love,

compassion, and good conduct” (Nasir,71). In a setting such as this, where teaching

equality and appreciation is fundamental, young people could help form a more positive

and more profound interpretation of “being American”, spur increased civic participation,

and hopefully, mold a more united America.