This morning I listened to an interesting story on NPR entitled
Teaching Patriotism in a time of War.
"As part of Morning Edition's "Citizen Student" series on civics education, NPR's Madeleine Brand visited two eighth-grade history classrooms, where students and their teachers are trying to figure out just what it means to be a patriot."
I've really enjoyed NPR's "Citizen Student" series thus far. This installment struck me as a little jingoistic but had some interesting commentary about the culture wars. I'm bothered by the idea that looking out for your nation is commonly accepted as more noble than looking out for humanity in general but, hell, I'm a product of leftist brainwashing I suppose.
The last installment,"Civics Lessons Beyond the Classroom" raised some interesting questions about activism vs. charity in service learning, i.e. volunteering or donating to charity in lieu of voting or other political activity. That's a serious disconnect in American society but I think it's difficult to overcome because people have so little faith in their own political power, thanks largely to the dominance of special interests in American politics.
Posted by sarah at February 6, 2003 8:42 AM | TrackBack