My schooling experience in regards to citizenship for the most part was focused on being kind to others, sportsmanship in extra-curriculars, recycling in the classroom, not littering on the playground, sharing is caring, walking to school if you can avoid driving, respecting your teachers, etc. I also remember doing food drives, spring bee clean up, Terry Fox runs, having prizes for our bigger school events that were bought from a local business. All personally responsible citizenship practices. I do however remember in grade 7&8 current event articles that had guiding questions to deeper discussion, these could have potential to lead and build a justice-oriented citizen by starting those conversations. For me, in grade 8 my close friend and I were the ones to plan events like dances and spirit days which is a step towards a participatory citizen.

This approach to curriculum made arguments and confrontation impossible to develop any sense of the justice-oriented citizen. It also made it impossible to gain a proper sense of what citizenship really means. Like Mike Capello highlights in his presentation that personally responsible and participatory citizens serve to the base of colonialism and that just being: “kinder, gentler” at A, B, C & D will not get us anywhere. The approach we take to citizenship instruction anywhere specifically tells us what that particular place wants for their future. Joel Westheimer and Joseph Kane state in their article, “What Kind of Citizen? The politics of Educating for Democracy”, that teachers teach individual acts of kindness and compassion and do not teach collective social action and justice. In this way of teaching, the place includes personally responsible citizens and does not teach for justice-oriented citizens. Teaching for personally responsible citizens shows the particular place values obeying, taxpaying, responsible, unproblematic citizens. Justice-orientated citizens may, but will rarely emerge from a personally responsible taught student. Politics and curriculum have a lot of power when it comes to preparing students for citizenship. I know a lot of my personal understandings of citizenship sparked when I turned 18 and could vote for the first time. It was my right of passage into adult life and being an adult came with this citizenship responsibility. Although true, I was wrong to think that is when my responsibility as a citizen started, because it started in school.

Westheimer, J. and Kahne, J. (2004). What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy. American Educational Research Journal. (pp. 237-269)

Capello, M. (2019). Citizenship Education. https://www.spreaker.com/user/voicedradio/ohassta-talks-citizenship-education-mike