What’s your understanding of citizenship?
My understanding of citizenship is not extensive. Prior to lecture, the content citizenship covers would be somewhat undefinable in my head. I often associate citizenship with the concept of nationalism. When I think of citizenship, I generally think of anyone part of a society or community, though the technicalities behind this makes it false. Citizenship means associating or actively participating as a citizen within a particular place. As a society, we often disregard the concept of citizenship and replace it with the idea of acceptance and belonging. I believe that one basis of why I lack understanding on citizenship, was because we had many kids in my schooling who were not considered a Canadian citizen, yet we practiced acceptance and belonging. I often heard these students state, I feel like I am a citizen though by document I am not. Overall, I believe citizenship is a documented form of living but also a mindset or way of life.
After listening to the lecture and the resources, I developed a critical view on the aspect of being a “good citizen.” Throughout this class, we have been critiquing common sense. Is it possible that citizenship is becoming a concept of common sense?
How can we relate Treaty Education to citizenship?
When thinking about Treaty Education in relation to citizenship, I would argue that Canadian history is a vital aspect of Canadian citizenship. Historically Canada has been extremely segregated making citizens of Canada lack unity and nationalism. We can view the education on Treaty Education as a gateway towards unity and equity that was stripped from many Canadian citizens historically. Decolonization and reconciliation are vital for creating the acceptance and belonging I mention in the paragraphs above.
If citizenship is prioritized in Canada, should we not be educated on every group’s pathway to citizenship and what citizenship means to every Canadian? The more we learn, the more we know.
Hey Jacey, I found what you said about how as a society we have disregarded citizenship and replaced it with the idea of acceptance and belonging very interesting. One thing that confuses me is how you say that citizenship is a mindset/way of life, but what exactly does this statement mean. Overall this was very well written and your connections to the previous lectures like the one on common sense show a deep understanding if these concepts well done.