Citizenship

I believe the term citizen represents someone who is a well-rounded individual who portrays themselves profoundly within society. The term “citizen” is also a representation of someone who is an accountable individual who is actively involved within society by paying taxes and obeying the rights of the law within the origin of which they’re from. Being a good citizen doesn’t often mean that only those who pay taxes and vote are the only good citizens within society as many lack money, don’t have time, or don’t have transportation or knowledge to have access to things other people may have access to. Being a good citizen could also mean becoming a leader, starting public speaking, or learning skills you might not know to become a better citizen. Now, throughout Joel Westheimer video, he addressed a concern on how becoming leaders in society and getting the opportunity to maybe public speak have been limited in school settings. He thinks schools are in fact not good at this, but it very well could be. In a sense, I might have to disagree with that statement to some extent. All though, yes schools should become better at giving students the ability to speak their opinions and voices freely, I personally always felt that I had my right to do so growing up. However, I know this isn’t the case for everyone which is why I think schools could be a great starting point for students to become leaders and experience what it means to become a well-rounded citizen. Lastly, as future educators, I think incorporating Treaty education into the curriculum will become significant to get our students actively involved in indigenous ways of knowing and understanding the importance of acceptance.