Citizenship is something that is open to interpretation by every person. Of course there are the legal ground rules for citizenship but there is so much more to it than that. To me if someone has the legal documents saying they are a citizen of a country, then they are a citizen. I do think there is a big difference between an active citizen and a non-active citizen. I really like how Joel Westheimer states in the video for this week that “democracy is not a spectator sport but a participant sport”. I think an active citizen is one who votes for their leaders and expresses what they value and view as justice. I think a good citizen also takes it into their own responsibility to educate themselves about what is going on in their country and the systems within it. Joel Westheimer also expresses that schools should help in this process. If schools begin the learning journey about our democratic system and our country then students may be more inclined to be life-long learners in this area. An active citizen may also take active roles in their community organizations.
There are multiple ways that citizenship can relate to treaty education. We can look at it as teaching our students how to be active citizens in reconciliation and how we can all do our part to make sure that reconciliation happens. We can also look at it from the aspect of how Indigenous people were stripped of their citizenship for so long. For example they were not allowed to vote or own land for a very long time and this deprived them of legally being a citizen and it deprived them of the opportunity to be an active citizen in the country that they live in.
Link to Joel Westheimer’s video on citizenship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9WF4uVcrlU
You and I gathered very similar ideas of what citizenship is. I think it is very interesting how Joel Westheimer discusses the importance of education not only to children but to everyone. His ideas that politics should be discussed in education are very important. Mike Capello discusses so very interesting points about treaty education and I would like to know your further thoughts about his ideas.
Capello heavily emphasizes the importance of understanding why we must decolonize. Ethical citizenship is deeply rooted in looking at a brighter future, rather than reexamining the past. The critical thought behind ethical citizenship can structure our society for a better today, tomorrow, and forever, but we as educators play an important role in encouraging ethical citizenship.