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Meira Levinson's No Citizen Left Behind

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Recommended: An essay on citizen participation

In Meira Levinson’s book “No Citizen Left Behind”, she brings many circumstances to the table regarding education that need to be dealt with. She focuses mainly on urban schools and how the students in these schools are not being given the opportunity to obtain an education that actually is beneficial. She says that instead of focusing on the curriculum in these schools, educators should be teaching their students how to be good citizens. She voices that students’ futures depend more on their ability to be civically involved rather than knowing their times tables. In this paper, I discuss the themes of Meira Levinson’s book “No Citizen Left Behind.” The two themes I have chosen to discuss are the importance of teaching citizenship education …show more content…

Levinson says, “This lack of discussion about what we meant by “citizenship” at my school is representative of a larger, nationwide uncertainty about what it means to be a good citizen” (pg. 43). I agree with this statement wholeheartedly. I think that it is interesting that she included that there is a nationwide uncertainty because I definitely can see that viewpoint being true. There are many adults, as well as children, that do not know what being a good citizen involves. We need to explicitly discuss what it means to be a good citizen and give the students practical ways to practice these traits. We can start by giving students opportunities in our schools to put into practice what we are teaching them. For example, I think it would be a great idea to have student do a mock trial of sorts, just like Levinson talked about in “No Citizen Left Behind.” Students will come up with an idea, such as having open campus for lunch. Then, the students will plead their case on either side before a student jury and have the jury vote on the topic. Students grow more when given the opportunity to have authentic experiences that are significant to them. That being said, it is a fantastic idea for schools to step in and make opportunities …show more content…

As a future educator, I plan on making civic engagement a required component of what will be taught in my classroom regardless of what subject I am teaching. “No Citizen Left Behind” has brought many things to my attention and I can only hope that these same things will be brought to the attention of all educators and administrators. The solution to these issues starts with us. The ball is in our court and it is our responsibility to fix the

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