Who We Are

Over the past couple weeks, I have heard many people talking about how the current generation of students are not as hard-working, intelligent, and respectful as the older generations. I remember hearing the same thing about my own generation. I find myself in an interesting situation where, based on age, I fall between my students and many of the teachers I work with on a daily basis. As a result I feel less inclined to be resigned to the negative beliefs about the current generation., while at the same time recognizing where older adults are coming from. When I think back to middle school, I have tons of memories of doing crazy things over the course of a typical school day; much more so than I witness in students today. Due to the changing environment of schools, students simply have less freedom of movement within the school. Due to testing demands, they have very little downtime as they are pushed into remediation and supposed enrichment activities during the school day. When I compare the amount of information that I was expected to learn, it pales in comparison to what we are currently expected to load students up with. The reality is that students today do care and want to do well. Technology, media, education, and family structure are drastically different than what older generations are used to. At a time when students need to be engaged in dialogue about where they see our country headed and that their place in our story is, many adults are quick to write them off. This is not who we are.

A City Upon a Hill

An interesting question to pose to students is, "What makes, or would make, the United States a shining city upon a hill?" As with most analytical questions, let's start off with some primary sources to build some background knowledge for students.

John Winthrop delivered his aspirations for Massachusetts in A Model of Christian Charity in 1630. Winthrop knew that the survival of his colony depended on its inhabitants dependency on and dedication to each other. "For we must consider that we shall be a shining city upon a hill.  The eyes of all people are upon us." Winthrop was referring to the Puritan society of his colony, but his words cross generations and set a tone for our society at large. When our nation has been at a crossroads, Presidents like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, drew from Winthrop's words to describe the current political and social climates. What is interesting is the different angles that each president used to invoke "a city upon a hill." 

Just weeks before his inauguration, John F. Kennedy delivered his remarks to the Massachusetts State Legislature.  "Today the eyes of all people are truly upon us — and our governments, in every branch, at every level, national, state and local, must be as a city upon a hill — constructed and inhabited by men aware of their great trust and their great responsibilities." In essence, and in a nod to James Madison in Federalist no. 51, Kennedy acknowledges that our government is only as noble as the people who serve in it. Kennedy goes on to say that, "History will not judge our endeavors -- and a government cannot be selected -- merely on the basis of color or creed or even party affliction.  Neither will competence and loyalty and stature, while essential to the utmost, suffice in times such as these."

Many argue that Kennedy's invocation of the city upon a hill signals a belief that robust, but noble, government is central to American exceptionalism. Kennedy questioned whether "...were we truly men of courage . . . the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed?"

In his 1984 Farewell Address, Ronald Reagan describes his view of the United States as a city upon a hill. "I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it and see it still." Ronald Reagan's city upon the hill is one focused more on political and economic freedom. In contrast to Kennedy, Reagan believed that "expansion of government results in contraction of liberty."

In these different approaches to the city upon a hill maxim we see different political means to the same end. An end in which the United States is a political, social, and economic model for the entire world. Ronald Reagan is also credited with stating that "If we forget what we did, we will forget who we are." The way I see it, there is no better reason than this for emphasis on civic education and engaging the new generation in formulating their own view of the city upon a hill. Ask your students what would make their city upon a hill. Sharing and comments are welcome. Thanks for reading!

Leveraging What is Already Developed - Part 1

I always have huge aspirations for developing content for my students.  However, when it comes down to it, there simply isn't enough time.  Interesting web-based content about the Constitution is hard to come by, but fortunately there are a handful of great resources that I rely on regularly.  

In this first of several posts on leveraging already developed content, I will focus on Hip Hughes History. It is treasure trove of content to enrich, flip, and engage students in the Constitution, Supreme Court cases, and current events.

What I like about Hip Hughes is that his content is created with a flipped classroom in mind.  To that end, he is very engaging and explains concepts in a manner that students understand.  He uses analogies and real-world examples to convey complex ideas.

Last summer Google added the ability to embed images and YouTube videos to Google Forms.  This capability makes it easier than ever to use video for pre-teaching and formative assessment.  It is also an effective tool for creating simple homework assignments by embedding a Hip Hughes video, and adding a couple reflection questions.  Students can watch the video and respond to the questions in the Google Form.  It works on all devises and students do not need additional resources to complete the task.  This activity follows all of the best practices for effective homework.  The image below is a sample form using an embedded Hip Hughes video on the 10th Amendment.  It includes two questions.  The first is just getting students to summarize the main idea of the video, and the second question gets at the essential understanding that I want students to gain from the activity.  These types of activities yield a 90+% completion rate from my students, whereas traditional homework assignments typically yield a 50-60% completion rate.

There are a number of ways that Hip Hughes content can be used in the classroom.  That is one of the aspects that make it such a good source for content.  Head over to Hip Hughes History and check it out for yourself.  In part 2 I will focus on the Your Weekly Constitutional podcast. Share your thoughts in the comments section.