Sandra Day O'Connor

The remarks of general session speakers are not always entirely relevant, but that was not the case this year.  This was particularly true for Justice O'Connor, who made an articulate argument in support of civics education.

Appropriately, one of the speakers preceding O'Connor's speech made this observation: "public education does not serve the public, it creates the public."  Or as Kofi Annan was quoted by another speaker, "No one is born a good citizen".

O'Connor fully got my attention when she said, "I believe civics should be one of the most dynamic subjects that can be taught." (A pet peeve of mine: I have often noted, at least half-seriously, that teachers who make history or math boring have committed a crime against humanity.)

I was thrilled to hear her say that we need to build a civics curriculum that is "interactive", "learned in context" and "used in real-life situations".  The goal of civics education is not for students to memorize a set of dry facts, but for them to "develop a toolbox of skills of practical value" that can be used in volunteer work, jury duty and community organization.

One example she gave of a successful curriculum: students who studied the philosophies of the "Founding Fathers" and then applied those arguments to current situations. (It is fairly clear to me that not very many present-day citizens have a clear understanding of those philosophies.)

Another example: in Kennebunkport, Maine, where it it is being demonstrated that a student-driven approach to school climate issues is preferable to a top-down strategy that depends on rules, monitors, and punishments. Instead, students are allowed to evaluate teachers and to collaborate with other students in exploring how to make course work more relevant.

In other words, students are learning how to have a meaningful impact in the environment in which they spend much of their time.

And the student jazz band that performed prior to O'Connor's speech was extraordinary - almost as good as ours.