April Leitshuh

Engage ethically in civic activities including discussing current

issues, advocating for their rights and the rights of others,
practicing their responsibilities, influencing governmental
actions, and other community service learning opportunities
(DOK 1-4)
Evaluate how individuals and groups can effectively use the
structure and functions of various levels of government to
shape policy (DOK 1-3)
Describe the roles and influence of individuals, groups, and the
press as checks on governmental practices (DOK 1-2)
Identify which level of government is appropriate for various
policies and demonstrate an ability to appropriately engage
with that level of government (DOK 1-3)
Critique various media sources for accuracy and perspective
(DOK 2-3)
(cde.state.co.us, 2015).

IWBA2:

Identify a problem in my school or

community and create alternatives and
solutions to that problem

Research current local policies relating to

my problem and analyze their effectiveness

Improve my school or community by

implementing my proposed solution

What is civic character?

The knowledge, skills, virtues, and
commitments necessary for engaged and
responsible citizenship (Seider, 2012, p.
164)

What is Kaizen?
commitment to working for the continuous
improvement of the community (Seider,
2012, p.164)

Understand the issues that face your school or

community
Interview people and research current problems

Use the idea of Kaizen to make an impact on

your community or school

Work on creating a solution to a problem

Follow up on your solution even after it is implemented
Continue to think about ways to improve your solution
Reason morally
Class discussion about different scenarios and
outcomes

Become engaged in your community or school by

solving a problem that faces it

Identifying the problem

Analyzing current policies
Creating alternatives to current policies and implementing new
solutions

Understanding and empathizing with the perspectives of

others
Interviewing administrators, teachers, fellow classmates, law
officers, city council members, etc.
Identifying their perspectives
Identifying the effects of your proposed policy on different
groups of people

A strengthened sense of civic responsibility

Actively participating in the civic process by implementing a

policy and following up on that implementation
Reflect on your solution and its implementation

Scenario: There is a ditch behind our school

that students often use to hide in while they
are ditching class. Several students have been
discovered smoking marijuana there.
Take on the role of one of the following people:
Student
Student

doing something wrong

Administrator
Teacher

Custodian

Think about what you would do in each persons position if

you were knowledgeable about this particular problem. Make
a group of 4. There need to be three different roles of people
in your group. Discuss your plan of action for the ditch
bridge. Think about current school policies and policies you
could implement to stop students from doing unethical
things.

Our school is the only school in Adams 12 that does not

have a school speed zone law on the west side of the
building.
Take on the role of one of the following people:
Student
Parent
Neighborhood resident
Police Officer
City Council person
Think about what you would do in each persons position
if you were knowledgeable about this particular problem.
Make a group of 4. There need to be three different roles
of people in your group. Discuss your plan of action for
the lack of a school speed zone. Think about the needs
and wants of each individual being represented.

Cell phone usage in the classroom has hit epic levels in

the past five years. What is your perspective on this
issue? Are cell phones in the classroom a disruption or a
benefit? Do cell phones help students become more
engaged in civic participation?
Take on the role of one of the following people:
Student
Teacher
Administrator
Parent
Think about what you would do in each persons position
if you were knowledgeable about this particular problem.
Make a group of 4. There need to be three different roles
of people in your group. Discuss your answers to the
questions above. Think about the needs and wants of
each individual being represented.

After everyones shared, lets discuss:

Who made the right decisions?

Who made the wrong decisions?
What made those decisions right or wrong?
Did anyone in your group give a solution
that exemplified:

Responsible citizenship? (civic character)

Betterment of the school or community? (kaizen)

You will be researching

a problem that faces
our school or
community and
propose a solution to
solve it.
It is a group project (4)
Each group member
MUST CONTRIBUTE to
the success of your
group.

So what is the final

product?
You will present google
slides/prezi presentation
to the class.
The winning team in class
(class vote and my vote)
will represent our class at
the school competition on
April 22
The winning team from
our school will go to the
state Capitol

Class size
school stereotypes of other schools
Start time
Teachers non-motivating
food quality
Run-down Huron shopping center
Littering
apathy towards social issues
substance abuse
cops improbable cause
restaurant choice
bullying
ids
tardies
parental involvement
disrespectful students
freshman attendance
ditch bridge
Slow emergency response time

As a class we need to
understand what public
policy is.
Public policy is a plan
that the community
follows to help solve a
problem.
Usually this an issue that
is brought up by citizens,
like you and me, because
we think that something
should be done.

Public policy issues

are things like

Litter clean up
Community safety issues
Welfare and poverty
Teen pregnancy
Youth suicide.

Project Citizen Video C

lip

In government class, weve learned the role

citizens play in everyday life.
People like you and me, more so than
government, can make a difference in our
community.
The Ad Council is an organization of Federal
Government whose purpose is to inform the
public about issues facing young people.
This organization broadcasts Public Service
Announcements (PSAs) (Examples)

Task manager: helps clarify what each group member needs

to do; organizes groups discussions, keeps group on track in
class.

News monitor: reads local and regional newspapers, looking

for articles about your topic each day; set up a Google Alert for
your topic so the news comes to you

Community connection: contacts people who can help you

understand your topic, sets up meetings, manages emails and
phone calls

Technology coordinator: sets up and manages online site,

group, or Google Doc for sharing documents and links;
contacts group members by email or phone as needed, keeps
up with paper documents, including graded papers, printed
sources, interview notes, etc, in one place

See template tab on website

Reflect on your performance (on paper)

What did you (individually) do well on?
Did your group work well together?
Did our discussion of civic character and Kaizen
help ground or guide you in why we worked on
the this project?
Was it hard seeing the perspectives of someone
else?
Was it difficult to interview someone who had a
different opinion than you?
Did your project better your school or
community?

My core personal values are engaged citizenship, integrity, and

compassion.

I understand that even as one person, I have the ability to

change things in my community through civic participation. I
became a teacher to instill the idea of civic engagement in my
students.
I choose to teach in low income schools because I have
compassion for my students. I respect where each of them has
come from, and their current circumstances. I use my
compassion to form respectful relationships with my students so I
can push them to achieve high standards. Because I understand
and respect their circumstances, they know they can trust me to
help them make positive changes in their communities.
I have always been an honest person, even when I may have
morally faltered. My students know I am a fair and consistent
person, as do my children. My colleagues, administrators, and
students respect my honesty and fairness in allocating resources
and responsibilities as I fulfill different roles during the school
day.

I focus a lot on integrity and honesty. In the

classroom I help students be morally aware
of their actions and others actions in
relationship to technology usage. We focus
on language used in social media.
In teaching Sociology and Government, I
help students understand the context of
certain events being covered by the media
and help them evaluate whether the events
are being presented ethically or with bias.

I want my students and my children to

look up to me for making people aware of social
justice issues, or controversial public policy,
and for inciting meaningful and productive
conversations about those things. Hopefully I
inspire some of my students to take action.
As an educational leader, I hope after
introducing the idea of character education to
my PBIS team that my colleagues will come to
me for guidance on how to implement some of
the strategies Ive learned in this course.

A skill that I need to refine is my fortitude,

specifically patience. I have it, I just lose it
quickly depending on what situation Im in. I
teach three preps, have a two and three year
old, and am married. I think there is a delicate
balance a person has to find when they are
juggling so much. Id like to explore if teaching
fortitude through Project Citizen (the time,
effort, diligence, and patience it takes to
successfully complete the project) could help
students succeed in other aspects of their lives,
or help them juggle more responsibilities.

Ballard, P. J., (2014). What motivates youth civic

involvement? Journal of Adolescent Research,
29(4), 1-25. doi: 10.1177/0743558413520224
Colorado Department of Education (2015). CO Social
Studies Standards. Retrieved from
https://
www.cde.state.co.us/cosocialstudies/stat estandards
Seider, S. (2012). Character Compass: How
powerful
school culture can point students toward
success.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press