The C3 Framework prompts middle school and high school students to assess the ways people have worked to promote the common good. The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework. It also summons students to take informed action. One way that Wendy Harris, a high school social studies teacher at a Deaf school in Saint Paul, MN, advance this goal…

Within the United States, education has long been valued as a means of fostering the growth and development of each person in order to realize the democratic ideals of freedom, equality, non-discrimination, and respect for the rights of all. In an increasingly globalized world and within the United States itself, this growth and development must…

The forceful induction of children as child soldiers is an abhorrent violation of human rights. It is very disturbing that while many children are forcibly recruited into armed conflicts, others actually volunteer, due to their nightmarish alternatives. Although the practice has recently gained worldwide attention, awareness alone will not end the…

The preparation of students for global citizenship represents a central challenge to social studies educators in the twenty-first century. Two-thirds of the world's poor are steeped in abject poverty and its grim consequences. The world refugee problem has reached staggering proportions. There is an international epidemic of human trafficking, and…

Primary source documents can be a key element in conversation and deliberation. They lend authenticity to student consideration of issues facing people's democracy and stimulate student interest. In addition, conversation about a primary document leads to a much deeper understanding of that document and can raise authentic questions for further…

Argues that concern purely with consequences is an inadequate basis for an ethical theory. Suggests that claims based on rights or standards other than the promotion of the greatest happiness be used to guide decisions. Insists that conflict among rights in no way denies their existence or their essence in determinations of distributive justice.…

Asserts that, in teaching about human rights, the international standards should be the fundamental core of the content and values to be communicated. Recommends that teachers should use the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the standard by which the actions of individuals and governments should be compared. (CFR)

Summarizes the incidents of vandalism and violence perpetrated by a teenage group called "skinheads," which occurred on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, on the night of November 9, 1987. Includes information about "skinhead" activities around the United States and how communities and the media have reacted. (JDH)

Provides a list of print and audiovisual instructional materials which may be used to teach about prejudice in elementary and secondary schools. Price and other ordering information are included. (JDH)

All of the documents featured in this article come from the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration. Primary source documents illustrate what is meant by responsible citizenship. The people who create documents as well as those who are featured in them can serve as models of civic behavior--both appropriate and…

Discusses distributive justice in teaching social studies. Argues that utilitarianism is an inadequate basis for distributive justice because it does not allow for the primacy of civil or natural rights. Suggests addressing such issues in class to encourage student consideration of fundamental principles and their application to contemporary…

Discusses "Eyes on the Prize," a series of video programs on the history of the civil right movement. Describes the basic themes of the series including the movement as a force for democracy for all, ordinary people who carefully planned, organized and sustained the movement, and the continuity of protest in African-American history. (DK)

Provides background material for teaching Article Four of the United States Constitution. Suggests activities using primary documents in order to teach lessons on religious tests. The document chosen is a letter to John F. Kennedy from a citizen written in September 1960. Document may be reproduced for use in the classroom. (KO)

Reviews a fascinating lesson plan designed to acquaint students with the methods and devices used to deny blacks the right to vote in the pre-Civil Rights era south. Students take the same test that Alabama required of resident blacks to vote. Includes a copy of the exceptionally difficult test. (MJP)

Discusses the teaching of children's rights in the Philippines. Suggests that the provisions of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child remain ineffective if not disseminated in companion programs. Argues that no rights exist without obligations. Describes nongovernmental organization, broadcast media, and government programs. (DK)