Civic education is a topic that has been discussed all the time. Many Chinese scholars have realized that to build a civil society, we must start with civic education and write high-quality "Citizen Readers".From this, I remembered that we should look at what kind of "Citizen Reader" American children read in school.Many schools in the United States have civic education courses. There are many textbooks in the "Citizen Reader", which are generally written by scholars, and teachers in schools around the world choose from them.Because the general principles are basically the same, the textbooks are similar with minor differences.I picked one at random, and it was written by a professor of education at the University of Michigan.

From a broad perspective, this textbook is divided into six parts: 1. You; 2. Local and state government; 3. National government; 4. Making government effective; 5. Government services; 6. Free enterprise system. The preface quotes a great philosopher: "Know thyself".Textbooks say that to be a good citizen, you must first understand yourself.There are four chapters in this part.Starting from the first chapter, "You—A Person", it talks about "A Healthy Person", "You and Your Personality", "Getting Along with Others", and ends with "Being a Good Citizen".The second chapter is "You—a student", talking about "differences in learning ability", "improving your learning", and "clear thinking".The third chapter is "You - A Family Member", which talks about "Family is Different", "Family Problems", and "Being a Good Family Member".The fourth chapter is "You—a citizen", talking about "the government in your life" and "the reason for the existence of the government".

The reason for the beginning of "Citizen Reader" is to tell the children in the opening paragraph: the country "is based on the idea that everyone is important. Its system of government, economic system, The relationship between people is based on this idea." You as a person are the most important, so, under this system, you must be able to "buy, sell and own freely, and you decide what to do" .And the government is just an agency for you: "When the government is your servant, you are free; when the government becomes your master, you are like a slave, no longer important." The textbook also tells children that since "the individual is the most important", the government cannot By imposing their will on businessmen, businessmen cannot deceive customers, and trade unions must represent the interests of each of its members.Because "the dignity of the individual is paramount".Below, the textbook cites the relevant statements of various presidents who identify with the "individual" of the people

more important than his government. The textbook also allows children to know themselves and respect others, not just me.As individuals, people have different weaknesses, and their own weaknesses need to be recognized and improved.A good citizen has a democratic character.The textbook's summary of the democratic character, I think, is simply an old Chinese saying, which is translated into Chinese very accurately: "Don't do to others what you don't want yourself to do."You don't want to be hurt, do you?Then you don't hurt others.Therefore, textbooks teach children that they must learn to control themselves. "A good citizen is a person who is good at regulating himself", "a person who is good at learning", and "a person who is good at thinking". man who can act".

A good citizen is one who is loyal to his country, which means that you build it up, not destroy it.If the government does something wrong and you criticize the government severely, you hope it will improve. This is a constructive attitude.If you clearly find that the country is heading down the wrong path, you still say that it is going well and going well. That is a destructive attitude. As a quasi-citizen student, "Citizen Reader" tells you that subject "scores are very limited in measuring mental activities", good scores only measure "school achievements", not your "life achievements" .

"IQ is changing" and "intelligence is a combination of different abilities". As a quasi-citizen, learn to "think clearly."The textbook believes that being able to think clearly is one of the most basic qualities of being a good citizen.If you cannot think clearly and give you democratic rights, you may still be manipulated and used by politicians. So how can we think clearly? The first is, "Your thinking must be based on facts."So, the very simple premise is that you have a right to the full facts.As a government that serves civil society, it must allow information to flow freely so that citizens have access to the full facts.In a society without this premise, it is difficult to have qualified citizens.

The textbook also advises students not only to know the facts, but also to "continuously recognize the newly discovered facts". After knowing the facts, a sober thinker "must be able to solve problems." The textbook points out to the children the misunderstanding of "unclear thinking" that they are most likely to fall into.First of all, there should be no idealized "wish thinking". For example, one should not hope that an ideal society will be realized in one's heart, and assume that it will definitely be realized.Also, to avoid "emotional thinking", the textbook tells children, "We are all biased. We all have our likes and dislikes, but let's not let it affect our clear thinking" Otherwise, it is inevitable to go to extremes.And those ideas that go to extremes "will cause the greatest harm to individuals and the country."The textbook also tells the children not to jump to conclusions easily, and to think from the facts, that is, "don't start from ideas" and don't start from ideals.

The textbook also tells these children, future husbands and wives, fathers and mothers: being a good family member is the foundation of being a good citizen.The textbooks tell children that there are different kinds of families and that families have various problems, how difficult it is to solve the problems in the family, and that happiness depends on your lifestyle and your care and love for family members.Although textbooks cannot solve the complex life that children will face in the future, they prepare you mentally and let you understand that emphasizing "family values" is the basic condition of a good citizen.Before caring about the country, society, and others, one must first care for and love one's own family.

Then, the textbook introduces the concept of "self-government" to children.Self-government is based on the democratic character of citizens, and domineering management is not democratic self-government.At home, there are family management issues, and at school, there are school management issues.The textbook encourages children, you can try from an early age, learn to form various associations, and organize trade unions when you grow up. Before "the people make the rules", every individual must know and improve himself, dare to take responsibility, and learn to get along with others on an equal footing.

"Citizen Reader" is telling "you", do you want to reform society?Start by transforming yourself into a good citizen.And in the end, you will find that this kind of civic preparation is making life easier for "you" and others.It is consistent with the original starting point, that is, people-oriented, and people's happiness is the most important. So the first lesson of "Citizen Reader" is about "you".