OVERVIEW
School Board Policy 3201 requires that teachers seek permission from their principal prior to deviating from this POS relative to curriculum content or stated standards and goals. Prior to granting permission, principals may request the advice of or assistance of appropriate Instructional Services Department subject specialists or coordinator, and must have the final approval of the area superintendent and the assistant superintendent of Instructional Services.
The Virginia/United States Government Program of Studies (POS) defines the instructional program that must be implemented in this subject area. It describes the curriculum content and identifies essential knowledge and skills of the instructional program. Teachers have the responsibility to accommodate individual students’ needs.
Required instructional materials and equipment listed within this document are to be used in the delivery of the program. Supplemental or substitute materials must be approved through the process outlined in Regulation 3005.3
School Board Policy 3201 requires that teachers seek permission from their principal prior to deviating from this POS relative to curriculum content or stated standards and goals. Prior to granting permission, principals may request the advice of or assistance of appropriate Instructional Services Department subject specialists or coordinator, and must have the final approval of the area superintendent and the assistant superintendent of Instructional Services.
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"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform them of their discretion.
Thomas Jefferson (1820)
It has long been recognized that since the founding of the nation the general education of society has, at its core, a civic mission. Simply stated, this mission is to prepare informed, rational, humane, and participating citizens who are committed to the values and principles of American constitutional government. In fact, education is the primary, if not the only, means at a democracy's disposal to inspire the voluntary participation of its members.
Making a claim for a civic mission in schools is one thing, achieving it is something else. Today, civic educators are faced with challenges Jefferson and his colleagues never conceived. A growing cynicism about government throughout the nation leads many students to conclude that they are not included in a government of, by, and for the people. The role--and the power--of the citizen get lost in the daily barrage of budget battles, partisan bickering, and scandalous accusations. How does one educate about citizenship, much less inspire active participation in the American political system, given such a climate? The Virginia/United States Government Program of Studies (POS) addresses this dilemma.
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The Virginia/United States Government Standards, Benchmarks, and Indicators is grounded in two documents:
- The Virginia History and Social Science Standards of Learning (SOL), published and revised by the Virginia Department of Education in 2003.
- The National Standards for Civics and Government, published by the Center for Civic Education in 1994.
With some modifications, the Virginia/United States Government Program of Studies reflects the essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes, as defined in these documents that citizens need to be full participating members in American constitutional government.
The Virginia/United States Government POS represents a multi-year collaborative effort on the part of Fairfax County social studies educators. In the summer of 1996, several teachers began developing the POS. Drafts of various parts of this document were reviewed by social studies chairpersons in December 1996, and by government teachers in January 1997. Suggestions from these groups were incorporated into subsequent revisions of the document and the POS was completed in the summers of 1997 and 1998.
The original version of the POS was distributed to teachers in the fall of 1998. In the summer of 2003, teachers from around the county reconvened to update, revise, and realign a new version of the POS in order to make it ready for online distribution and to reflect the revised government standards that had been recently developed by the state.
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The Virginia/United States Government POS defines the essential learning for twelfth grade social studies as outlined in the Virginia Standards for Learning (SOL). These essential content is designated as bolded material in the POS. However, the Virginia/United States Government POS is a curriculum that challenges and instructs students far beyond the SOLs. Thus, it is expected that each Virginia/United States Government teacher will organize an instructional program that reaches to all standards, benchmarks, and indicators outlined in this document.
What follows is a suggested percentage of time that should be spent on each standard as designated by the standard's corresponding topic area. Because elections, current issues facing the nation, and world events often provide the day-to-day context for Virginia/United States Government, percentages have been used to provide flexibility as teachers design their own instructional program.
| Standard/Topic |
Percentage of Time
|
| 1. Civic Life and the Citizen |
5% |
| 2. Linkage Institutions: Participating in Civic Life |
15% |
| 3. The Constitution: A Framework for Government |
10% |
| 4. The Institutions of Government |
30% |
| 5. Closest to the People: Virginia and Fairfax County Government |
5% |
| 6. The Public Agenda and Public Policy Issues |
10% |
| 7. Civil Liberties and Civil Rights |
15% |
| 8. The Global Community |
10% |
| TOTAL |
100% |
The organization found in the Virginia/United States Government POS is one suggested way to teach this course. This document is not a syllabus. How a teacher chooses to organize Virginia/United States Government is a professional decision to be made by each teacher. What is important, however, is that the standards, benchmarks, and indicators are taught.
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If students want their voices to be heard, they need to master the skills necessary for a successful civic life. The Virginia state standards for the twelfth grade Virginia and United States Government course state the following as the intellectual skills required for responsible citizenship:
GOVT.1 The student will demonstrate mastery of the social studies skills citizenship requires, including the ability to:
- analyze primary and secondary source documents;
- create and interpret maps, diagrams, tables, charts, graphs, and spreadsheets;
- analyze political cartoons, political advertisements, pictures, and other graphic media;
- distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information;
- evaluate information for accuracy, separating fact from opinion;
- identify a problem and prioritize solutions;
- select and defend positions in writing, discussion, and debate.
In addition, the Virginia/United States Government POS emphasizes the following skills as being equally necessary for effective participation in the political process:
Students will be able to:
- acquire information from a variety of sources, including print and electronic media, to conduct civic research;
- organize information and data using a variety of methods;
- effectively communicate their ideas, opinions, and political views;
- promote their interests through participation in the political process.
Although these skills are highlighted throughout the POS in the standards, benchmarks, and indicators and the lessons, teachers are reminded to incorporate skills into their daily planning. For example, many of the indicators in the POS ask students to identify, describe, or explain. Teachers are encouraged to creatively utilize these skills when designing lessons to meet those objectives.
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A POS does not ensure the preservation of American constitutional government through the active participation of its citizens. What are needed are teachers who are inspired by, and committed to, the civic mission of schools. Ultimately it is classroom teachers who instill in their students a commitment to the ideals of citizenship and the belief that this government, this political system, is and remains, of, by, and for the people.
