Topic 1: Civic Life and the Citizen

All citizens lead two lives in the United States. A person’s civic, or public, life is concerned with the affairs of the community and the nation; a private life is the personal life of an individual devoted to the pursuit of private interests. The history of this country is often the story of the tension that exists between individual needs and the needs of the larger community. Students need to realize that there are competing ideas between their civic and private lives and in politics and government. Through this understanding, they can make informed judgments about what their government should and should not do and how they should live their lives in a community of citizens.

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Benchmarks & Indicators:

NOTE: Red Bolded content in the indicators is considered essential and must be taught in all classrooms. Content which is not bolded goes beyond the scope and sequence of the state standards.

Benchmark 1.1: Students will explain the meaning of the terms civic life, private life, civic responsibilities, and personal responsibilities.

1.1 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Distinguish between civic life, e.g., the public life of the citizen concerned with the affairs of the community and nation, and private life, the personal life of the individual devoted to the pursuit of private interests.
   
2. Explain the importance of the following civic responsibilities for the individual and society:
   1. obeying the law and paying taxes
   2. being informed and attentive to current public issues
   3. participating in the political process
   4. serving as a juror
   5. performing public service
   6. respecting differing opinions in a diverse society
3. Explain the importance of personal character traits that facilitate thoughtful and effective participation in civic life:
   1. adhering to a set of socially acceptable moral principles, e.g., respect, honesty, fairness, responsibility
   2. accepting responsibility for the consequences of one's actions
   3. considering the rights and interests of others
   4. behaving in a civil manner, i.e., respect for the law
   5. supporting one's family and caring for, nurturing, and educating one's children
4. Distinguish between civic and personal responsibilities.
5. Evaluate the tensions that may arise when the obligations of citizens require that personal interests be subordinated to the public good.

Benchmark 1.2: Students will explain the concept of a civil society and how it provides a framework for participation in civic life.

1.2 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Define civil society as the sphere of voluntary personal, social, and economic relationships and organizations that, although limited by law, is not part of government, e.g., family, friendships, membership in nongovernmental organizations, participation in unions and business enterprises.
2. Explain how civil society provides opportunities for individuals to associate for social, cultural, religious, economic, and political purposes.
3. Explain how civil society makes it possible for people individually or in association with others to influence government in ways other than voting and elections.

Benchmark 1.3: Students will describe politics as the process by which a group of people, whose opinions or interests might be divergent, come together to achieve similar goals.

1.3 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Describe politics as a process whereby a society:
   1. reaches collective decisions through compromise that are generally regarded as binding on the group and enforced as common policy
   2. seeks the power to influence decisions made by their government
   3. accomplishes goals that individuals could not reach alone
2. Explain the necessity compromise plays in politics and the political process.

Benchmark 1.4: Students will describe government as the people and institutions with the authority to make and implement decisions for a society.

1.4 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Define political authority, identify its sources and functions, and differentiate between authority and power without authority.
2. Identify examples of governments--both historical and current--with the authority to control and direct the behavior of those in a society, e.g., aristocracies, monarchies, oligarchies, democratic republics, autocracies, etc.
3. Explain how a government's political authority to use power to direct or control a nation is legitimized by custom, law, or the general consent of the people.

Benchmark 1.5: Students will explain the meaning of citizenship in the United States and how it relates to American civic life.

1.5 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Explain the idea that citizenship:
   
   1. confers full membership in a self-governing community
      
   2. confers certain rights and privileges, e.g., the right to vote, to hold public office, to serve on juries
      
   3. is defined by shared civic values, e.g., equality, patriotism, diversity
      
2. Explain that Americans are citizens of both their state and the United States.
   
3. Explain the distinction between citizens and noncitizens (aliens) and the process by which noncitizens may become citizens.
   
4. Evaluate the criteria used for admission to citizenship in the United States:
   
   1. residence in the United States for five years
      
   2. ability to read, write, and speak English
      
   3. proof of good moral character
      
   4. knowledge of the history of the United States and its government
   5. pledge support for the values and principles of American government

Benchmark 1.6: Students will explain the importance of diversity to American politics.

1.6 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Identify the many forms of diversity found in American society, e.g., racial, religious, ethnic, socioeconomic, regional, and linguistic.
   
2. Identify the importance of diverse political ideologies in American politics in terms of:
   
   1. the political spectrum
      
   2. liberal versus conservative viewpoints
      
   3. alternative political viewpoints, e.g., libertarian, green, etc.
      
3. Explain the process of political socialization and how it shapes individual political ideology and contributes to diversity in American society.
   
4. Make decisions about where they stand politically, who to vote for, and other issues concerning government and politics.

Benchmark 1.7: Students will analyze components of American political culture.

1.7 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Describe the following values, which are widely considered to be fundamental to American political culture:
   
   1. fundamental worth and dignity of the individual
      
   2. individual freedom
      
   3. individual rights, i.e., life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
      
   4. equality of all citizens under the law
      
   5. the public or common good
      
   6. majority rule and minority rights
      
   7. patriotism
      
2. Describe the aspects of American political culture that tend to limit the divisiveness of political conflict such as:
   
   1. a shared respect for the Constitution and its principles
      
   2. the existence of many opportunities to influence government and to participate in the political process
      
   3. the concept of a loyal opposition
      
   4. willingness to relinquish power when voted out of office
      
   5. acceptance of majority rule tempered by respect for minority rights
      
   6. recourse to the legal system to manage conflicts
      
   7. availability of land and abundance of natural resources
      
   8. a relatively high standard of living
      
   9. opportunities to improve one's economic condition
      
   10. opportunities for free, public education
       
   11. a sense of unity within diversity
       
3. Evaluate contemporary threats to American political culture, e.g., voter apathy, anti-government mood, domestic and international terrorism, etc.

Benchmark 1.8: Students will evaluate, take, and defend positions in writing, discussion, and debate on competing ideas regarding the purposes of politics and government and their implications for the individual and society.

1.8 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Examine competing ideas about the purposes of politics and government:
   
   1. individual rights versus the public order
      
   2. providing equal opportunity versus ensuring economic prosperity
      
   3. protecting individual rights versus providing national security
      
   4. promoting minority rights versus equal treatment of all citizens
      
   5. patriotism versus constructive political dissent
      
   6. encouraging shared religious values versus respect for religious pluralism
      

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