College, Career, and Citizenship

Yesterday I taught a lesson on literary analysis to a group of 8th graders in a rural school; I asked them to defend a claim with evidence from a story they had read. One young man, with only a minor degree of belligerence since, after all, I was a guest, said he wasn't going to ever use it, wasn't ever going to write in his career. I was pulled in by his statement and sputtered something about him needing to learn how to craft an argument for his use as an adult. I didn't really believe in my response myself; however, I was absolutely convinced that learning how to support a claim was a skill I wanted all students to master.

I pondered what I said to the student on my long drive home, and it occurred to me that even if he feels no obligation to himself or some future family members, he still has an obligation to society. We are not preparing students just for college and career, we are preparing them for citizenship as well. I borrow the third "C" from Wilhelm, Smith, and Fredricksen in Get It Done!: Writing and Analyzing Informational Texts to Make Things Happen. I share the authors' belief that our lessons in literary analysis, text structure, making claims--"rigorous apprenticeship into disciplinary thinking (8)"--should prepare students for citizenship as well.

I'll have to spend some time developing the support for my claim. What can I say to a jaded 8th grader to convince him to care about me or citizens of another country? I certainly wish I had thought of this yesterday in the debriefing session where nine teachers gather to discuss their observations. (It's a rare opportunity to have time for teachers to weigh in on important topics.) A group conversation could have helped me craft my argument.

I'll work on it because I'm determined to never again respond with an indefensible "Oh, yes, you will" to a student with the bravado to tell me "Oh, but I won't!" Students deserve a thoughtful, well-reasoned response to a topic worthy of consideration.

What are our responsibilities as teachers to train students to be citizens? How does authentic audience and purpose or service learning fit into your instruction? I welcome your comments. I'm not going to forget that young man anytime soon. I don't want to have to sputter the next time he blows off an assignment.

Wilhelm, Jeffrey, Michael Smith, and James Fredricksen. Get It Done!: Writing and Analyzing Informational Texts to Make Things Happen. 2003. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.