Dalton (2015) gives a basic definition of citizenship as the nature of conduct expected from a good citizen. Alternatively, the authors quote Almond and Verba’s citizenship definition as a set of shared norms or expectation of citizens in taking part in a political role. With this, there are several factors that demonstrate and measures the citizenship. First is the participation of the public in politics. For instance, the Independence of the United States is based on the participation of the citizen in political matters and decision making. Regards of participation limitation by the constitutional structure, it is the foundation of democracy in America. Autonomy is the second factor that measures citizenship. This factor argues that citizenship is evidenced where citizens are sufficiently informed about the government. Therefore, citizens should be able to access government information and freely debate their opinions for a helpful political participation. The third element that defines citizenship is the acceptance of the state authority and commitment to social norms. Indeed, these are the basic principles of citizenship as they enhance rule of law and thus, a meaning political discourse. Another factor discussed by Dalton is the relation with citizens in the polity. This is known as the social citizenship.
In general, one of the questions that have agitated teachers, scholars, and almost every group of thoughtful men is the purpose of education. More often, the conventional answer is to acquire knowledge. Theodore Roosevelt was among the first scholars in America that awakened the concept of citizenship. According to him, citizenship was beyond criticizing the government or the individual who are responsible for its activities and policies. In his teachings, Theodore used example and precept to argue that men owe something at all times. At this period, most of the civic education teachers of American history paid less attention to the obligation of citizenship. The civic education had a limited scope and thus, students were not taught how to evaluate their personal life. For example, the students who are taking mathematics and Latin are learning invaluable courses in relation to citizenship. However, this knowledge learned from these lessons help them to understand difficult situations in life. For instance, in order to understand economic conditions, arithmetic is necessary. Though, the practicality of good citizenship in schools is possible. Studying how to be a good citizen is knowing how to live maximally to one's ability and opportunities. Every student should be taught with this view. However, what matters most is the teachers’ character and personality.
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On the basis of Florida civic education, the theory of democracy can be said to be deliberative. According to Dalton (2015), the basic principle of civic education involves learning to listen and talk about public problems with other people. It can be learned from experience as it is a cognitively demanding activity in Florida. On the other hand, Roosevelt argues that since the 18 th century, education in the state has been conceived as the best means of recovering and perpetuating their political power. In any democratic state such as Florida, there are several common shared interest combined (Graham and Hand, 2016) . Thus, there is a requirement of continuous readjustment depending on the nature of new situations as they vary with intercourse. This is the progress that civic education could address through personal development. In simple terms, in such a democratic state, it is important to look at the preparation of a good person as the same as a good citizen. In this context, what is meant by civic education is the repetitive emphasis for democratic education. Schools and students’ own community are the best sites for democratic or political action. This was the Dalton and Roosevelt insight in 1984.
References
Dalton, R. J. (2015). The good citizen: How a younger generation is reshaping American politics . CQ press.
Graham, B., & Hand, C. (2016). America, the Owner's Manual: You Can Fight City Hall—and Win . CQ Press.
