Public School Patriotism
Teaching Patriotism In the US Public School Curriculum
William Mulherin
Kaplan University
Teaching Patriotism in the US Public School Curriculum
The purpose of an education in the 21st century has experienced some fundamental shifts from years past, and one of the biggest failures of the curricular offerings in most US public schools is the effort to instill a sense of patriotism among students. There is a need for instilling a sense of patriotism in every curricular offering in the nation’s public schools because it helps our students to become better citizens who appreciate the sacrifices that millions of men and women have made since the country’s founding, so that traditional American values will remain …show more content…
This point is made in an essay by Nussbaum entitled “Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism,” wherein the author states, “Patriotic pride is both morally dangerous and, ultimately, subversive of some of the worthy goals patriotism sets out to serve” (quoted in Berns, 1997, p. 20). Arbitrary lines drawn on a geopolitical map do not provide young people with a true sense of where America’s interests end and others begin. In this regard, Nussbaum concludes that, “Justice and equality would be better served by persons whose allegiance is to the worldwide community of human beings. Thus, instead of being taught that they are, above all, citizens of the United States, students should be taught that they are, above all, citizens of a world of human beings” (Berns, 1997, p. 20). A similar point has been made by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) which emphasizes the need for a more enlightened and multicultural approach to citizenship education. This effort, though, has been met with firm resistance by educators such as Saxe who argues, “As a factional, interest group, NCSS is entitled to promote the policies and programs of its members within the context of NCSS membership. However, NCSS has no more authority to direct the educational programs of American public schools than has the Catholic Church or Democratic Party” (Saxe, 2003, p. 108). Clearly, even the suggestion that the current curricular offerings that demand unquestioning patriotism from the nation’s public school students are sufficiently disturbing to this and like-minded educators to maintain that nothing less will do because, like the ancient Greeks believed, the nation’s very survival is at stake. Nevertheless, Saxe maintains that any effort to teach public school students
William Mulherin
Kaplan University
Teaching Patriotism in the US Public School Curriculum
The purpose of an education in the 21st century has experienced some fundamental shifts from years past, and one of the biggest failures of the curricular offerings in most US public schools is the effort to instill a sense of patriotism among students. There is a need for instilling a sense of patriotism in every curricular offering in the nation’s public schools because it helps our students to become better citizens who appreciate the sacrifices that millions of men and women have made since the country’s founding, so that traditional American values will remain …show more content…
This point is made in an essay by Nussbaum entitled “Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism,” wherein the author states, “Patriotic pride is both morally dangerous and, ultimately, subversive of some of the worthy goals patriotism sets out to serve” (quoted in Berns, 1997, p. 20). Arbitrary lines drawn on a geopolitical map do not provide young people with a true sense of where America’s interests end and others begin. In this regard, Nussbaum concludes that, “Justice and equality would be better served by persons whose allegiance is to the worldwide community of human beings. Thus, instead of being taught that they are, above all, citizens of the United States, students should be taught that they are, above all, citizens of a world of human beings” (Berns, 1997, p. 20). A similar point has been made by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) which emphasizes the need for a more enlightened and multicultural approach to citizenship education. This effort, though, has been met with firm resistance by educators such as Saxe who argues, “As a factional, interest group, NCSS is entitled to promote the policies and programs of its members within the context of NCSS membership. However, NCSS has no more authority to direct the educational programs of American public schools than has the Catholic Church or Democratic Party” (Saxe, 2003, p. 108). Clearly, even the suggestion that the current curricular offerings that demand unquestioning patriotism from the nation’s public school students are sufficiently disturbing to this and like-minded educators to maintain that nothing less will do because, like the ancient Greeks believed, the nation’s very survival is at stake. Nevertheless, Saxe maintains that any effort to teach public school students