Educating Engaged Citizens

From the hallowed halls of Congress to the buzzing feeds of social media, the study of government at Tabor goes beyond lackluster lectures and heavy history textbooks. Instead, students participate in meaningful project-based learning through a multitude of dynamic government course offerings. At every class level, educators at the School by the Sea instill citizenship in the next generation of voters, leaders, and changemakers—the students.   

Advanced Topics (AT) U.S. Government

For History Teacher Gary Sousa, citizenship starts with class atmosphere. He aims to build a safe space for students, where they are encouraged to find their “political self” by asking important questions and initiating difficult conversations. Through the innovative use of case studies from Harvard Business School’s Case Method Institute, Sousa’s students explore historical and current events alike, examining who wields power, how decisions are made, and the consequential effects on individuals and communities.   

He says, “As humans we have the capacity to see both sides or come down in the middle. A lot of times in [our] government it’s a vote, a yes or no, a winner-takes-all. I want [students] to be comfortable with making hard decisions, and it’s imperfect … We look at the separation of powers—checks and balances—and if you really look at it, our government is designed to not make decisions quickly. Quick is better in a modern sense, but you can’t quickly solve a problem. We can’t quickly make bad decisions.” 

 

You’re a less informed citizen if you don’t understand other arguments. Understanding where people come from is a great lesson, not just in politics.

Gary Sousa

To understand the importance of being an engaged citizen, students study two key concepts in class: political efficacy, how much influence voters believe they have, and pluralism, the diversity of beliefs in one political system. 

“I tell them to close their eyes and imagine an adult, the biggest knucklehead they know. Remember they have an equal vote to you. It’s important to educate yourself, vote with a conscious and a purpose, and not because someone told you to vote that way,” says Sousa, in an exercise with students. 

On the first day of “AT U.S. Government,” he puts two numbers on the board: 81 million and 74 million. The significance? They are the estimated number of popular votes from the 2020 presidential election. Sousa highlights this marginal difference in percentage to show his students that there is an almost even divide of opinions in the United States. 

“No matter how sure you are of your beliefs, just understand that there are people who believe in the opposite. We harbor different beliefs under one umbrella, and we’re a culture of many beliefs,” he continues, “You’re a less informed citizen if you don’t understand other arguments. Understanding where people come from is a great lesson, not just in politics.” 

Sousa equips his students with the ability to examine content with a critical eye, the tools to uncover credible sources, and the practice of acknowledging their own inherent bias. In a project on media bias, students must find three news, or news-like, articles related to a topic or event. Then, using the Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart, they rank the mediums on how they responded to determine their reliability as a source. Sousa says this exercise is a great way to teach fact-checking and set students up for success when participating in political discourse. Before they chose their own topics, the class walked through an example together, reviewing the controversy surrounding Disney’s 2022 decision to put Minnie Mouse in a pantsuit. “It’s fun,” he adds, “but it’s also what qualifies for news now.”  

U.S. Government

With 2024 being a presidential election year, History Teacher Nancy O’Brien looks forward to guiding her students through unique and compelling lessons. In years prior, “U.S. Government” was divided into trimester courses dedicated to each section of government—executive, federal, and legislative. Now a full-year course, students delve further into the curriculum. By the end of the academic year, O’Brien says, “My wish is that every student understands the roles of the three branches of government, how laws and cases are made, and the importance of their roles in participatory democracy.” 

To parallel the timing of the November 5th election, the class spends the first block of the year focusing on Article II of the Constitution and the amendments that have altered it, such as the qualifications to run for the presidency. Students will then conduct a series of mini debates that will represent key issues and positions in the current election. “I am particularly interested in how voters align with either of the two candidates,” and, she adds, “the major issues that polarize people, and voting data from recent elections.” 

Following the election, they shift gears to Congress. The curriculum covers elections, procedures, the legislative process, and a profile of the make-up of Congress with respect to gender, education, race, ethnicity, religion, political party affiliation, and age. To help students connect with the material, O’Brien gives the students agency within assignments. For example, they write a policy paper on a subject of their own choice. Some of their selected topics have addressed price gouging at professional sports events, new regulations for children in the foster care system, and restrictions on harmful dog-breeding techniques. In another activity, students choose a sitting member of Congress to research and evaluate. Using what they have learned, they create their own bills to present to the class for approval. 

My hope is that each student, regardless of their party affiliation, will be informed voters who can explain their candidate choice with evidence …

Nancy O’Brien

Culminating with the Supreme Court, the class spends the third trimester learning how justices are selected and the methodology of accepting a case for full review.  They study historic and modern-day decisions that have had a major impact on the nation and the most controversial decisions of the Roberts Court. According to O’Brien, students are most responsive to their project profiling a Supreme Court Justice. 

“There is a great opportunity to engage students in real time this year. My hope is that each student, regardless of their party affiliation, will be informed voters who can explain their candidate choice with evidence, focusing on objective data and issues rather than personal attacks. Learning how to analyze issues is a skill that students can take away and apply to future elections, on every level,” she says. 

By dissecting pivotal moments in history and engaging with contemporary political issues, classrooms at the School by the Sea are a beacon of rigorous academic inquiry and civil engagement. Tabor students studying government are empowered to explore, question, and shape the future while becoming informed, active participants in the democratic process. With this comprehensive understanding comes a profound grasp of the governmental structures that shape our nation, and the tools necessary to navigate our own roles within them.