Civic Participation is the Key to Understanding How Government Works

Steven Stukenberg is the Illinois Civics Teacher Mentor for DeKalb County. In this guest blog post, Steven shares his reflections on his role as a civic educator and how to help students “do government.”

My interest in political science came at a young age in my small hometown of Leaf River, Illinois (population 600). As I observed the involvement and sometimes aggravation of my father during his tenure as a school board member, I remember being impressed by how much influence he had in the policy of the school I attended. Through my high school and college education, I learned that our country is based on this type of participation in local, state and national government. Civic engagement and community involvement in the governmental system is what has made the United States one of the best countries in the world. As I guide my students through the government curriculum at Harry D. Jacobs High School (where I am enjoying my 22nd year as a social studies teacher), the importance of civic engagement is at the heart of every lesson.

The Illinois Civic mentor program has enhanced my core belief of the need and the importance of teaching Civic engagement. The lead teacher mentors in the Illinois Civic mentor program have shared various teaching strategies and learning techniques that have improved and enhanced my government classes.

Some specific examples of engaged learning techniques have challenged my students to understand how the government works. During our “Congress Role-play”, my students choose a US state to represent, a current issue to research and are asked to create a bill to present to the “mock Congress”. Before individual research begins on a curricular linked issue, the class participates in two student lead class activities. The “Root cause tree” (from the Mikva Challenge) lesson allows students to work together to comprehend the subtle complexities of the issues they chose. The “four corner” lesson (from Facing History and Ourselves) further engages the student in the class opinion on the issue. After these lessons are complete, the student will have a better approach to their research on the topic.

Once an individual student has completed their research, the student (upon acknowledgement from the “Speaker of the House”) will present their idea for a law to the “mock congress”. After the presentation of their idea, fellow student-legislators are encouraged to comment, question and amend the bill from their own perspective. Discussion (never debates) may last the whole class period on a single topic. Our classroom atmosphere is relaxed, respectful and open for uninhibited discussion. The class has been instructed to always respect different opinions. This last point is crucial. Consensus on issues is what makes our country prosper and what good citizens should strive for in our classroom, our cities, states and country.

As I have explained to my students, we are not only “learning government” but we also “doing government”. Role-play activities, critical issue discussion, and critical thinking strategies are just some of the strategies that have challenged my students to become actual participants in the democratic process. The current rise of social media, the dominance of cable news and the overall complexities of today’s political landscape has made the need for enlightened citizens necessary for our progress as a nation.