Wednesday, April 29, 2009

What should an Educated Citizen Be Able to do?

An educated person should:

1. Be able to make conscious, informed decisions in the public sphere and in their private lives and be able to explain their reasons for the decisions.

2. Understand and evaluate their own and other''s decisions.

3. Understand their values and moral beliefs and how and why they may differ from those of others. Be able to accept and address criticisms of his/her values and beliefs.

4. Be able and willing to regularly engage in questioning the forces, institutions, and belief systems that shaped not only his or her own values and beliefs, but those of teachers and classmates, the university and larger community as well.

5. Be able to think for himself/herself.

6. Be able to engage in discussions about political and economic issues that affect his or her community.

7. Be able to lead.

8. Be open-minded.

9. Be able to communicate and listen effectively.

10. Be able to conceptualize a problem and solve it.

11. Be able to consider ethical issues thoughtfully.

12. Understand that learning is a continuous lifelong process.

13. Be able to think critically, creatively, and independently.

14. Be flexible in order to adapt to changing economic and social conditions, new workforce needs, and the demands of a multicultural society.

15. Be able to explain and use the ideas and principles underlying the major areas of modern knowledge.

16. Be a good citizen based on their knowledge of democracy.

The above items were taken from "Summary of Comments Made on the Educated Citizen List Service, Fall 2003" Some of those items were taken from the California Education Code 66050 and 66070, also from an article in September/October issue of Change: "Teaching students to think."

I will continue the Blog going through each of the above trying to give examples for easier understanding.