Take Home Assignment 1

Review
Extract 1
“Our education system must…nurture Singapore citizens of good
character, so that everyone has the moral resolve to withstand an
uncertain future, and a strong sense of responsibility to contribute to
the success of Singapore and the well-being of fellow Singaporeans.”
Mr Heng Swee Keat, Former Minister for Education

Based on the reading by Westheimer and Kahne and your own

experience as a student in your country, which kind of citizen you think
your country’s education system produces? Explain your answer with
reference to two examples. [10]
 Breaking down the question
Make reference to these!

Based on the reading by Westheimer and Kahne and your own experience as a
student in your country, which kind of citizen do you think your country’s education
system produces? Explain your answer with reference to two examples. [10]

Issue: must be Personally responsible, from your experience

about your participatory or justice- of the education system
country’s oriented? (can be factual or anecdotal,
education but must be indicative of the
system system i.e. common across
most/all schools)
Content
The three kinds of citizens according to Westheimer and Kahne
Personally Responsible Citizen
• Acts responsibly in his/her
community
• Works and pays taxes
• Obeys laws
• Recycles, gives blood
• Volunteers to lend a hand in times of
crisis
Contributes food to a food drive
To solve social problems and improve
society, citizens must have good
character; they must be honest,
responsible, and law-abiding members of
the community
Participatory Citizen
• Active member of community
organizations and/or improvement
efforts
• Organizes community efforts to care
for those in need, promote economic
development, or clean up
environment
• Knows how government agencies
work
• Knows strategies for accomplishing
collective tasks
Helps to organize a food drive
To solve social problems and improve
society, citizens must actively participate
and take leadership positions within
established systems and community
structures
Justice-oriented Citizen
• Critically assesses social, political,
and economic structures to see
beyond surface causes
• Seeks out and addresses areas of
injustice
• Knows about social movements and
how to effect systemic change
Explores why people are hungry and acts
to solve root causes
To solve social problems and improve
society, citizens must questions and
change established systems and
structures when they reproduce patterns
of injustice over time.
Content
The three kinds of citizens according to Westheimer and Kahne
Personally Responsible Citizen
• Acts responsibly in his/her
community
• Works and pays taxes
• Obeys laws
• Recycles, gives blood
• Volunteers to lend a hand in times of
crisis
Contributes food to a food drive
To solve social problems and improve
society, citizens must have good
character; they must be honest,
responsible, and law-abiding members
of the community
Participatory Citizen
• Active member of community
organizations and/or improvement
efforts
• Organizes community efforts to care
for those in need, promote economic
development, or clean up
environment
• Knows how government agencies
work
• Knows strategies for accomplishing
collective tasks
Helps to organize a food drive
To solve social problems and improve
society, citizens must actively
participate and take leadership
positions within established systems
and community structures
Justice-oriented Citizen
• Critically assesses social, political,
and economic structures to see
beyond surface causes
• Seeks out and addresses areas of
injustice
• Knows about social movements and
how to effect systemic change
Explores why people are hungry and acts
to solve root causes
To solve social problems and improve
society, citizens must questions and
change established systems and
structures when they reproduce
patterns of injustice over time.
Context
The three kinds of citizens according to Westheimer and Kahne
Personally Responsible Citizen Participatory Citizen Justice-oriented Citizen
To solve social problems and To solve social problems and To solve social problems and
improve society, citizens must improve society, citizens must improve society, citizens must
have good character; they must actively participate and take questions and change established
be honest, responsible, and law- leadership positions within systems and structures when
abiding members of the established systems and they reproduce patterns of
community community structures injustice over time.
What kind of citizens does your country want?
Context
The three kinds of citizens according to Westheimer and Kahne
Personally Responsible Citizen Participatory Citizen Justice-oriented Citizen
To solve social problems and To solve social problems and To solve social problems and
improve society, citizens must improve society, citizens must improve society, citizens must
have good character; they must actively participate and take questions and change established
be honest, responsible, and law- leadership positions within systems and structures when
abiding members of the established systems and they reproduce patterns of
community community structures injustice over time.
What kind of citizens does your country want?
What did your country’s education system do that produce these citizens?
Context
The three kinds of citizens according to Westheimer and Kahne
Personally Responsible Citizen Participatory Citizen Justice-oriented Citizen
To solve social problems and To solve social problems and To solve social problems and
improve society, citizens must improve society, citizens must improve society, citizens must
have good character; they must actively participate and take questions and change established
be honest, responsible, and law- leadership positions within systems and structures when
abiding members of the established systems and they reproduce patterns of
community community structures injustice over time.
What kind of citizens does your country wants?
What did your country’s education system do that produced these citizens?
What did your own experience as a student in your country tell you about the
kind of citizens the education system produces?
Common misconceptions
• Confusion between personally responsible and participatory citizen
• Confusion between participatory citizen and justice-oriented citizen
• Assumption that personally responsible citizens are unthinking & that
justice-oriented citizens are automatically great thinkers!
• Assumption that memory work means no thinking required (!)
Constructing an essay response
Introduction

Body

Conclusion
Constructing an introduction
Introduction
• Introduce your essay by defining essential concepts.
There are three “kinds of citizen” according to Westheimer and Kahne. They
are…

Body

Conclusion
Constructing an introduction
Introduction
• Introduce your essay by defining essential concepts.
There are three “kinds of citizen” according to Westheimer and Kahne. They are…
• Briefly describe what you are going to explain in the body by paraphrasing
the question.
In this essay, I shall explain the kind of citizen that I think my country’s education
system produces.

Body

Conclusion
Constructing a body paragraph
Explaining an example
P
E
E
L
Construct
Explaining an example
Point
“ I believe my country’s education system aims to produce personally
responsible citizens.”
E
E
L
Construct
Explaining an example
Point
Example/Envidence
E
L
Construct
Explaining an example
Point
Example/Envidence
“For example, in school, we have structures in place to encourage
students to clean up and take care of our environment. There is a duty
roster drawn up for students to take turns to clean the whiteboard,
empty the rubbish bins and arrange the tables and chairs in our
classroom. There are also regular reminders by teachers at assembly
about cleaning up after ourselves and taking care of the environment.”
E
L
Construct
Explaining an example
Point
Example/Envidence
Explain
L
Construct
Explaining an example
Point
Example/Envidence
Explain
“As this was enforced in school, it naturally inculcates a sense of personal
responsibility in students to take ownership of our own actions and our
environment, and eventually influences us to be responsible for ourselves
and our surroundings. Furthermore, through starting on a smaller scale like
our classroom, it then slowly develops us to be responsible on a larger scale
like our community. This matches the characteristics of a personal
responsible citizen who, according to Westhimer and Kahne, are honest,
responsible and obey rules.
L
Construct
Explaining an example
Point
Example/Envidence
Explain
Link
Construct
Explaining an example
Point
Example/Envidence
Explain
Link
“Hence, I think that Singapore’s education system produces personally
responsible citizens as we learnt the importance of being responsible
for ourselves and the environment around us while in school.”
 Construct – A sample paragraph
P I believe my country’s education system aims to produce personally responsible citizens.
Eg For example, in school, we have structures in place to encourage students to clean up
and take care of our environment. There is a duty roster drawn up for students to take
turns to clean the whiteboard, empty the rubbish bins and arrange the tables and chairs
in our classroom. There are also regular reminders by teachers at assembly about
cleaning up after ourselves and taking care of the environment.
Ex As this was enforced in school, it naturally inculcates a sense of personal responsibility in
students to take ownership of our own actions and our environment, and eventually
influences us to be responsible for ourselves and our surroundings. Furthermore, through
starting on a smaller scale like our classroom, it then slowly develops us to be responsible
on a larger scale like our community. This matches the characteristics of a personal
responsible citizen who, according to Westhimer and Kahne, are honest, responsible and
obey rules.
L Hence, I think that Singapore’s education system produces personally responsible citizens
as we learnt the importance of being responsible for ourselves and the environment
around us while in school.
Constructing a conclusion
Introduction

Body

Conclusion
• Summarise points made in body paragraph
“To sum up, through the above examples, I have explained how my country’s
education system produces this kind of citizen.”
Constructing a conclusion
Introduction

Body

Conclusion
• Summarise points made in body paragraph
“To sum up, through the above examples, I have explained how my country’s
education system produces this kind of citizen.”
• Reiterates how the body paragraph address the questions
“Therefore, I believe that my country’s education system produces this kind of
citizens.”
Marking Scheme
LORMS Marks
L1 1-2
Identify Identifies examples with little or no reference made to reading

L2 3-6
Describe Describes examples with weak reference made to reading

L3 7-10
Explain Explains examples well with good reference made to reading
Term 1 Weighted Assessment
• 1 x Essay Question
• 10 marks
• 45 mins
Take Home Assignment 2
Question will be available for download on Matrix at the end of lecture
Deadline next Fri, 22 Feb