Nurturing responsive citizens

When I was in school over thirty years ago, Civics was one of the dullest and driest subjects. Learning was limited to regurgitating textbook content that failed to engage or connect with students’ lived experiences. Although Civics has largely been subsumed under Social Science and textbooks now address contemporary issues, classes remain mainly teacher-led, with marks as the main focus. Fortunately, some organisations, like the Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) in Karnataka, are spearheading a more active, constructive, and participatory approach to civic education. According to Priya Krishnamurthy, CEO of CMCA, the organisation’s flagship program is the Civic Club, which currently runs in schools across four States and in all districts of Karnataka, targeting students in Grades 7 and 8. Running through the academic year, the program focuses on themes such as gender, equality, critical thinking, empathy, diversity, integrity and sustainability.Karnataka universities ask colleges to prepare for student elections The programme also includes an experiential component in which children audit their schools. Working in teams, the children profile various facets of their school, including electricity usage, food waste management, infrastructural needs, and student transport and commuting. Students identify what is working well and what needs improvement. So, whether it’s repairing latches on bathroom doors or asking for a drinking water filter, students realise that needs must be prioritised and solutions must factor in resource constraints. This exercise teaches students that “rights come with responsibilities,” says Krishnamurthy.According to Shivkumar, a Social Studies teacher at Morarji Desai Residential School, Bevinahalli, students look forward to the Civic Club period. While teachers find it difficult to keep students engaged in class, children are eager and enthusiastic participants during Civic Club activities and discussions. Further, he has noticed that students are more sensitive to discriminatory practices in their communities, be it of caste or gender and are motivated to spark change. Students also appreciate the idea that everyone, from a sweeper to the President of a country, has both rights and duties as a citizen, and that they too, as children, can be stewards of change.The ripple effectThough children first exercise civic awareness in school, Krishnamurthy notes that a ripple effect emerges as students begin to notice the need for change at home, in their neighbourhood, the wider community, and finally the village, town, or city. For example, Class 7 children have taken photos of cracked and damaged footpaths, loose electric wires, broken streetlights and overflowing garbage dumps and contacted either BBMP or BESCOM to have the problems fixed. A Class 8 boy called the police to break up a street fight when some boys had ganged up on another student. To practise sustainability, students have created compost bins, taken part in park clean-ups and have encouraged friends and relatives to take cloth bags while shopping. A few eighth-graders made newspaper bags at school and distributed them to local vendors to discourage plastic use. In a few instances, children have alerted either the school authorities or the child helpline number 1098 to avert child marriages of peers. Likewise, many children have contacted animal welfare organisations to rescue injured dogs, cats, cows and birds.Student unions as laboratories of citizenshipCMCA also energises Makkala Grama Sabha across Karnataka. Started in 2006 under a government order, children from rural schools meet every year around Children’s Day to voice their issues at a gram panchayat meeting dedicated solely to them. This laudable government initiative, unique to Karnataka, gives children a platform to advocate for their issues. A recent CMCA publication, Makkala Dhwani, documents the tangible impact of children participating in gram sabhas.CMCA trains volunteers from local communities to be change-catalysts by spreading awareness of civic responsibilities in schools and orienting children on what to expect at such meetings.To help children understand that not all problems they raise can be tackled immediately, CMCA uses an innovative exercise. They ask students to crumple waste paper into balls and throw them into a bin placed at the centre. Some balls fall right into the bin and represent straightforward issues that can be solved easily. Some paper balls, especially those hurled from a distance, symbolise knottier problems that don’t lend themselves to readymade solutions.However, that doesn’t mean we give up on them. It just means that some issues have to be raised again, which helps children appreciate the importance of persevering if their problems aren’t set right immediately. Further, when the bin is full, no new problems can be taken on until it is partially emptied. This exercise helps students realise the complexities and challenges of civic engagement without becoming cynical.CMCA hopes to take its work to more schools and rural libraries, and beyond schools to apartment complexes in Bengaluru and other cities. Krishnamurthy avers that “education for democratic participation and citizenship” needs to be fostered in schools and homes. While children understand that they are born citizens of a country, we need to build the disposition and competencies to make them active, engaged participants. The motto of CMCA, “Concern, Cooperate, Coexist, Confront”, encapsulates the various dimensions of active citizenship that may be nurtured and championed in children. (The author is a psychologist, writer & visiting faculty, Azim Premji University)

Source: Deccan Herald