Teaching "Good Citizenship" in Texas

Texas home educators are required to teach only five subjects: Reading, Spelling, Grammar, Math, and GOOD CITIZENSHIP. Of course, you can add other subjects to this short mandatory list, but these are the only requirements (at the time of that this blog was published). I always get asked, "What is Good Citizenship?" and "How the HECK do you teach Good Citizenship?" One way is to teach about your local government happenings, especially during the time of elections. We did a big unit on Voting a few years ago that was really cool. You can also study political candidates during & in between election years to stay on top of what each candidate stands for and what they are doing while in office. I require our children to memorize national & local pledges and anthems, as well. The older kids think it's a chore, but I let them know that they are helping to teach the younger kids. Good citizenship can also include a unit study on community helpers (such as police officers, fire fighters, teachers, medical staff, grocery store workers, etc). You can encourage your children to do something uplifting in the community also, such as sending baked goods or thank you notes to your doctor or dentist's offices. It is such a vague subject! I honestly try to remember what I learned about my community & the state while I was in school (outside of Texas History class) and teach my children that.

Click here to read this article that gives some insight into incorporating voting as a unit/lesson/class for Good Citizenship requirements.

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