Overview
Rationale
Objectives
Strategies
Classroom Activities

This curriculum unit is written as a part of the Pittsburgh Teachers Institute seminar, "Pittsburgh Environmental History", led by Steffi Domike at Chatham College. The environmental history of the city of Pittsburgh is not one to be proud of, but it is a history that we do need to know and include into any history course of this region. This curriculum unit is based on the supposition that we can use environmental issues to help students become actively engaged in learning civics and have their voices heard in local government issues,

Even today people living outside, as well as people living in the region, exclaim that Pittsburgh is a dirty, steel town where the sun cannot be seen during the day because of the pollution from the steel mills. The steel mills are gone and Pittsburgh has not been known as the "smoky city" for quite a while but we continue to think of ourselves as we did more than fifty years ago. I was pleased to read in Roy Lubove’s Twentieth Century Pittsburgh that as long ago as the 1920’s both New York and St. Louis were said to be much smokier and dirtier than Pittsburgh. During the time when steel was king a clear smokeless sky meant men were not working and there was no prosperity. People were made to believe that clean air and water meant unemployment and poverty. Today we have better air quality and the rivers are used for recreation, but many still believe that clean air and water means no prosperity. As a result many of our young people look at this region and feel there is no future here for them. They too are products of this past belief, and leave here for the clean skies and clear waters that bring opportunities to other parts of the country. I believe we need to do a better job of educating and our young people to the history and contributions of the Pittsburgh region.

Using the information acquired from the seminar on environmental issues I will attempt to address two concerns I have as a teacher working in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. My first concern is how to make the teaching of Civics and Government to students, aged fourteen years in traditional ninth grade classes, exciting. My second concern is to address the problem of encouraging our young people to stay in this region develop their talents and skills and make a contribution here. I believe that by actively engaging students in a real life problem in their schools and communities, the learning of Civics will come alive and have more meaning to students. I also believe that by actively involving young people in the decision making processes of government that we may see more of them deciding to remain here and make a difference and more students will want to become involved in government and politics.

As the City of Pittsburgh redefines itself once again we find that we continue to suffer from a negative self-image. Our most precious resource, our young people, continue to leave the region as our population continues to age and decline.

The old timers talk of the glory days of the city and region when steel was king, and Pittsburgh was the steel capital of the world. Local newspapers feature stories about the decline of the region and the reluctance of its citizens to look forward to a still yet undefined future. We find comfort in remembering the not too distant past when a shot and a beer defined the culture and work ethic of the region; it is much too difficult to look into the future. As we continue to hold on to the past and the hard life of those generations we seem to forget that our new task is to make a way for the next generation. Our young people see no evidence of this glorious past; all that remains for them are vacant lots and old communities where steel once was king. This younger generation sees only the bleak, rundown shell of what once was a prosperous region. This generation hears that the number of jobs here has declined by the tens of thousands and they do not hear prospects of any new jobs arriving. If and when we do engage our young people in conversations about careers and jobs in this region and when they tell us that there are no jobs here, and that they must leave the region to live a decent life, they are only repeating what they hear all too often from us, the older generation. As a result of our sage wisdom and obsession with a once glorious past this generation looks to new horizons.

They look to New City, which may be older than Pittsburgh, but it is anyplace where the perception is that the streets are clean and opportunity beckons and the emphasis is on growth and newness and not the death and decay of a city and region. New City beckons to our young people as that place where they want to be, and a place that needs them as the bright and shining stars of the future. New City has a younger population than Pittsburgh and emphasizes young singles, young couples and young families with none of the problems of an old city with its old problems of dirt, and pollution. New City is clean, and free of pollution, its waterways are clean and free of all industrial pollution. New City has new clean schools free of asbestos, new playground equipment and clean filtered air in schools where children do not suffer in "sick buildings". If by chance some problems do exist in New City, then the governing agencies are quick to respond to the needs of the people, the new young people who can get things done. New City is the place we all want to live and raise our families.

In order to retain our most precious resource, our young people, we must do a better job of educating them to the history of this region. Pittsburgh has not been known as the "smoky city" for quite a while but we continue to think of it as we did at the turn of the twentieth century prior to the Pittsburgh Survey of 1906-1907,

That was a time in which our history was defined in terms of heavy industry alone. We look at our history as if nothing pre-dated that time and nothing of any significance has happened since. We are still Lincoln Steffen’s image of Pittsburgh "Hell with a lid on."So when we are asked where we are from we reply with the names of any small community we live in and do not identify with the Center City of the region, Pittsburgh. I was both pleased and excited to read in Roy Lubove’s Twentieth Century Pittsburgh that during the 1920’s both New York and St. Louis were said to be much smokier and dirtier than Pittsburgh. I was always of the belief that there was no place on earth any dirtier than Pittsburgh.

I remember as a child standing on the street corner in a clean white blouse watching the dirt from the mill fall all around me and on my blouse. I knew my mother would be angry when she saw the dirt-smeared blouse when I returned home. But such was not the case. At that time dirt and smoke meant prosperity and jobs in the towns along the Monongahela River. The only time the sky was without smoke was during a strike when men were not working. We were raised with the belief that we were not to expect clean air and water. If given the choice between clean air and water over jobs the choice would be in favor of smoke and pollution over unemployment and clean air any day. The people made few demands on government. Those demands made often fell on deaf ears with an added burden of a possible job loss. The job, no matter how dangerous or how the smoke poisoned the air was too important to keep.

Our rivers were not places for recreation, they were waterways used to carry coal barges to the mills to make steel and to carry the finished product to the world beyond the Three Rivers. If we wanted to fish we had to leave the area and go to creeks upstream where the water was clean and the fish could live.

Generations of people living in this region were raised to define themselves in terms of the type of "real work" done, meaning how dirty, dangerous, and sweaty the task. Their work was defined in sweat equity. No real man worked and did not sweat on his job. Wearing a white shirt to work meant you were a pencil pusher, a job that anyone could do, there was honor in "real," hard, dirty work.

These generations of workers did work hard. Many of them did not advance beyond eighth grade in school, which at one time was considered higher education. No matter how limited their own education, the promise of America and Democracy, as they understood it, was that future generations had the opportunity to do better than they and their parents and their parents before them had done. And so they worked hard, and educated their children with that promise in mind.

Future generations did become educated and learned to expect more from government. During the Great Depression government became more concerned about the needs of the people and created programs that did address those needs. Then again in the 1960’s and the Great Society government once again became more concerned with the needs of the people and developed programs once more to address those needs. But today we know that when we become too dependent on the government to satisfy the people’s needs and we forget that there is a cost. That cost is that we no longer interact with government.

In order for our students to have a good understanding of their rights as citizens schools teach a course in the Social Science/Studies curriculum called Civics or Problems of Democracy. Civics is the study of citizenship and government. The word comes from the Latin word civis, meaning "citizen". In ancient Rome where the word was first used, only wealthy landowners were allowed to be citizens. Here, in this country wealth and property are not prerequisites to being a citizen. The word citizen applies to most people living in the United States today.

In 1971 the Congress of the United States passed the 26th Amendment, granting the right to vote to 18-20 year olds. This amendment passed through the Congress and the States faster than any previous constitutional amendment. The driving force behind the amendment was the nation’s youth who raised the question of the validity of a representative government that asked 18-20 year olds to fight and die in Vietnam but denied them the right to vote on war-related issues.

Earlier attempts to lower the voting age for 18-20 year olds came at the end of Civil War. A delegate to the New York Constitutional Convention argued that we hold 18-20 year olds liable to the draft and put their lives in peril on the battlefields, therefore they should be granted the vote.

Modern Congressional efforts began in 1942 when a constitutional amendment was proposed, by Representative Jennings Randolph (D-W.VA) to lower the voting age to 18 "if young men are drafted at age 18 years to fight for their government, they ought to be entitled to vote at 18 years for the kind of government for which they are best satisfied to fight".

Again, in the early 1950’s the proposition of lowering the voting age was discussed, this time by President, Dwight Eisenhower. President Eisenhower championed the idea of lowering the voting age in his 1954 State of the Union Address. Senator Jennings Randolph, once again, introduced a constitutional amendment. Although, the proposal found serious consideration in the Senate it was defeated in the House of Representatives. But two conservative Southern states, Kentucky and Georgia (1943) extended the right to vote to 18 year olds.

Throughout the 1960’s pressure to pass the amendment continued. By this time the United States was involved in a war in Vietnam. This war was unpopular both at home and around the world. As a result of this most unpopular war support continued to build to lower the voting age to 18 years. Student protesters took to the streets in protest of the war and for support of lowering the voting age to 18. In the Presidential election of 1968, both the Democratic and Republican candidates’ platforms supported extending voting rights to 18 year olds.

Once again, in 1971, Senator Jennings Randolph proposed the amendment to extend voting rights to 18-year olds. Final ratification to the Twenty Sixth Amendment came on June 30, 1971.

From this brief history on the extension of voting rights to 18-year olds, we see that this right was extended after 18-year olds took an active role in government and made their voices heard. In earlier proposals to extend voting rights large numbers of young people were not actively involved in dialogue with the government. In each of the previous attempts it was left up to elected officials to speak for the nation’s young.

It is with the activism of the 1960’s by young people that we need to rededicate ourselves to the civic education of our students. We must prepare them to take an active role in government, and they will take an active role if we give them the opportunity to be active participants in their learning. We acknowledge that voting is a right and a responsibility of citizenship and many citizens do not take part. With the passage of the Twenty Sixth Amendment it was expected that higher voter turnout would occur. In the elections of 1972, almost 50% of young voters between the ages of 18-24 voted. Since the 1972 elections youth voting has continued to decline. Predictions for the 2000 election were that fewer than 35% of youth voters would cast a ballot.

The philosophy behind teaching civics courses has been the belief that in order for a Democracy to survive it is absolutely necessary to have an informed electorate. Since, in a Democracy, the people are Sovereign, they must be educated so that they can make informed decisions when it is time to vote for elected officials. Whatever the name of this course, the emphasis is on teaching students about government, how it works and the beliefs upon which our nation is based.

Students are encouraged to ponder "what life would be like if we had no government, or no laws". We provide students with mega lists of vocabulary to memorize along with the names of all elected and appointed governmental officials. In some of our advanced courses we argue and debate the political philosophers. We have dedicated college and university major areas of study to political science. We stay up late at night debating government policy and programs. But still we do not vote and many young voters never establish a voting history.

Data released this past year indicates that young voters may not vote until they reach middle age. In this past year’s Presidential election, people in their 30’s said that there was no reason for them to vote in this election because all the issues, Social Security and Medicare, were about "older people" and these were not issues younger people were concerned with. They saw this election as an anti-youth election; this was surprising given that many of the spokespersons for young voters were young professionals in their late 20’s and 30’s. With this type of rhetoric it is not surprising that the youth vote has continued to decline since the passage of the Twenty Sixth Amendment.

But the question remains…why? Many believe that this generation has never been at war and do not understand the importance of their voices at the polls. The question of why is not important. The fact is that we must do something to get young people involved in politics and government. We must teach them that they do have a voice and we are waiting to hear it

Today we expect our elected officials to be both moral and political leaders. As moral leaders we expect them to set the moral tone for the entire nation. We look to the behavior of these people elected to public office, rather than to our parents, ministers, friends and extended family to model appropriate behaviors for us. We reason that if that official’s behavior is inappropriate then what can be expected of the rest of us. It is almost as if we have returned to thinking of our political leaders as "divine".

We have moved rapidly from being fully self-reliant individuals to becoming totally reliant on government for our every need. As we may have become more reliant on government our children are, at the same time, totally removed and alienated by government. When talking to students about how they see their government they often reply as if talking about something that is totally unresponsive and foreign to them. They do not see government as of, by, and for the people. They see it as an entity that is fully self-serving with no concern for the people. Government to many of our students is something that gives us what we need. They do not see government as representing the will of the people nor do they understand that it is the people who are powerful. It is that alien thing called government that is seen as all-powerful, sapping the life out of the people. When asked what can be done about this problem, they respond that they will not vote or become involved in the political system. They feel that by voting they are taking part in a corrupt system therefore, they reason why should I vote. If we look at voting statistics for our eighteen year olds it would appear that this line of reasoning does hold true.

With all the scandals in governments from, the extra-marital affairs of national leaders to the perceived impersonal responses by government to the needs of the people, an air of cynicism pervades the Civics classrooms of today’s schools. This cynicism comes from students of tender years having little if any experience or knowledge of their government. The media, with its focus on all that which government does wrong, helps form these attitudes. We applaud this critique of government as part of our national heritage, which includes the First Amendment and Freedom of Speech. But, many of our students want government to set the moral code for the nation and when stories are reported that reflect a questionable or negative action on the part of any governing official they are devastated. And again will state that this is another reason for their alienation and lack of interest in participating in government.

Recent news stories have indicated that a large number of young people, many of whom are college graduates, do not know the name of the President of the United States or what the Declaration of Independence is. Given the scandals of the Clinton Presidency it is difficult to believe, but it was even more frightening to hear that with all the information about the President, that students did not know his name. The news media take delight in reporting these stories as just another example of what a poor job the public schools are doing in educating the nation’s youth. Of course, the fact that the media reports every detail of every public official’s personal life is not seen as a having an impact on the low voter turnout amongst young people and voters in general. The question that needs to be asked is why there is such a lack of interest in the nation’s history and government.

Over the past forty years the emphasis in the curriculum has been on math and science. Every year we get new data that says that the nation’s children are still under-performing in math and science when compared with students from other nations around the world. What would such a test on government indicate? What would happen to the interest in history and government if the same emphasis that exits in math and science were placed on Civics. Our students are told that the most important and difficult courses taught are in math and science and that the Social Sciences are not quite as important. As educators we must look at Civics education and give it greater importance than we do currently. When the former Premier of the Soviet Union was questioned about threats to the United States he responded that any threat to the United States would not come from outside but would come from inside the United States.

When entering into dialogue with students about the media reporting these questionable actions by governing officials, I am relieved when students respond that we have rights guaranteed by the Constitution to Freedom of Speech and Press. Students respond that our rights to Freedom of Speech and Press should and must be protected at all costs. After reading these stories about inappropriate actions by governing officials then they become disillusioned and alienated from their government. When entering into dialogue with these same students about how to make government more responsive to their needs or how they can work within the framework of government to achieve some purpose, the answer is always the same…"this cannot be done because government is corrupt". I remind students constantly that government is made up of people like themselves and their parents who have a job to do. But again and again these fourteen year olds will tell me that government is self-serving and has little to do with them. At times I feel that I am waging a losing battle with them. I need a cause we can fight as a class which will teach students about their government and why they should become involved.

In order to make this study of government interesting to our students, which they claim to have no interest in, I have been told to relate the course to television programs and news shows because those are things students relate to most. But after I have played "Let Me Entertain You" we are still at a loss when defining the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. Students still do not understand that government comes from the governed and is not something foreign and distant from them. I fear what this sense of alienation and cynicism young people have of their government will mean in the future.

The students I teach are like any of their age mates any place across the country. Their interests are the same. I am sure they would prefer video games and television to homework. I know they prefer listening to music to watching the nightly news or reading the newspaper. My reason for taking the seminar on the Environmental History of Pittsburgh was to help me acquire information on a cause that would get students involved in their learning of Civics and provide a forum for active involvement with government. It is my hope that after identifying a local environmental concern (possibly the school’s air quality) students will become more actively involved in their learning.

As I stated earlier, my other concern was getting young adults more involved with their government. To date there is no law requiring people to vote or register to vote. There is a law requiring all young men to register for the draft at age 18, if they do not register repercussions ensue. If our Democracy is at risk because of the lack of voting among all voters and young voters in particular maybe we should open dialogue to address that issue. It is not enough to just say that people don’t vote. The questions that need to addressed should be why and how to get people more involved in the voting process and government. The focus should be to become proactive and work to resolve this dilemma rather than restate the problem.

Could a magnetically encoded ID card, a voter card, be developed to modernize voting? This could be a card that makes the voting place more accessible. Our society is extremely mobile today. Often young people with their first job may not know where their local voting place is located. Could such a card be developed that could be used anyplace during elections and forgo the problem of trying to find where we are to vote. This needs to be looked at if we are truly concerned with protecting Democracy for future generations.

Amongst young people in college, how easy or difficult is it for them to vote while living away from home on campus. Does the attending college provide information on voting places? Can colleges and universities provide students the opportunity to vote on-line? Does the school do a good job of educating students to the fact that money for both research and scholarships are provided by the government? Does the attending school inform students about local government issues such as zoning and the impact on college campuses? Is volunteering a requirement for graduation? We hear about the importance of volunteering at the high school level is it possible to make volunteering as important at the college level to improve the "town and gown" relationship that in many college towns is fraught with problems?

In Washington, DC, Mayor Anthony A. Williams has created the DC Youth Advisory Council, this website represents the voice of the District’s youth and advises city leadership about policies, programs and actions that affect them. Through this effort, the Council ensures that the concerns and perspectives of young people have been carefully considered. This forum denies political parties affiliation but is concerned with what young people feel are their particular issues

Any youth resident who has lived in the District for at least one year from ages13-22 is eligible to participate. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from the DC program. Young people are looked at as problem solvers who can and will, when given the opportunity, work at finding solutions, they are not just problems looking for someone to entertain or fix them. Most programs look at young people as the problem, as a result they are never taught to do problem solve for themselves. Instead, programs are developed for a particular "problem", the problem escalates and so more programs are created.

With each new program we ask why there are no positive results. Could it be that we are not giving young people what they need. In order for our students to gain the skills they need to solve problems for themselves we need to be constantly reminded that these are the skills that make for good citizenship. They need skills that allow them to interact with government. We must help them find their voice and remind them that their voice must be heard so that they will have an impact on their own environment.

Yes, math is taught in school and students are asked to problem solve, but students do not readily apply that ability to real life problem solving. The process of problem solving should be emphasized as that skill that is applied to solving every day problems, whether they are environmental issues, or solving an algebraic equation. Keeping in that same line of thinking we should have students learn how government works by practicing their interactions with government.

In order to do this Americans must be informed that the citizen is the most important person in a Democracy and that government represents the will of the people. This message must be made loud and clear and should begin at the youngest possible age. Children in kindergarten realize that toys, crayons and books need to be put away when they have finished with them. This is taught as one of the responsibilities we have to each other working in a community, this community is defined as the Kindergarten classroom.

Students at this age also learn to conserve energy by turning off lights at home when they are not needed and by conserving paper, by using both sides, rather than using one side and discarding it. Both of these are important environmental issues for children to learn early. Children in primary grades can use critical thinking skills to select issues of importance to them on environmental issues. The teaching of critical thinking skills is a skill that citizens are expected to have as an educated citizenry given the responsibility to be informed about government so that they know the issues and can take a position pro or con.

As our students progress through the educational system their civic education should grow and broaden. It is not important that they learn the names of some governmental officials they must also learn that their voice is to be heard by government. All of their rights need to be explained and practiced. But the most important thing for them to learn is that, government can do no more or no less than what the people permit it to do. If citizens are displeased with government then they must articulate what it is that displeases them and work to make change. These are lessons that everyone needs to learn and apply. It is only by working together through a process that we understand it.

Students learn early in their school careers that orderliness and cooperation are necessary to accomplish anything. If the classroom is noisy and out of control, they learn that very little will be accomplished that day. By having students at very young ages work together on environmental issues they learn to share ideas, and gain respect for one another’s opinions.

Students partnering with adults from community groups who have answers to their questions will to identify positive role models within their communities who can help them get things done. By inviting people from outside their communities who may have expertise in an area of student interest, students will learn how to speak publicly and ask questions to gain more knowledge and information. By studying the Fourteenth Amendment and the Declaration of Independence students will learn that they, each and every one of them, are entitled to equal protection under the law. Lastly by interacting with governmental officials students will begin to understand how government works and how to redress their grievances.

We need a model to follow that can be applied to schools and young adults as well as people in the community.

By developing this unit with-in environmental education framework civics education should become more meaningful to our students. The environment is of concern to all citizens regardless of income or social class. Lead poisoning from paint and pipes, air pollution, pesticides in water and the food supply, increased risk of skin cancer as a result of a depleted ozone layer and the effects on children and future generations concern us all with no regard to one’s socioeconomic condition. The list of concerns we all have over the environment is overwhelming. By focusing on the Indoor Air Quality of the schools and working with school officials students should begin to understand how valuable (positively) they are. This working relationship within the schools should grow and develop through their educational experience. It is hoped that students will develop skills to carry with them throughout their lives and also realize that learning is a life long process.

This unit will a multi-disciplinary approach to teaching civics and will address Math, Communications, Citizenship, Science and Technology, and Environment and Ecology standards.

In the social studies curricula the standards are found in citizenship. Citizenship is a very broad topic; under this heading students are expected to understand the democratic process, the structure of government, the importance of citizen contributions to society, and the ability to work together.

Social studies also include geography, history, and economics. As students become involved in researching environmental issues it may become necessary to read and interpret maps as well as research the history of the region and understand the cost of implementing environmental policy.

As students research the history of a region they will need to examine and evaluate problems facing the citizens of the United States and the African American community by conducting research, analyzing alternatives, organizing evidence, and arguments and making oral presentations.

The four components of communications; reading, writing, speaking and listening will be represented in the activities students will develop on environmental issues. Student readings may be from a variety of sources including books, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets and the Internet.

Students may write position papers that explain their research and their suggestions. They will also be encouraged to write persuasive essays based on their research.

As students continue to gather data on their environmental issue they will need to develop their listening and speaking skills. As they discuss the issue and potential solutions with their classmate they are developing the ability to listen actively to others ideas.

Students will use the math standards as they gather data that can be illustrated by graphs.

Students may choose a research topic that would lead to the study of natural phenomenon such as flooding, or other potential disasters.

Students may undertake research on water purification or waste treatment that is important to the local community.

All student research will be directed to the standards in Environment and Ecology that asks students to think critically and generate potential solutions to environmental issues.

Students will be introduced to their Local Government through the use of the KAT (Kids Around Town) program as a guide. The KAT program is a Local Government Education Model written by Sharon B. Kletzien, Ph.D. and Ann L. Rappoport, Ph.D. of West Chester University of Pennsylvania. KAT is a Professional Program of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Citizen Education Fund Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in cooperation with West Chester University of West Chester Pennsylvania.

The KAT program is an interdisciplinary program that involves students in communication, social studies, science and math. The emphasis is on helping students make the connection between what is learned in traditional civics classes and the problems of the real world. As I have stated throughout this unit students must get involved in real issues to make their study of civics come to life. Discussing civics from a television perspective does not teach the rigors of scholarly work, that is the purpose of the KAT program. The KAT program was developed for students in middle and upper elementary schools but can be adapted for use by students at any grade level.

With the emphasis on developing higher-level thinking students will research and develop strategies for solving environmental problems. Their research will initially be directed to local environmental issues and developing strategies to solve them. Students will first have to identify a problem. In their first task we will select issues that directly affect them in the schools such as the Indoor Air Quality of the School (IAQ).

Once the problem has been identified they will begin research on the history of IAQ to understand why this should be a concern to them and to others.

After researching the issue students will then analyze the research. They will be able to identify fact from opinion, and recognize arguments as well as other tasks associated with this activity. Students will also study the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to understand their rights. In particular they will study the 14^th Amendment, to fully understand what "equal protection under the law means".

Following the KAT model students will then develop and action plan in which they are to work together to develop possible solutions to their particular environmental concern.

Their next step will be to inform the public, convince local authorities of their findings, and participate in a suggested course of action.

Finally students will develop their own assessment model and reflect on their experience in this project.

The first activities used will be to introduce students to the concept of why governments exist and what is public policy and what distinguishes it from public rights.

The scenario to be used will be adapted from the KAT. In this scenario students will take a pretest to determine their knowledge on public policy issues. Students will be asked to work independently and write their responses to questions. Students will receive the following scenario in which they are asked:

This scenario does not necessarily have a "right" answer but students should realize there are many questions they should ask. This assignment is developed to give students an opportunity to accept the ambiguity that is public policy decision making.

A follow-up question to this activity may be to ask students "who they feel is the most important person in the country"? Of course, the correct response is citizens. At this time the idea of voting can be introduced with the understanding that people through their vote actually determine who represents their voice and that when displeased with that person representing them it is citizens, again through their vote, who rid the office of those who they feel no longer represent them.

Another follow-up would be to determine how students feel about their government. If students respond as if government is something else, it usually indicates an us/them relationship, with government being the authority telling one and all what to do. At this point it becomes necessary to explain that government is of, for, and by the people and is the collection of all of us who care and are active making decisions we think are best by working together and compromising.

To help students understand "why we have government" a desert island scenario could be used in which students are stranded on a desert island with no means of escape and no authority in charge. How will they cope with the basics like food and shelter? This activity addresses issues of organization, leadership, decision-making, and interdependence. A connection should be made between this activity and local government and the role local government plays in their everyday lives.

The concept of a "pluralistic society" may be introduced to help students understand public policy. Rather than looking at good guys and bad guys as is often the case when discussing public policy issues. The concept of a pluralistic society made up of people having different viewpoints explains why there is disagreement on issues. With the explanation of pluralism students need to have an understanding of how many people live in their community and who they are. This can be accomplished through research from the Internet that gives information on the census for the different neighborhoods in the city of Pittsburgh. Students can also examine newspapers for mention of different ethnic groups. Students need to understand diversity to know the contributions made by these groups to their communities at all levels. They may also create graphs indicating the numbers of families with school age children.

In defining the public interest students should understand that that interest goes beyond the interest of any one group. The interests of a community with a large elderly population who pay taxes to support public education are not the same as a family with young children. Students will need to discuss what if any compromises are being made here.

To encourage students to become involved in the problems that affect their world they must become involved in the decision-making process. In order to do this they first must understand what public policy means. This concept will be introduced with a warm-up scenario from the KAT program. In this scenario students are asked to respond to a public policy issue that affects them.

In our scenario students will be asked to respond to the city of Pittsburgh’s desire to reopen, as new state of the art coke plants, the now closed coke ovens in the Hazelwood section of the city. This is the second time since the closing of the facility that the city is requesting them to reopen. Community groups have met previously and successfully argued against the opening of these coke plants. The city and the neighborhood are arguing over this issue. Students will need to help solve this problem and find out what they can do.

In this warm-up activity to public policy, students will work independently and write their responses to the scenario.

Rather than simply discussing their answers students should develop a plan of action to find their answers and list the questions they want to ask. Students should be reminded that there are no right or wrong answers to their questions but they are developing problem-solving strategies for everyday life.

This activity may be used as a pre-test to determine what lessons should be emphasized in the KAT program and to determine how well students need to research issues.

Students should also discuss who they think is the most important person in this country today? Supreme court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote almost a century ago that the most important person in a democracy is that of citizen. At this time the answer to this question needs to be explained in detail citing what powers the citizen has through voting, and the citizens power of persuasion.

Students should also discuss what is wrong with the following statement? "We shouldn’t have to pay for tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike". Discussion on this question should help students understand that when we say that government should do something it means that we are the government and that we need to stop looking at the relationship with government as an us versus them scenario.

From this lesson students should also be made to realize that there is a difference between public rights and private rights and that although we may not always agree with the solution to the problems we must appreciate the process of influencing policy-making that is available to all citizens. Students should also understand why we do have government and what is meant by public policy.

The concepts of pluralism and public interests should be introduced at this.

At the end of the activity students should be able to understand the concept of public policy, and begin to think about public rights versus private rights. The skills emphasized in this activity are questioning, critical thinking, analyzing, sequencing, and recognizing point of view.

Students need to be made aware of the number of people who live in their community, not just their street or neighborhood. Students need to know about the contributions made by all ethnic groups to their community. Students need to know the ages of people living in their communities, whether their community has a large number of young people with children or senior citizens. This information will have a direct impact on public policy decisions.

Students can find out this information by going to the Internet and finding the most recent census information on their communities. Newspapers may be used to determine what references are made to activities for particular ethnic groups. Students should check radio and television listings for foreign language broadcasts.

After various ethnic groups have been identified students should make graphs indicating the percentage of these groups within their communities.

Students should take walks through their communities looking for signs in foreign languages and churches with a distinct ethnic name and or reference.

Students should complete a questionnaire which includes questions on how many people live in your town; what language do most people in the community speak; are there other languages spoken, what are they; are there groups of people who come from other countries; are there different ethnic groups; are there different religions; are there many families with children in your community; are there many retired people in your community?

To help students understand public interest ask students to give examples of the public good and how long a period of time they think is considered when thinking about the public good. Also ask students if they volunteer their services to any organization and why? Do they make any other contributions to organizations and why?

To help students understand public versus private issues ask students what personal decisions they make every day. To think about regulations ask student what regulations exist for drivers.

At the end of this activity students should be able to identify the number of people in their community, identify groups in their community and understand diversity in their community. In doing so they should also come to understand the differences in opinions and the differences in knowledge we each have on particular issues.

In this activity students will select one environmental issue they feel is most important to their community from a list of environmental issues generated by the class. The emphasis here will be on public interest versus private interest.

In order to do this students will take the scenario from lesson one, in this case the question of reopening a closed coke plant in Hazelwood, and develop questions as if they had to think about the public policy of school attendance. These questions need to be asked to decide if the policy is a good one.

Tell students that every month public policy decisions are made in their communities that affect them, ask them to think of five questions they would like to ask about public policy and the environment.

Have students write their response to an editorial written in the newspaper on an environmental issue.

Ask students what their free time activities include and list the vocabulary for that activity. Remind students that communication is important in everything we do. Ask what vocabulary they already know when talking about local environmental issues. List on the board.

Create a word bank for local environmental issues.

Have students complete an essay on activities they can become involved in now to make their community a better place environmentally.

In this unit additional lessons would have students research the environmental issue they have selected, analyze the information, develop problem-solving strategies, and take civic action. Within each lesson in the unit speakers from the community should be invited into the classroom to speak on environmental issues and citizen involvement.

The Dying of the Trees, Charles E. Little, Penguin Books, 1997

Twentieth Century Pittsburgh volume I: Government, Business, and Environmental Change, by Roy Lubove. University of Pittsburgh Press. 1995 (first edition, 1969)

The Legacy of Penn’s Woods: A History of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, by Lester A. DeCoster, PHMC and the PA Department of Environmental Resources

Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, Houghton Mifflin, 1963/1994

Out of This Furnace: a Novel of Immigrant Labor in America, by Thomas Bell, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1976 (originally published in 1941)

Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees, New Society Publishers, 1996

KAT: Kids Around Town a Local Government Education Model, A professional program of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Citizen Education Fund in cooperation with West Chester University

 

 

Content Standards

7. All students evaluate advantages, disadvantages and ethical implications associated with the impact of science and technology on current and future life.

10. All students demonstrate basic computer literacy, including word-processing, software applications, and the ability to access the global information infrastructure, using current technology.

 

1. All students demonstrate their knowledge of principles of consumer behavior as a foundation for managing resources for personal and family needs.

1. All students use effective research and information management skills, including locating primary and secondary sources of information with traditional and emerging library technologies.

2. All students respond orally and in writing to information and ideas gained by reading narrative and informational texts and use the information and ideas to make decisions and solve problems.

7. All students exchange information orally, including understanding and giving spoken instructions, asking and answering questions appropriately, and promoting effective group communications.