4th Graders Making a Difference

This short item in the Globe caught my attention this weekend. A 4th grade class in Franklin, MA was unsatisfied with what they saw as the confusing layout of the MCAS test. With the help of their teacher, they wrote letters to the Department of Education proposing some changes:

After they took the practice MCAS test last year, many of them had the same complaint --they couldn't understand the instructions on the part of the test that asks for short essay answers to questions about their interests or experiences, or their response to a short reading passage.

The students had just learned to write formal business letters, so their teacher, Christine Hunt, assigned them a new task: Write to the state Department of Education asking for simpler, "kid-friendly" guidelines.

It worked.

This week, they learned that the state has added new guidelines to every English language arts exam in grades 3-8 and 10. Following the students' suggestion, the instructions will be offered as an acronym: READ, which stands for "Read the question carefully, Explain your answer, Add supporting details, and Double-check your work."

You can read the full article here. While not a civics class per se, this example calls to mind the value of practical civics education. As Robert Putnam argues in Bowling Alone:

improved civics education in school should be part of our strategy [to increase social capital]--not just "how a bill becomes a law," but "How can I participate effectively in the public life of my community?" Imagine, for example, the civics lesson that could be imparted by a teacher in South Central Los Angeles, working with students to effect public change that her students think is important, like getting lights for a neighborhood basketball court. (page 405)