Twitter revealed today that there's a citizenship conference taking place at the BL today, organised by the association of citizenship teachers. There's an 'event wiki' as well; it also links in with the Learning team's Campaign! Make an Impact project, which brings together lots of materials on historical campaigns with ideas for how young people can campaign - and learn - today.
Running out of the flat this morning, I caught the start of Harvard Professor of Government, Michael Sandel's Reith Lectures, which as it happens are "about the prospects of a new politics of the common good". The 'commonweal' looks like one of those concepts that is making a come-back (interestingly, it was also used to define ancien regime France as well as Cromwellian England or U.S. States).
I was delighted to discover that there's an urban myth that Professor Sandel provided the model for the Simpson's villainous Montgomery Burns. (Several of the writers are Harvard alums). It seems to me that 'make an impact' has the potential to combine the studious and mischievous characteristics of Lisa and Bart quite nicely.
Interesting as this is, I'd hoped you were going to elaborate on how in an excellent episode of The Simpsons Bart and Lisa, by teaching Apu about the US before his naturalisation test, opened up some scope for a debate on citizenship tests in general. Anyway, something for us all to think about.
Posted by: Carl | 24 July 2009 at 04:47 PM