A citizen is someone who is full member of a nation or political community, usually because of birth in that country or naturalization. Citizens have a lot of rights, but also a lot of responsibilities. These include voting, paying taxes, obeying the law and protecting their nation if necessary by serving in the military. Citizenship has varied throughout history and within societies, and it often means different things to different people.
Many schools are now focusing on teaching students how to be active citizens, and some have created programs to help them do this. This is a major shift from the way that citizenship used to be taught, which focused more on rote learning and memorizing facts. Instead, these programs try to give students hands-on experience identifying problems in their communities and coming up with ways to improve them. They also teach how to participate in local government, call senators and protest if needed.
In addition to these skills, students learn how to use social media to spread the word about issues that affect their communities. They are encouraged to get involved in volunteering, and some even go as far as running for office. This helps to teach students that they can be the change that they want to see in their society, and it teaches them how to be productive members of their communities.
The most important trait of being a citizen is patriotism, which is love for and devotion to one’s country. This can be shown by displaying the flag, going to political rallies and participating in other civic activities. It is a great way to show support for the country and its values, and it can even motivate individuals to take action to protect their homeland if need be.
It is not always easy to be a good citizen, and many people struggle to balance the demands of their responsibilities with other aspects of their lives. In a Pew Research Center survey, around three-quarters of Americans said that voting is very important to being a good citizen, and about seven-in-ten said the same about paying taxes and always following the law. Other important traits included being kind and helping others, showing respect for diversity and donating or volunteering to help others. There were sizable partisan differences on some of these items, with Republicans and Democrats disagreeing on the importance of certain traits.
For example, only about half of Republicans thought that displaying the flag was very important to being a good citizen, while most Democrats did. Another area of disagreement was how to best educate children on being good citizens. Most educators agreed that they should be taught to respect the rights of others and be tolerant of different opinions. Some educators went as far as to develop a program called Bayside Students for Justice, which taught students to recognize injustice and how to change established structures and systems. This was a significant shift from the traditional focus on teaching students that one person could make a difference.