Teaching Politically (without teaching politics)

In fifth grade, we learn about the system of checks and balances, and perhaps know what a voting booth looks like. Even before then (especially in this year's election), we can identify political candidates, and perhaps know why there are political cartoons featuring elephants and donkeys. But is that the point? We can't expect kids to hear about politics, government, and freedom in history class when all they're surrounded by are rules, standards, and fill-in-the-bubble tests.

How can we expect the citizens of tomorrow to know what they're up against, and know how to be active, committed, daresay patriotic citizens if they have spent the last eighteen years of their lives being told their opinions don't matter? We can't.

We need a system of education that is based around the way that children naturally learn - through exploration, imitation, and experimentation. We have to stop concentrating on making every student adhere to the same standards, because we risk the danger of breeding a society of clones.