Note: With this posting, I begin a schedule that
has me posting on Tuesdays (as opposed to Mondays) and Fridays. Oh yes; the Perry referred to in my last
posting is, of course, Perry Como.
Let me continue my
current focus in this blog; that is, taking a closer look at the content of the
most popular government textbook, Magruder’s
American Government,[1]
and see if that material either leans toward advancing a disposition to
self-interests or communal interests.
Does it present government as a social institution established to
protect and advance individuals, much like the individual student, or does it
present government as that organized effort to protect and advance the common good,
the common welfare? Of course, this is
not an either/or question. The textbook
can advance both the individual and the community, but can we detect a bias
since oftentimes the interests of the community are at odds with the interests
of the individual and vice-versa? In the
last posting, I looked at one of eleven sporadically placed inserts. Its title was “Writing a Letter to the Editor.”
With this posting, I will look at what might be considered a more
directly related topic to community welfare or, as I called it in the last
posting, advancing social capital.[2] That is “Volunteering.”[3]
Again, the context of these inserts is that they take up a
page each, though the actual amount of written information is less than the
amount of information the text provides in its regular pages. This one, dedicated to volunteering, begins
with a call to volunteer by President George W. Bush. A few organizations are mentioned as well as
federal government’s efforts to facilitate volunteering such as USA Freedom
Corps – the organization acts as an information distribution service and as a connector
between non-governmental organizations and citizens interested in
volunteering. The insert informs the
reader that while 20% of young people engage in some sort of volunteering, the
overall number of people volunteering has dropped off. The description does mention several sorts of
activities that volunteers perform such as tutoring and maintaining hiking
trails. All of this information is presented
in a matter of fact tone without any real effort to sell this “obligation” to
the reader. The information includes –
following its usual format in these inserts – a list of steps that an
interested party should follow in order to hook up with some volunteering
effort. They are: make a list of interested activities, seek
out opportunities of potential organizations that might put to work those
interests, and make contact by emailing or calling. As for seeking out opportunities, apparently
teachers are a source of information to help a student find an appropriate
organization or a student can research using the Internet to find that opportunity. In making contact, the student is warned that
he/she might need a resume or have references.
Of course, any reaction I might have as to the efficacy of
this insert is purely an opinion. But
the insert could have done a lot more in selling this “opportunity.” It could have presented case studies of actual
volunteers. It definitely is a topic
that should have been given a lot more space.
Part of the information mentions how the system depends on volunteers to
provide services that are important, but are not mandated by law or covered by
a government program. Perhaps a
discussion on whether government should or should not provide some of these
services might have been suggested or called for. In any event, the whole topic, in my opinion,
was treated as something quite inconsequential.
While the text benefits from having something about volunteering, it
does not warrant the judgment, “well done.”
As a promotor of federalist values, I believe Magruder’s effort on this topic does not reach even the level of
adequate.
[1] McClenaghan, W. A.
(2013). Magruder’s American Government (Florida Teacher’s
Edition). Boston, MA: Prentice Hall/Pearson.
[2] Social capital
is a societal quality
characterized by having an active, public-spirited citizenry, egalitarian
political relations, and a social environment of trust and cooperation.
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