Civic-education

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How To Teach Civic Education?

What does it mean to live in a democratic society? Why are your rights and responsibilities as a citizen and individual? These are an important question and when student graduate high school, they must be able to respond to them. Once the students understand the citizenship and civic life, they can move toward college and the workplace.

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But, as many teachers will say, teaching the civics law isn’t easy because there are three branches of parliament to remember and their entire structure, as well as the laws they regulate. That’s why the students are too enthusiastic to learn about a civics law. But, you as a teacher can help them.

Think local

Before explaining the complex governing system of one country, make them interested in talking about their community, its needs, and strengths. What problems do they see and who should they be fixed? Then find the ways for students to take action. Make then become members of community service and let them decide how to focus their effort. Once they discover the structure of their local community and notice these problems it is facing, they will be able to understand the higher levels of authority.

Create imaginary countries

Many teachers challenge their student using the example of Utopia. In this case, they have the ability to choose the type of government, to decide about the civics liberties and civil obligations. You should let every student express his opinion individually and gradually help them organize the entire state, pointing out the things that won’t work.

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They will brainstorm their ideas trying to create a perfect society. At the end of the lesson, you can ask them to write the reasons why should citizens live in their country.

Go virtual

There are a lot of website and online games you can use to your advantage. They can be great tools for learning many features about the Canadian government. After all, this is an easy and fun way for kids to learn about civic laws, government structure and the Constitution. Many teachers use this method because kids love it and you will avoid giving them a boring lecture. You can ask them to do the games at home, of during the lesson and you will notice how their interest in civics laws keep growing.

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Parliament of Canada – The Basic Structure

The Parliament of Canada is seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and it’s the highest legislative body of Canada. Canadian Monarch, the governor general and an upper house, the Senate and the lower house, the House of Commons make the Parliament of Canada. Each element of this structure has its one officers and organizations. Based on the constitutional convention, the House of Commons is dominant, while the Senate and monarch rarely oppose its will.  The Senate checks the legislation from a less partisan view, and monarch transforms bills into laws.

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The governor general summons and appoints senators, 105 of them based on the recommendation prime minister provides. The Canadian voters elect the 388 members of House of Common. The general governor also has the ability to summon the parliament. On the other hand, the only monarch can dissolve the parliament and call for another election.

Compositions

The Parliament of Canada has three parts, the monarch, the Senate and the House of Commons. Each of them has the specific tasks and work together within the legislative process. They inherited this format form the UK and nearly has the identical system as the Parliament of Westminster.

Senate

Only people who sit in the House of Commons are called the members of the parliament and this term never applies to senators, even though, the Senate is the part of the Parliament of Canada. The senators don’t have significant legislative power, but they have a higher position in the national order.

Monarch

The monarch’s place in parliament is defined by the Constitution Act and different conventions. The monarch doesn’t participate in the legislative process. Members of two houses are obligated to express their loyalty to the monarch and defend her authority. All parliamentarians take the Oath of Allegiance before they claim their seats.

Senate

The upper house of Parliament called the Senate has 105 individuals appointed by the governor general, based on the prime minister’s advice. People who are elected, must be at least 30 years old, be subject of the monarch and have a net worth if at least $4,000 and also owning land in net worth of $4,000 in the province they are residing. The Senate is equally divided into four geographic regions.

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Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is one part of the Canadian Constitution, and the Constitution is the set of rules on how one country operates. For instance, in Canada, it contains the powers of federal government, but also the powers of provincial government.

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Those rights and freedoms are necessary, and Canadians believe it gives them freedom and democracy. Some of the rights and freedoms are:

Freedom of speech

The right to have a democratic government

The right to live and search for employment in Canada

Legal rights if the person is accused of crimes

Aboriginal peoples’ rights

The right to equality, including men and women

The right to use any of Canada’s official languages

English and French minorities have the right to education in their native language

The protection of Canada’s multicultural heritage

 

Before this Charter came into effect, other laws and rules protected rights and freedoms of their citizens; one example is Canadian Bill of Rights.

Why is it essential that the Charter is part of the Constitution?

The constitution is the supreme law of any country and generally speaking, all bills must comply the Constitution. If they are not supported by the Constitution, then they can’t be valid. Considering that this Charter is the part of the Canadian constitution, laws and right that are in the Carter are valid, which makes the Charter the essential law in Canada.

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It is necessary to highlight that Government can put some limitation on the Charter because the Charter allows it. For example, we have in the Charter that other law may limit the rights and freedoms stated in the Charter, as long as they are responsible and justified in a free and democratic society. Having in mind that the Charter is the part of the Constitution, it means that government has to make sure that new laws are consistent with it.

Are all your rights contained in the Charter?

Unfortunately, no. The Charter only contains the rights and freedoms of Canadians that are essential and exist in a free and democratic country. However, many laws protect the average citizens, and they fall under government, provincial and territorial government laws, that offers right and freedoms. For instance, laws against discrimination in employment and accommodation, customer protection laws, environmental laws, and many others. Any Canadian’s citizen has the ability to enjoy the Charter rights and he is protected by them.