Introduction

"The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight." -Theodore Roosevelt

Citizenship is important because it helps students identify how they are performing on school grounds. Muir is lenient when it comes to evaluating citizenship grades. At Junipero Serra High School, standards are more strict. According to [|www.paideia.org], "In a democracy the "ruling class" is the people themselves, and it is imperative to the life of a democracy that the citizenry be taught to think about and discuss the difficult challenges facing America." Also stated on [|www.paideia.org], "The National Paideia Center improves the ability of adults and students to think and communicate so that each might be good citizens, earn a decent living, and lead a good life." By giving citizenship grades, Muir is creating students who will be able to be productive citizens in our country by teaching them how to perform on not only school grounds, but in their lives. We can promote, evaluate, and reward good citizenship at John Muir in the following ways: by evaluating why citizenship is important, comparing Muir's system to other schools, and seeing what The Paideia Institute has to say about citizenship.