It is also the duty of the citizen to know his country’s laws and to
obey them. No one knows all the laws, or needs to know them all, for
very few of them touch the daily life of any one individual. He should
know the laws in so far as he comes into contact with them. The merchant
must know the laws relating to business; there is no need for him to
learn the legal rules relating to the practice of medicine, for example.
The physician, on his part, must know the law in so far as it relates to
his own profession, but does not need to inform himself concerning the
laws which relate to the buying and selling of goods. Laws are made in
the common interest and if ignorance of the law were permitted to be an
excuse for disobedience, the whole system of government would soon break
down.
Finally, it is the duty of the citizen to serve his government when
called upon. This may take the form of military service in time of war,
or service in public office, or service on a jury. All these various
forms of service may involve great personal sacrifice; but a country
worth having is a country worth serving, and it is only through service
on the part of its citizens that a free government can be maintained.
=Training for Citizenship in the Schools.=—Training for citizenship
begins in the home and in the schools. The purpose of the school is not
merely to impart information. That is a small part of its work. Its main
function is to afford the sort of mental and moral training that will
enable every pupil to achieve the durable satisfactions of life,—to make
a good living, to be of high service to others, and to leave the world a
little better by reason of his having lived in it. Many of the best
fruits of education are not found listed on the school program.
Orderliness is one of them. Industry is another. Responsibility for
doing daily tasks well is a third. There are no special courses in these
things. They are part and parcel of the whole process of education. No
one should make the mistake of supposing that the schools train for
citizenship through instruction in American history, civics, and
economics alone. The whole organization of the school, its entire
program of studies, its assemblies, its discipline, its insistence on
punctuality, its organized athletics and other activities,—all these
things afford lessons in co-operation, responsibility, service, and
government.
[Sidenote: How the public schools teach democracy.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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