Students to take new citizenship course

The province has a new citizenship course for students in Nova Scotia.

The Citizenship Education 9 course is currently being piloted in 17 schools and shows students how to be engaged citizens who actively participate in their communities, teaches them their rights and responsibilities and develops problem-solving and decision-making skills. Students are also taught financial literacy.

“We know that active and engaged citizens are necessary for a resilient democracy and it’s never too early to teach our youth about the importance of being an active participant in their schools and communities here at home and on the global stage,” said Lunenburg MLA Suzanne Lohnes-Croft on behalf of Minister of Education Zach Churchill in a release Wednesday.

A key component of the course is a service learning project where students identify an issue in the community and work together to find a solution. For example, students in Caledonia, Queens County, restored a cenotaph and created a pop-up museum, while another group in Indian Brook launched a campaign for road improvements.

The course also teaches students to look at issues from different perspectives. They will learn to consider how historic, geographic and government decisions have affected citizenship in Canada and around the world.

The pilot phase will end in June 2018 and the course will be rolled out across the education system for the 2018-19 school year, including schools in Pictou County.

“This new course will challenge students to consider ways they can be active citizens and how they can contribute,” said Lohnes-Croft.