The Citizenship Course: First Impressions on Mr. Cruz’s New Subject

Article by Nini Chikhladze 

Edited by  Tasia Kurdghelia

Source:GZAAT Gazette

On February 4th, juniors at GZAAT attended their first lecture for a brand-new course: Citizenship. Introduced at the start of the second semester, the class is designed to help students understand government, laws, and their role as citizens. The initial impressions of the students were mixed: some welcomed the addition and saw it as an important skill for students to develop, while others were unsure about how it would fit into their academic interests. Regardless, “Citizenship” is something new and exciting, which will take the students away from their traditional classrooms and make them experience a more university-like environment.

Taught by Andres J. Cruz, the course aims to make students more aware of things that might feel distant or abstract, such as real-world political and social structures. Instead of discussing theories in textbooks, the course involves discussions, debates, and analysis of real-life situations, which makes this course extremely practical for students’ futures. The course will cover topics such as government structures, citizen rights, non-governmental organizations, and more. This class will encourage students to think critically, engage in debates, and be able to form strong, argument-based opinions. 

To fully understand the goals of the course and how it’s going to evolve, the Gazette decided to interview the teacher – Mr. Cruz himself. When asked what inspired the decision to implement this course, Mr. Cruz stated that the topic arose a few years ago while going through the process of reauthorizing the school: “When we were doing the process of renewal with the state of Georgia [...], they noticed that other schools in Georgia did things we didn’t. Of course, there is freedom and we don’t have to do exactly the same thing, but in this case, they said that the other schools have a program called “civic education” but we didn’t have anything of the sort.” While GZAAT does cover many important aspects of civic education during History classes, Mr. Cruz highlighted that “this is a very vast field and needs to be focused on separately.”

However, contrary to how the civic education course is organized in the Georgian public school system, Mr. Cruz decided to remove topics such as “What to do when there is an earthquake” and instead spend more time focusing on things he believes are more important when it comes to civic studies: “Learning different forms of countries, constitutions, and social-political organizations, national institutions, the UN, the UE, and rights of citizens, were more valuable for us. We decided to implement this in the Juniors’ curriculum because of the seriousness of the course and the maturity it requires.”

Mr. Cruz also explained the goal of the course, explaining that in the context of Georgian civil society, it is different from what it would be, for example, in the US: “If we were in America, I would say [the goal is to] develop a political culture, however, in Georgia, it means something different. In the US, Politics is the idea of how human beings across history have been organizing themselves politically. Oftentimes, I hear students talk about politics and use misconceptions, so I know this is a skill you need to develop. For example, many times people describe human rights as freedom of expression, without truly understanding what that means, how it’s applied in different countries, its laws and regulations, etc.”

Along with developing themselves as politically knowledgable members of society, Mr. Cruz underscored the importance of other skills students are going to acquire in this course, such as note-taking: “Note-taking is a system that’s very old but regardless very effective. It started at Cornell University 80 years ago, and the reason why it’s so useful and practical is because of its simplicity.” Mr. Cruz further emphasized that while other methods of remembering things may seem more convenient, but are harmful in the long run: “Relying on your phone, photos, and recordings is easy, however, it’s not healthy for your mind. Taking notes helps you organize your thoughts and gives you the ability to focus on important information.”

While the number of students in the course is different from a normal Harkness class at school, discussion-based learning is still a top priority: “The course isn’t that different from the Harkness model, I’ll ask questions and we will have discussions. However, the class is more like a college setting because there is a large group of students, so it’s not as interactive as a regular class. However, it’s not going to be a lecture where I speak and at the end, there’s a Q&A. The students will be involved in discussions.”

A student, Elene Mosiashili, said that she “really enjoyed the first/second lessons, because the topics we discussed were very engaging and the assembly room provides a nice change of scenery, instead of sitting in the classrooms as usual.” She also highlighted the benefits of having more people in the class: “The lessons also provide a stronger sense of community as it's the first time all 75 of us are attending a class together and we get to hear a lot of different opinions.” Another junior, Keta Kvlividze was also left with positive impressions of the course, saying that “it not only talks about politics but also explores some philosophical topics.  Compared to other subjects, this one stands out because it encourages critical thinking and exploration of deep questions, pushing us to think about the role of individuals in society.”

Both Elene and Keta highlighted the fact that they believe this course will be useful for them in the future. Elene mentioned the style of the course itself: “Well the course style itself is similar to a university style course and it really helps understand what our future university life might look like. Even if we exclude the university part, the citizenship course definitely raises awareness and gives you a model of what an active and educated citizen looks like. For our country, it is essential that the future generation, our generation, is well versed in these topics and gets to build a better society in general.” Keta also underscored the importance of discussing the topics covered in the citizenship course: “I believe this course will play a big role in my personal growth. It challenges me to think about deep philosophical questions and reflect on my role in society. Overall, it will help the development of critical thinking and analytical skills, which are useful both in any career and in daily life.”

As for other aspects of the course they found interesting, Elene mentioned how the Juniors now get to see a different side of Mr. Cruz for the first time ever: “It is very engaging to listen to Mr. Cruz because we were always used to seeing him as our school director, but now we get to see the other side- a teacher, and he’s great at making the conversation both educational and fun. Since we’ve only had two lessons, I haven't really thought about whether I would change anything in the course. So far I’m enjoying the lessons and they provide a nice break from our daily routine of lessons.” Keta also expressed her liking for Mr. Cruz’s teaching style, particularly highlighting his method of incorporating note-taking into the class: “The most engaging aspect of this course is its emphasis on active note-taking, which encourages us to listen closely and identify key concepts. So far, I wouldn’t change anything, since the course is fairly new and interesting.”

The introduction of Mr. Cruz’s Citizenship course at GZAAT is significant for equipping students with the tools essential to their futures. Understanding structures that govern societies, learning about the rights and responsibilities of citizens, and developing a critical mindset are crucial skills for everyone. As students progress through the course, they will gain knowledge about legal systems and learn how to engage with these topics in a meaningful manner.