Using Books to Promote Leadership, Civic Education, The Good Citizen and Contributing to Society

One first thought.  Often fiction can be as potent and engaging way to teach about real life as nonfiction.

First, there is the importance of understanding citizenship.  The Hawaii Educational Policy Center did a policy paper examining this topic:

http://manoa.hawaii.edu/hepc/wp-content/uploads/The-Good-Citizen-HEPC-May-6th-2015.pdf

Most definitions of citizenship do not use the term Good Citizen, but the sense of basic criteria, standards, or obligations, and idealism, are strongly implied. They have several elements in common:

1. The Good Citizen has learned and can remember key historical events in the creation and development of democracy, including seminal documents and the ideas contained therein; but it is not enough to have “taken” American and World history courses and scored well on tests.
2. The Good Citizen has an intellectual capacity to critically analyze ideas, philosophies, and interpretations, and to develop an active habit of mind in evaluating books, texts, media, and all manner of communications; but it is not enough if the knowledge and capacity to think critically are not applied in the real world;
3. The Good Citizen actively participates in civic life, including political life, but it is not enough to routinely vote every couple of years;
4. The Good Citizen has an admirable character, genuinely cares about the wellbeing of other citizens in immediate community and the larger society, reflecting idealism and a sense of personal responsibility.  In other words, citizenship education is related to character education.