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Concerned parent Andrew Washburn posted the handout to his Facebook page after his eight-year-old daughter brought home the paper.

Entitled “Being a Good Citizen,” the handout tells children that “rights are special privileges the government gives you,” and that “the government gives us rights.”

According to the paper’s warped logic, “Because the government gives us rights, we have the duty to be good citizens.”

Being a Good Citizen
By Phyllis Naegeli

1 What is a citizen? If you were born in the United States, you are a citizen. That means you are a member of our country. Sometimes people who are not born here want to become citizens. They do this by asking the government to make them a citizen. This is called naturalization.

2 As a citizen you have special privileges called rights. The government protects those rights. In our country, you have free speech. You are also given the right to choose a religion. In America, the press is free to tell you what is happening in the world. The Bill of Rights lists the freedoms given to citizens. These rights are very important. Many people in the world do not have freedoms like we do.

3 Because the government protects our rights, we have the duty to be good citizens. But, what does it mean to be a good citizen? How can you be a part of giving back for the freedom you have?

“Many schools are looking for new ways to give students an international perspective as early as possible. Teachers are adding lessons on global cultures and developing whole schools dedicated to foreign-language immersion.”

“The world is deeply connected. Our future lies in the success of international trade,” says Vivien Stewart, vice president for education for the Asia Society. “There is a general sense that in a global economy students cannot afford to grow up ignorant of other countries.”

“Each grading period focuses on one of four essential aspects of global citizenship: exploring civic responsibilities, gaining cultural awareness, learning about the environment, and understanding the global economy. Lessons revolving around these issues are posted throughout the school and talked about in morning announcements”

“These exemplary schools showcase great international education programs. But more still needs to be done to bring Americans into the global community, says Charles Kolb, president of the Committee for Economic Development, a nonprofit organization of business and education leaders in Washington, D.C. “International education is a question of both economic and national security. We don’t have the same orientation to other countries and cultures that you find in Europe. We are isolated and insular,” says Kolb. “And we have to go the extra mile to address that.”

"The interdependence of today's world has broadened the meaning of civic virtue, our obligation to do the best for all people in our communities. Civic virtue no longer means only defending our nation when it is threatened. It also means respecting the global diversity of other people so that the world community can cooperate for the good of all and avoid conflict."

"World citizenship affects not only a country's relationship to other countries, but also its citizen's relationship to one another. The international security of the United States is directly linked to how informed and respectful of other cultures American citizens are. Within the U.S., informed citizens will keep American society free of intolerance, racism, sexism, and cultural bias."

"... Being a good world citizen means respecting the rights of other governments ... As world citizens and Americans, we must use our unique civic experience to seek and create democratic answers to global questions."

"A new economic world order emerged when communism collapsed and democratic governments began to form in Eastern and Central Europe."

"Now that the Cold War has ended and a new world order has emerged, nations in Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union have begun to adopt democratic systems."