For most national holidays celebrating past presidents, civil rights leaders, veterans and people who have died for this country, we have turned them into “shopping opportunities.”

It has always saddened me that Fourth of July and Flag Day are after school is out for the summer.

During our work with Czechoslovakia, one of the teacher leaders visited us, and it was during July. Her comment: “To celebrate your freedom you have a picnic?”

For those who have had their freedom curtailed or never had it in the first place, a picnic seems inconsequential. When my children were small, we lived in a subdivision, and a group of neighbors initiated a Fourth of July block party. One of my jobs was to gather all the children and plan the parade. They had to portray a person or incident from history, especially during the critical days of independence. What an opportunity to create memories that contribute to who they become.

It is not osmosis that creates responsible citizens. It is the opportunity to name and practice those behaviors that gives us firm understanding of what America represents and what each of us must do to maintain our freedom.

In schools around the country where they are committed to our “Highly Effective Teaching Model,” each class has a world map displayed on the wall with the words “Citizenship, Leadership and Stewardship.” The goal each day/week is to identify somewhere in the world where these characteristics are seen in action and making a difference in the lives of people.

It also teaches our students where countries are and the challenges they face. They place the article on the board and have yarn to identify where it is in relation to their city and state where they live. I remember clearly one class’s shock when they realized how small Israel and Palestine are, and how they continue to have a never-ending conflict where resolution seems impossible.

For too long, we have been told the “bottom line” for our students/schools is a test score, and somehow we could measure students’ character, their potential and placement within a school by that premise.

The business-model “bottom line phenomena,” which relies heavily on that premise, has found itself caught up in a quagmire of dishonesty — which is having reverberations throughout this country. The profit bottom line, at any cost, has us dealing with issues only last seen during the depression.

Clearly, we are all more than a number. When our students have the opportunity to become the leaders and supporters of our local/state/national communities, they must do well to have a solid understanding of why we are so unique in the world.

Washington, D.C., is one of my favorite cities in the world. It is home to some of the most powerful people and institutions and museums and history available in our country. Ironically, their public education system has been in shambles for years.

Now is the time to think beyond the obvious and inform our students of their responsibilities. This recent presidential inauguration was a historical moment and every child in this country needed to watch it — and discuss the ramifications and underlying principles of what we stand for. To miss this would have been to miss a “moment for all time” and leave many unable to answer the question, “Where were you when the first African American president was elected?”

I would like to end with a quote:

“The democratic problem in education is not primarily a problem of training children; it is the problem of making a community within which children cannot help growing up to be democratic, intelligent, disciplined to freedom, reverent of the good of life, and eager to share in the tasks of the age.” — Joseph K. Hart, founder of Community Schools Movement