My Story with Civic
Education
Mu’tah
University
I shall narrate my story from the
beginning.
I am a young man of sound mind and body; and,
like most youth in my age, I have a difficult life filled with
problems, darkness, indifference and irresponsibility. My only
concern was survival in spite of those evil thoughts of making
trouble to others! On a day, that I consider the happiest in my
life, I saw an announcement about Civic Education at Mu'tah
University. Without hesitation, I went to the project
coordinator’s office, who welcomed me and explained the nature
and objectives of this project. I then attended the very first
lecture, with an aim to sabotage and antagonize. However, I was
shocked to witness one unified family, cooperating and holding
hands. This filled me with strong emotions and gentle feelings
that flowed into my veins and enhanced my self-confidence .As I
joined the project, I became a serious minded youth with an
objective and ability to bear responsibilities. I reached the
level that I had yearned for; and, I was extremely happy when I
was given the opportunity, through the project, to attend the
Civic Education ceremony held by the University and where I
gained the admiration of the audience when I presented our
project work. I now swear in the witness of God and all of you
that from this moment on, I am a young man whose main concern is
building and serving his country. This is what I have learned
from Civic Education and this is the desire of my master and
sovereign His Majesty King Abdullah Bin Al-Hussain, as well as the
desire of my parents. Asking God for success, I remain and may
the peace, mercy and blessing of Allah be upon you.
Finding a Voice or...
Ala' Issa Bani Mustafa
Physics - Third Year
I participated in the Civic Education Course to
learn new things. After the course, I knew the
meaning of Civic Education, which is an
expression that I had come across many times
without knowing its true meaning and its
relationship to my input into society. I also
made new friends from other university faculties
whom I would not have come across had it not
been for this course
Noor Wajih Shaker
Arabic Language - Fourth year
The Civic Education Course is most beneficial. I
would advise every student in the university to
join it. It teaches us to rely on ourselves in
all aspects of life and to solve our problems
easily. In addition, it gives us self-confidence
and develops the ability to take on challenges
whilst also being able to analyze life issues
logically and reasonably.
Mohammad Amin Al- Shawabka
Class Teacher - Fourth year
The course helps students to have
self-reliance and to exchange opinions in a
spirit of cooperation and respect.
Rabi'a Abdul Razak
Mohammad Khair
Arabic Language - Third Year
I have become aware of the concept of
Civic Education. During the first lectures in
the course, I gained the ability to interact and
deal with students and the confidence to talk
with others.
Sawsan Samir Abu-Rasa
Spanish/English - Third year
The Course is very important for the students
because it teaches them important life
principles by learning how to respect the
opinions of others.
Arab Awad Jabatha
Counseling and Psychological Health - Third year
The culture of Civic Education reflects the
spirit of good citizenship that comes from the
individual's knowledge of his or her rights and
responsibilities within society. This also
reflects the responsibility of freedom to
citizens, to enhance their knowledge and
qualities required to be good citizens and the
duties this entails. By being involved with
students and working with them in one team, I
was motivated to work harder in order to solve
the problems of society.
Through this JCCES website, I extend an
invitation to all students to participate in the
wonderful program of Civic Education. The
culture of Civic Education is the culture of
effective involvement, positive interaction,
getting away from negativity, and a serious
attempt to understand one's homeland in the
right way, This is achieved by avoiding
complacency and placing the responsibility on
the institutions of the state while improving
and activating the role of the individual and
civil society organizations to enable them to
influence public decisions
New
Approach to problem solving
Civic Education aims to create a Civic Education curriculum
that seeks to enable students to work through projects in order to master solutions to problem solving. By
participating with my peers in this course, I experienced
an obvious transformation in the ways in which I now approach
problem solving during my university life. The system employed
in this course first exposed us as students, to a series of
lectures on public policy, and to our rights and responsibilities. The
practical elements were based upon group work. Each of four
groups had to study one aspect of a problem and then present it
in its final form to the next group; this is what is called the
integrated approach
A story of
a Participant in Civic Education
In the beginning, she was silent, listening and watching
with her friends in the Civic Education Course. Every now and
then, she would write some notes into her small copybook.
The trainer was explaining to the participants the goal of
Civic Education and Project Citizen and what is meant by the
phrase public policy. Dima did not say a word until the trainer
asked the participants to elaborate on the problems they faced.
They would then vote on one of the problems to be the subject of
their research and find solutions to the problem reflecting the
spirit of citizenship and belonging.
The participants started to suggest problems such as
registration, the university clinic transportation in front of
the university, alms seeking, high prices, etc. When the trainer
gave Dima her time to speak, she said. " The problem of not
having special places within the university campus for the
physically challenged."
Some participants laughed and degraded the problem; others
were surprised. Dima continued describing the daily suffering of
the physically disabled inside the university. Tear poured down
from her eyes as she spoke.
After the participants had voted on a problem to study and
solve, all the participants opted for the issue of adapting the
physical environment to the needs of the physically
challenged. Then the participants began to gather
information related to the problem and to identify places, which
would require special consideration when used by the
physically challenged. Finally, they presented their portfolio
about the problem to the President of the University.
The outcomes were ..... well.....?
We hope dear reader that you will walk around in the
University campus to discover for yourself what the results was
The result was wonderful! The university has provided
special passageways in the places that needed them
Practical ways into Civic understanding
Students: Suzan Mansoor
Education Sciences College
Q. How did you get to hear about Civic Education?
A. Some of my friends who had participated
in previous courses introduced me to it
Q. Do you feel you have gained anything from this
course?
A. Honestly, I gained many skills whilst
taking this course including theoretical skills such as
designing a questionnaire and gathering information about a
specific problem etc. Whereas on the practical level, I
learned how to utilize team spirit, to respect the opinions of
others, to bond with my peers, and to express my ideas in a
convincing and appropriate manner
Q. Now that you have finished this course, how would you
define Civic Education?
A. According to material the trainer
offered us, I would say Civic Education is a way in which
individuals become more effective in their societies achieved by
means of knowledge of their rights and fulfilling
their responsibilities, Thereby, they are able to participate in
making political decisions actively and maturely. Moreover, they
will be able to contribute appropriately to the advance in
their society for a better future.
Q. What was the most exciting incident you faced
during the course?
A. When I went with some of my colleagues
to interview one of the physically challenged children, I found
him highly confused and disturbed. I then introduced myself and
the project and the child said, "What is the relationship
of physical education with the questions you want to ask me?
Interview conducted by: Trainer Hamza Nawfal
Sharing
is Caring
"I did not think that I would be able
to participate in solving the problem of others or even
listening to those who had complaints. yet here I am
fulfilling one of the duties which were assigned to the group in
dealing with the issue of the misfortune of students who are
forced to leave the University or to quit because of lack of
support."
The above statement came from a female student participant
in one of the courses of the Civic Education Project at the
University of Jordan. She worked extensively to show the range
of suffering amongst some of the student bodies due to the lack of
sufficient funds to cover their tuition expenses. On hearing
this, I left that students had reached a benchmark in caring and
empathy. This marks a significant revelation and a pioneering
step towards building citizens with a sense of belonging and
oneness with their community, who give freely of themselves, who
care about those around them, and contribute to making the
necessary changes for the betterment of society.
It is the first step from the individual towards the family,
and the society. It provides students with skills, which
transform into a rational practical approach that becomes the
main quality of any society, which anticipates developing and
building itself. Thus, Civic Education has become a
developmental, humanitarian project, which goes beyond self.
Furthermore , it opens new horizons towards building a united
cohesive community, which has the desire to change and
spread public concern. In this way, Civic Education
overcomes difficulties and impacts change. We have to continue
building individuals intellectually and making such changes that
will build our nation as a whole, sparing it from all diseases,
which hit societies and devastate individuals, whether they are
local , regional, racial, or sectarian.