Our Pedagogy
Young children are natural civic thinkers. They have strong feelings about fairness. They notice when rules are applied inconsistently. They care deeply about animals, their friends, their community. They ask "but why?" constantly. Tomorrow's Citizens curriculum takes the thinking children are already doing and gives it focus, language, and opportunities to expand and deepen.
Our approach for primary is built around the view that children learn to be citizens by doing. Voting on a class decision. Discussing challenging ideas and learning to compromise. Building something that helps their school or community. These are not preparation for civic life — they are civic life, at the scale that makes sense for a five-year-old or a ten-year-old.
We know that young children learn by playing. Our curriculum puts play and exploration at the centre of learning, so children develop civic skills - communication, collaboration, research, critical thinking - as they enjoy and build confidence and wellbeing.
Most citizenship education asks students to remember: the three branches of government, the definition of democracy, the articles of the UNCRC... Tomorrow's Citizens creates opportunities for students to do: to reason, argue, investigate, build, and act. The difference between knowing about democracy and being capable of participating is a key pedagogical focus. Civic competence is developed through practice. Children become critical citizens by thinking critically about real problems. They become active citizens by taking real civic action.
Our tools
Socratic discussions are key to developing a civic society. Socratic discussions help students consider different points of view, clarify and present their own perspectives, and practice empathy and respect.
Our curriculum teaches oracy skills to support children in these fun and engaging discussions. Every session begins with a question that has no easy answer, and the teacher's role is not to provide one but to help students develop the skills to engage with these.
Games and simulations - from the Prisoner's Dilemma to Model UN to creating a dance for your city... we create opportunities to learn while exploring and playing. Through these activities students encounter civic complexity. They might discover that cooperation is harder than it looks, or that the same event looks completely different from a different perspectives.
Project Based Learning (PBL) allows students to explore civic problems in depth while developing the communication, collaboration, problem solving, creativity, and ethical skills needed for tomorrow's citizens.
What does this pedagogy look like in practice?
It looks like a good question at the start of every lesson. Not "Why do we have laws?" but "If there were no rules in our class tomorrow, what do you think would happen?" Questions children genuinely want to answer. Questions that don't have one right answer. Questions that get them talking.
It looks like games that teach. A card game where pupils sort headlines into "real" and "made up" — and have to explain how they decided. A vote where everyone chooses something different and no one gets their first choice — and the class has to figure out what's fair.
It looks like a project that inspires! An opportunity to create news about the community. A class charter signed by the whole school. A letter sent to the local MP.
It looks like every child speaking. Not just the confident ones. Children learning about who they are, their role in society, and deciding what society they want to build.
Professional Development
A good curriculum in the hands of a teacher who doesn't know why they are teaching it will not reach its full potential. The pedagogical methods at the heart of Tomorrow's Citizens — Socratic questioning, simulation facilitation, controversial topic handling, PBL design, play-based learning— are learnable skills. And, of course, we can help teachers expand their civic knowledge - from citizenship and immigration, to democratic models and political bodies. We offer PD workshops that are practical, evidence-based, and fun.
All of them will change how you teach.
Get in Touch
If you are looking for ways to expand/improve how your school approaches civic education, please get in touch. I look forward to working with you to create a perfect-fit approach.
Email: karemroitman@gmail.com