DATE: Wednesday, October 29, 1997           TAG: 9710280409

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: NEIGHBORHOOD EXCHANGE 

TYPE: Public Life 

SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   65 lines

LESSONS IN CITIZENSHIP LEARNED IN SCHOOL, HOME

First, it was Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Now, it is folks like Joe Emerson of York County and Oscar Richardson of Chesapeake.

The issue: how to get more Americans to understand, appreciate and apply their citizenship.

Jefferson proposed a radical way to renew the spirit of citizenship. About every 20 years, he said, voters would re-ratify the Constitution to make sure it remains meaningful.

Madison believed in more moderate approaches, such as amending the Constitution.

Either way, American society depends on people paying attention to their rights and responsibilities to make sure the system works for all.

So here are Emerson and Richardson, members of the Your Voice/Your Vote citizens panel. This diverse group of about 15 regulars contributes to the election coverage of The Virginian-Pilot, WVEC and WHRO-TV and Local News on Cable.

Richardson, 44, says schools must get students to examine the thoughts of our nation's founders and the principles stated in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights.

A former history teacher and now business owner, Richardson finds too many young adults ignorant about the documents.

``There's no other (country) that gives the individual the liberty, the economic opportunities, the privileges and the blessings of liberty - but they come with responsibilities,'' he said.

Emerson, 31, teaches civics and economics at Grafton Middle School.

``For me,'' he said, ``it's not so much how they do on a certain battery of tests, but whether they can carry on a civil conversation about what's going on, about how they could apply it to their lives . . .

A key goal, he said, is for all young people to register to vote when they are 18.

He also teaches that citizenship means more than voting. It involves lobbying government, writing letters to newspapers, determining fact from opinion, understanding the financial structure of the United States and learning to follow election campaigns.

He challenges students to put lessons into action as volunteers, activists or simply as good citizens.

But the job of helping new generations discover the meaning of liberty, responsibility and political participation is not that of teachers alone, say Richardson and Emerson. It starts in the family.

Emerson's earliest memories of civic education was as a youngster watching the Watergate hearings with his father.

``He had his hand on my shoulder and was telling me what was going on,'' Emerson recalled.

Later, his father drove him to Washington to see the White House and the Watergate complex where the political burglary took place.

At age 10, Emerson was organizing a neighborhood children's club supporting a presidential candidate.

But he is most proud, he says, when parents tell him that their kids now discuss topics beyond skateboarding, friends and movies at the dinner table.

They discuss current events.

``Real learning,'' he said, ``happens when you apply the lessons to your life and your community.'' ILLUSTRATION: Joe Emerson, top, and Oscar Richardson are members of

the Your Voice, Your Vote citizens panel\

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