What's New in Civic Education and Youth Civic Engagement Work .... (April 2005 Archive Section)

April 29, 2005


• 2005 Northeast Regional Campus Compact Conference

  - The 2005 Northeast Regional Campus Compact Conference will be held in collaboration with the Northeast Regional Campus Compact Annual Conference on June 9-11, 2005 at Pine Manor College, Boston, MA. For the first time ever, the Northeast Regional Campus Compact has joined forces with Educators for Community Engagement, combining their annual meetings to create a national gathering unlike any other. This partnership brings together two of the oldest service-learning organizations in the country to explore the future of campus and community engagement. This year's combined conference, "Creative Tension in Building the Engaged Campus" set on a college campus with on-site housing available, will build community between participants and offer new resources to the field and energize your work. Early bird registration ends April 30. For more information go to: http://ase.tufts.edu/macc .
  
  April 27, 2005

• NEW: Resources to Assess Student Civic Competencies and School Climate

  - The Education Commission of the States' National Center for Learning and Citizenship has opened a new website developed to help educators, policymakers and other assess civic education.  More than 100 items suitable for measuring knowledge, skills (participatory and cognitive), and dispositions are included.  This website was designed for school and state level personnel but could equally be useful to academic researchers including graduate students. A special section on defining and measuring school climate relevant to citizenship is also included. For more go to: http://www.ecs.org/qna .

  April 26, 2005

• The Youth Policy Action Center announces the press release “More than 30 Advocacy Organizations Join Forces to Promote Political Action By and For Youth.”

  More than 30 of the country's leading national advocacy organizations have launched an unprecedented partnership to raise awareness and generate support for children and youth policies through political activism.

  The Youth Policy Action Center is a Web-based resource that helps youth and concerned adults be heard in Washington . The Web site allows thousands of youth and adults to regularly contact elected officials about important programs and initiatives – especially in the critical days before votes are cast on the floor of Congress. Advocates contend that this innovative effort is not only an important step, but an increasingly necessary one.

  “The Youth Policy Action Center gives young people a platform on which to stand and be counted in the national debate and dialogue,” says Thaddeus Ferber, program director at Forum for Youth Investment, which helped orchestrate the joint effort. “It gives national advocacy organizations a way to come together and act as one. And it gives ordinary citizens – concerned parents, proud grandparents, dedicated teachers – political power which used to be the exclusive providence of entrenched special interest lobbyists.” Washington , D.C. , April 18, 2005.

  To read the entire press release go to Youth Political Action.

  April 25, 2005

• A new report just released by Innovations in Civic Participation (ICP) proposes the establishment of a Summer of Service "Rite of Passage" for young teens, between middle and high school. It argues that the establishment of such a “rite” for young Americans of all backgrounds could serve many purposes – teaching the rights and responsibilities of citizenship; helping young people learn about (and become connected to) their communities; forging common bonds across economic and ethnic groups through common experiences; and helping young people develop in a positive, healthy way. To read the abstract go to Summer of Service abstract: To get a copy of the report go to: http://www.icicp.org/index.php?tg=articles&topics=212 .

  April 19, 2005

• The Forum for Youth Investment, announces “Preventing Problems, Promoting Development, Encouraging Engagement: Competing Priorities or Inseparable Goals?” This paper summarizes several major shifts that have occurred in the past 15 to 20 years in what researchers, policy makers and practitioners think about what young people need, what they get and where they get it. There have also been important shifts in thinking about what young people do, should do and can do, and when it is reasonable to expect results. Based on work started in 1990 at the Center for Youth Development and Policy Research at AED, this paper expands upon Pittman and Irby's 1996 paper, "Preventing Problems or Promoting Development." This updated version incorporates critical ideas about young people as participants and change makers — ideas that, in our minds, constitute the next, more powerful iteration of the youth development approach. To download a copy go to: http://www.forumfyi.org/Files/PPE.pdf . Hard copies are also available for purchase at: http://www.forumforyouthinvestment.org.

  April 20, 2005

• Restoring the Balance between Academics and Civic Engagement
  - The American Youth Policy Forum and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development convened policymakers, researchers, and practitioners during 2004, producing this guide for supporting school-based civic engagement in schools.  The report's action plan centers around seven propositions: 1) civic engagement is central to public education; 2) the school mission should include the knowledge, dispositions, virtues, and skills of responsible citizenship; 3) civic knowledge and civic engagement are part of the learning "core," in addition to reading and mathematics; 4) civic engagement improves student engagement and academic performance, while reducing negative behaviors; 5) education reform efforts should be realigned to support integrated curricula; 6) a comprehensive action plan must clearly link civic engagement with academic subjects; and 7) success with these approaches requires collaboration between schools, families, higher education, business, philanthropy, government and the community. For more information go to: http://www.aypf.org/pubs.htm

  April 19, 2005

• The University of Maryland, College Park announces, as part of the Seminar Series, The Role of Youths and Universities in Mobilizing Social Movements Sarah A. Soule, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Arizona will present her research on student protest and youth collective action. Susie Erenrich,founder and executive director of the Cultural Center for Social Change will provide commentary from the activist perspective. The seminar will be held from 12:00 – 2:00 pm in Tawes Fine Arts building at the University of Maryland, College Park. For more information contact: Loreene O'Neill at loneill@gvpt.umd.edu. Also go to: http://www.bsos.umd.edu/dean/bullets/DCYouthSocialMov.htm.

  April 18, 2005

• Campus Compact's Second Annual CSD Professional Development Retreat will be held in Chicago on July 25 - 29, 2005. This unique gathering will offer participants the chance to learn and understand key information and principles in service, service-learning, and higher education; and will allow you to discuss with experienced practitioners the critical questions and skills you need to be successful. Designed specifically for professionals in their first five years in the field, this retreat offers four days of must-have knowledge, from some of the most respected practitioners in the field. You will:
  
  - Assess their knowledge and skills in critical areas
  - Obtain the latest tools and resources
  - Learn about effective programs and strategies
  - Get tips for success from experienced practitioners
  - Set next steps to advance your work at your institution
  
  More information, a draft agenda, and registration form are available at: http://www.compact.org/csds/CSD_retreat.html . Contact Pam Mutascio at pmutascio@compact.org if you have any questions.

  April 15, 2005

• National Youth Service Day
  - On April 15-17th, 2005, join millions of people across the United States to address important unmet community needs through service-learning projects addressing literacy, hunger, public safety and the environment. You can partner with an existing project or create your own. Free materials, including a planning toolkit, issue-specific service-learning modules, and promotional materials, are provided on the Youth Service America website. For more information go to: http://www.ysa.org/ . 

  April 14, 2005

• The Civic Engagement Imperative: Student Learning and the Public Good
  - Reminder: The deadline for submission of proposals for the Network for Academic Renewal Conference, to be held on November 10-12, in Providence , Rhode Island is Monday, April 18, 2005. The American Association of Colleges and Universities Network for Academic Renewal invites proposals for sessions that: clarify the definitions and learning outcomes of civic engagement programs; explore coherent and developmental curricular, co-curricular, and systemic means to achieve these outcomes; or describe effective or promising practices that integrate the goals of civic engagement into institutional missions, campus practices, and local, national, and global communities. For more information go to: http://www.aacu.org/meetings/civic_engagement/aboutcfp.cfm .

  April 13, 2005

• The U.S. Department of Education has announced the free resource: "Brown v. Board: Five Communities That Changed America." The resource describes five cases the Supreme Court agreed to hear in 1952 under one title:  "Brown v. Board of Education." The cases originated in Delaware , Kansas , South Carolina , Virginia , & Washington , D.C. Each contested the "separate but equal" doctrine of the Court's 1896 "Plessy v. Ferguson " decision, which by the 1950s had resulted in 17 states requiring racial segregation in public schools & 4 states allowing it. For more go to: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/121brown/index.htm

  April 12, 2005

• A new site, CitizenJoe.org offers Americans a clear, balanced view into the policies and votes being debated in DC.  With fact-based issue guides and up-to-date information on major bills being voted on in Congress, the aim is to empower citizens with information while encouraging open dialogue.  CitizenJoe offers:

  - Weekly updates on the major bills being voted on in Congress;
  - Guides to key policy issues with facts and a balanced pro & con,
  - Facts on over fifty policy areas with recommended links for readers who want to find out more.

  For more information or to provide comments, contact: Julia Kamin, Director at julia@citizenjoe.org .

  April 11, 2005

• The following is shared from The Public Education Network (PEN) online newsletter:
  
  "Youth Organizing is Vital for Real High School Change" People often complain about students' attitudes about schools. What they fail to realize is that many students feel that these schools do not belong to them -- so why should they care? For effective change to happen, write Quintel Byrd and Eric Braxton, students must feel a sense of ownership of their schools. This requires them to have a real voice in decision-making. To read more go to: http://www.thenotebook.org/editions/2005/spring/youth2.htm

  April 8, 2005

• This month's Forum Flash includes the commentary, “Put Every Child Ahead” by Karen Pittman. The column comments on the country's priorities and where children and youth fit and use data from Investing in Youth Poll, a recent national and ten-city poll commissioned by the Forum for Youth Investment. “The results show that adults place a high priority on after school, job training, service learning, recreation, arts and health care programs, with nearly half of respondents saying these programs are a very high priority (support ranged from 62 to 78 percent in the cities polled). Nationally, support for both tax increases on high-income taxpayers and for community “trust funds” to pay for services for young people was surprisingly strong (66 percent favor the tax increases and 78 percent favor the trust funds).” Forum Flash is an e-newsletter developed by The Forum for Youth Investment. For more information go to: http://www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/ .

  April 6, 2005

• Faith and Youth in the iPod Era
  
  - On Monday, April 11 at 3:00 p.m. at The Brookings Institution panelists will discuss the findings of a new national survey conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (and commissioned by Reboot, a national network of young Jewish adults) on youth, religion, and civic engagement. The study compares and contrasts the religious identities of 18-25 year-old Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and Muslims, and explores the relationship between religious faith practice and the civic and political engagement among American youth.

  Register now: http://www.brookings.edu/comm/event_reg/event_regform.htm For more information please call Communications, 202/797-6105 or e-mail communications@brookings.edu.

  April 5, 2005

• The North Carolina Civic Education Consortium has posted the results of the "Civic Index Northeast Community Forum." To review the results go to: http://www.civics.unc.edu/civicindex/northeast.htm . For more information on The North Carolina Civic Education Consortium see: http://www.civics.unc.edu/.

  April 4, 2005

• The DEMOCRACY LAB NEWSLETTER - March 2005 is shared by the Pennsylvania Center for Civic Life at Lock Haven University. For more information, or to receive online newsletter directly, contact Jim Knauer at jknauer@lhup.edu. Or go to http://www.teachingdemocracy.org .

  Fall 2005 forum -- Reserve Now!  http://www.teachingdemocracy.org/DL/fall2005reservations.asp
  (Submitting reservations by May 1 will help ensure the availability of your preferred issue and entitles you to participation in our online workshop, Course Design for Democracy Lab, to be scheduled in late May.)

  Available issues:
     •   By the People: Americans' Role in the World
     •   Racial and Ethnic Tensions: What Should We Do?
     •   Three American Futures: What Direction Should We Take?
     •   News Media and Society: How to Restore the Public Trust?
     •   Examining Health Care: What's the Public's Prescription?
     •   Youth Civic Disengagement: Moving from Apathy to Action
     •   Crime and Punishment: Is Justice Being Served?
     •   A World Apart, a Common Problem: How Do We Create Stability around the Globe?

  Partnership opportunities  http://www.teachingdemocracy.org/dl/fipse/index.asp
  Our second round Request for Proposals is available on the website with funding for first-time partnerships and for continuation of existing partnerships -- July 1 deadline for 2005-2006 projects.  A partnership can help you use Democracy Lab for unit-wide or campus-wide impact.

  Networking opportunities -- our conferences and meeting schedule   http://www.teachingdemocracy.org/DL/using/Conferences.asp

  Over the next several months Jim Knauer and/or Sully Ross will be participating in conferences or meetings in locations across the country, presenting Democracy Lab workshops in most cases. 

     •   Bethesda, Maryland, April 14-16
     •   West Chester, Pennsylvania, May 12-13
     •   Stanford, California, May 20-22
     •   Portland, Oregon, June 16-18
     •   Lincoln, Nebraska, June 23-25
     •   St. Louis, Missouri, October 26-30
     •   Providence, Rhode Island, November 10-12
  
  Please contact us in advance if you will be at one of these meetings and would like to get together.  We may also be able to arrange workshops on nearby campuses if given enough lead time.

  High School Teacher Workshop
  State College, PA, June 27 - July 1, 2005.  Includes continuing education or graduate credit.  Inquiries invited.

  April 1, 2005

• The 13th International Demcratic Education Conference will take place from July 30 th through Augutst 7 in Berlin, Germany. Two Berlin associations - Krätzä (the Spiel/Kultur Network's children's rights project) and the Schule für Erwachsenenbildung (School for Adult Education) - want to strengthen connections between students and staff working in democratic education. The goal of the Berlin IDEC is to pass on experience and, in addition, self-critically to investigate any problems and objections. Up until the actual opening of the IDEC in the summer of 2005 they will welcome suggestions or advice, and support in any form. For more information or to provide comments go to http://www.idec2005.org.

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