What's New in Civic Education and Youth Civic Engagement Work .... (April 2006 Archive Section)

April 28, 2006

• The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE) announces the following new product:
  
  - Leading Scholars Reflect on the Influence of Institutions on Youth Civic Engagement
  A new CIRCLE Working Paper edited by Peter Levine and James Youniss collects 14 short essays by leading scholars in political science, psychology, education, communications, and sociology.
  
  Each of the 14 short essays suggests ways to expand the study of youth civic engagement to include institutions and cultural contexts as well as the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of individual youth. The collection, entitled "Youth Civic Engagement: An Institutional Turn," can be found at: www.civicyouth.org/research/products/working_papers.htm

  April 27, 2006

• The following is shared by Mel Dubnick:

  The Maxwell Poll on Citizenship and Inequality is a nation-wide survey on Americans' engagement in political affairs and other aspects of civic life, as well as their views on social and economic inequality in the United States .
  
  The report and data the first and second Maxwell Polls can be downloaded from the poll webpage after 1pm on April 26th. For more information go to: http://poll.campbellinstitute.org
  
  April 26, 2006

• The following articles have recently been published by The Washington Post:

  45 Years After Kennedy's Call, Web Site Introduces a New Generation to Government Careers

  Forty-five years ago, President John F. Kennedy gave a call to action that brought a new generation of federal employees into government:

  "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

  But most of the "ask not" generation has quietly left federal service, and a mainstay of the federal government -- the baby boom generation -- will be retiring in the next few years. The transition to the next generation may be one of the most important facing the government because polls show that many young people see little appeal in government service.

  In a bid to renew interest in public service, the nonprofit Council for Excellence in Government plans to launch an Internet-based project this morning to provide research data and ideas that commencement speakers at middle schools, high schools and colleges can use to talk about the importance of working in government…

  By Stephen Barr, April 25, 2006, The Washington Post

  Explainer: AmeriCorps NCCC

  Whose program is it, anyway?

  The AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps program that President Bush wants to eliminate generally is associated with President Bill Clinton, who made AmeriCorps a brand name for national service in the 1990s.

  But that association is wrong, AmeriCorps chief David Eisner wrote The Washington Post last week. The NCCC got its start in a 1992 defense bill. So the program that Bush wants to kill by cutting its budget from $27 million to $5 million is not a product of the Clinton administration but of his father's. "[T]he NCCC program wasn't created by President Clinton -- it was signed into law as a demonstration program by President George H.W. Bush in October 1992," Eisner wrote. "We're proposing to end the NCCC demonstration partly because other AmeriCorps programs have proven they can yield similar results at a lower federal cost."…

  By Christopher Lee, April 24, 2006, The Washington Post

  April 25 2006

• The Public Education Network announces the following:

  - 10 Ideas for Creating Meaningful Volunteer Assignments. All program and operational decisions made in an organization stem from the philosophy, beliefs, and vision that are its reasons for being in the first place. These, in turn, are rooted in basic values that are often assumed, yet rarely articulated. Identifying the values about volunteering held in your organization is a worthwhile exercise. It uncovers what executives, frontline employees, and volunteers themselves think about why volunteers are involved at all. It points the way for creating meaningful volunteer assignments and provides a framework for working together. Discussing values about volunteering also puts civic engagement into a broader social context. It's easy to get so caught up in the daily how-to's of managing a volunteer program that we forget volunteering is bigger than our one setting or even this one point in time.

  April 24 2006

• In his new book "Reclaiming Public Education by Reclaiming Our Democracy," David Mathews identifies a growing chasm between the American public and education professionals. The author enumerates the goals that citizens and educators alike want from public education, before he sets to work pinpointing the obstacles that block progress. He focuses especially on significant differences in the ways citizens view problems in the schools and the ways professional educators and policymakers talk about them. Some of the disconnections he identifies include: (1) Citizens say they are frustrated by their inability to make a difference in improving the public schools. But educators say they can't get the public support they need; (2) Citizens think local school boards determine what happens in schools.

  But board members complain that their hands are tied by outside restrictions and conflicting demands; (3) Citizens want schools that instill self-discipline and promote social responsibility. But schools are overwhelmed by the need to raise test scores and meet legislatively mandated standards. To learn more and read a free excerpt, visit: http://www.reclaimingeducation.org/excerpt.htm

  April 21, 2006

• Saturday, April 22 is the 35-year anniversary of Earth Day is April 22 - a civic event which brings people together around environmental issues.  For more information go to International Earth Day at: http://www.earthsite.org/ . Also, web searches bring up lots of information for students, families and organizations.

  April 20, 2006

• The Public Education Network announces the following from the Harwood Institute:

  "What We All Need to Become Good Public People”
  - The vast majority of Americans are in retreat from politics and public life. They have retreated, they report, because leaders no longer reflect the reality of average Americans' daily lives in their words and actions What's worse, they often distort those realities for short-term political gain. If we are serious about creating a different kind of society, where people are actively engaged, our leaders – and indeed, all of us – will have to exercise a different set of sensibilities and practices. It's a vital part of finding new pathways for people to step forward. These sensibilities and practices are all rooted in a foundation The Harwood Institute calls "The 3 A's of Public Life: Authority, Accountability, and Authenticity." These words have come to mean different things to different people. The Harwood Institute has reclaimed them. Genuine authority (the type derived from community credibility, not statute or title) is earned through one's knowledge of the community and infusing that knowledge through one's work. Authenticity is one's ability to reflect the reality of people's lives in word and deed. Genuine accountability is measured by whether a person sets realistic expectations for change and pursues actions that are truly meaningful to his or her community. For more go to: http://theharwoodinstitute.org/media/index.html?view=press_release&press_id=135

  April 18, 2006

• The CivicMind announces the following:
  

  - This month's CivicMind Award honors the Natural Resources Defense Council for its work through legislation, activism, and the courts to protect public health and the environment as well as recommending energy policies to reduce our dependence on oil and address global warming. The Natural Resources Defense Council is a nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health, the environment, and imperiled wildlands. For more go to: http://www.CivicMind.com/wnrdc.htm
  
  - A new feature this month is Reflections available at http://www.CivicMind.com/reflect.htm . Reflections intended to open your thinking about community work, stay motivated, and engage others in civic projects.  They are provided to stimulate dialogue, journaling, and contemplation. Additional reflections are being added every week. Send your comments and announcements to TheCivicMind@aol.com .

  April 14, 2006

• The National Council for the Social Studies announces its " Programs of Excellence Award"
  
  - This award identifies and provides recognition for outstanding social studies programs currently being implemented in the United States and to encourage the growth and development of innovative and effective programs in the social studies. Maximum Award: Commemorative Gift for institution; certificates for teachers. Eligibility: A social studies currently being implemented in the United States . Deadline: June 30, 2006. For more information, go to: http://www.socialstudies.org/awards/curriculum/ .

  April 13, 2006

• The Public Education Network announces the following:

  "Public Schools are Hotbeds of Democracy"
  
  - Democracies don't materialize out of thin air. They are created – and maintained and deepened – by citizens. If citizens are to safeguard civil liberties, elect wise officials, become wise officials themselves, make sense of the news and negotiate public policy with other citizens in an ever more diverse society, "their minds," as Thomas Jefferson said, "need to be improved to a certain degree." Public schools are ideal sites for this work. They are public places, so they possess the essential assets for cultivating democratic citizens: a diverse student body, shared problems and a curriculum. When aimed at democratic ends and supported by democratic means, schools can help children enter the public consciousness needed for citizenship, or what the ancient Greeks called puberty. This includes the habits of reasoning and caring necessary for public life: the cosmopolitan respect, the insistence on fair play, and the knack for forging public policy with others whether one likes them or not. The opposite is what the Greeks called idiocy – absorption in one's private affairs. Public schools are good places to help young people grow from idiocy to puberty, writes Walter Parker. Schools can't do it alone, to be sure; families and faith communities must do their part. But schools have the key ingredients that make them the most fertile sites in society for this work. Aren't the stakes too high to let the opportunity pass?
  http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/262189_democracy09.html

  April 12, 2006

• "Educating for Active Citizenship: Service-Learning, School-Based Service, and Civic Engagement," a new report by the Corporation for National and Community Service was released at the 17th Annual National Service-Learning Conference in Philadelphia. 

  The new study is one of the most comprehensive yet of the state of school-based service in America . Among other facts, the study found that:
  
  - 38 percent of youth ages 12 to 18 – or approximately 10.6 million students nationwide – have never participated in school-based service, which is defined as community service that takes place as part of a school activity or requirement.
   
  - 64 percent of students who ever participated in school-based service did so as part of one class; 22 percent participated in two classes; and 14 percent participated in three or more classes.
  
  - 77 percent of students who have engaged in school-based service report that their service included at least one of three "quality" activities typically associated with service-learning: more than half (51 percent) wrote or reflected on their experience, 36 percent helped plan the activity, and 36 percent participated in service that lasted at least a full semester.
  
  - High school students (grades 9-12) are more than 30 percent more likely than middle school students (grades 6-8) to participate in school-based service, whether participation occurred within the previous year or some time in the past.
  
  - 40 percent of students' experiences in school-based service included one high-quality service-learning element, 26 percent included two elements, and 10 percent included all three high-quality service-learning elements, which became the basis of a Quality Index developed by the Corporation; only 23 percent of students' experiences did not include any of the three quality elements.
  
  The study also found that while economic background had an inverse relationship to exposure to school-based service - that is, students from low-income families are less likely than those from other families to participate in both school-based service and service-learning courses – it also revealed that low-income youth who do participate demonstrate many positive civic attitudes and behaviors, particularly volunteering attitudes and behaviors, discussion of politics, interest in current events, personal ability to make a difference, trust, and optimism for the future. 
  
  The study, as well as a variety of supplemental materials, can be found at: http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/role_impact/performance_research.asp
  http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/role_impact/performance_research.asp .

  April 4, 2006

• Students who participate in school-based service that includes elements associated with high-quality service-learning are almost three times as likely as students who participate in school-based service without those elements to believe that they can make a great deal of difference in their community, a new study has found.
  
  The youth are also more than twice as likely to report that their experience has a very positive impact on them; 40 percent more likely to say that they will probably volunteer in the upcoming year; and significantly more likely to take an interest in current events and to talk about politics with friends and parents.
   
  The findings are contained in "Educating for Active Citizenship: Service-Learning, School-Based Service, and Civic Engagement," a new report by the Corporation for National and Community Service that was released at the 17th Annual National Service-Learning Conference in Philadelphia.  The study http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/06_0323_SL_briefing.pdf and a fact sheet http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/06_0323_SL_briefing_factsheet.pdf can be found at www.nationalservice.gov .

  April 3, 2006

• The Dirksen Center 's online recent newsletter, "Communicator Update" includes the following items:
  
  - Supreme Court Nominations, 1789-2005
  - In the Shadow of Watergate: Bob Michael Becomes a Congressional Leader
  - Effective Citizenship Advocacy: Knowing Who You Are Talking To
  - Congress in the Classroom 2006/Congressional Research Awards

  To read this items go to: http://www.webcommunicator.org/