What's New in Civic Education and Youth Civic Engagement Work .... (October 2007 Archive Section)

October 31, 2007


The U.S. Department of Education announces:

Getting the Message Out! National Political Campaign Materials, 1840-1860

This resource looks at politics in antebellum America. Read about the presidential campaigns. See campaign biographies of the candidates -- from William Harrison, Martin Van Buren, and James Birney to Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Learn about the "second party system." (Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, Institute of Museum and Library Services).

For more go to: http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1975


October 30, 2007


CIRCLE Jointly Hosts Summer Youth Mapping Program

On June 25th, CIRCLE began an exciting five-week youth mapping program for fifteen teenagers from Prince George's County in Maryland. Program participants used mapping software to study a community problem of their choice. This program preceded a larger joint project between CIRCLE and the University of Wisconsin-Madison which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education (DoE). The goal of the larger project is to develop and test educational software that can be used in service-learning and social studies classes to map community issues.

The summer mapping program was jointly hosted by CIRCLE and Maryland-National Capital Area Park & Planning Commission (M-NCPPC). All students were enrolled in summer recreation programs through the M-NCPPC and during the school year they attend Prince George's County Public Schools.

The students wanted to know how their school system could be improved. In particular, they investigated funding, discipline, parental involvement, and school size as possible avenues for reform. They interviewed experts, elected officials, and community activists. The students did all the research, interviewing, and writing. With technical help from CIRCLE, students also created a public Web site that summarizes their research findings.

Several of the interviewees-especially the University of Maryland's Dr. Martin Johnson-said that Prince George's County Public School students should be held to higher standards. He felt that if students are expected to learn more, they will rise to the occasion. Higher expectations might also help with discipline and order. Other interviewees stressed that schools are not orderly enough and students do not show enough respect. Lack of discipline interferes with learning and makes it more difficult to attract good teachers. The project helped students to understand how the different avenues of reform are often inter-related. The results of the project can be viewed at the Web site the students built: http://www.princegeorges.org/parksandplanning/index.html


October 29, 2007


Volunteer Efforts: From the Washington Post

Cleaning Up a Park and an Image
In Montgomery, Latino Teens Also Challenge Stereotypes

"There was the loud count -- "Uno! Dos! Tres!" -- then 23 teenagers lifted the gigantic, soggy, mossy, rotting log and began to haul it out of the brush and toward the pile of to-be-mulched branches and limbs.

"Vamos!" shouted Daniel Lopez, 17, instructing the line of his peers forward

Despite the drizzly weather, more than 60 Latino students in Montgomery County awoke early yesterday and made their way to Wheaton Regional Park, where they had signed up to clear brush, weed out invasive plants, collect trash and plant trees.

The students' work was part of the county's 21st annual community service day, which attracted more than 1,000 volunteers for more than 50 projects.

Volunteers across the county painted a church, cleaned nature trails, made sandwiches for homeless shelters and assembled care packages for college students who grew up in the foster care system. But the mission of the Latino volunteers, assembled by the nonprofit organization Identity Inc., was larger than just a pile of sticks and trash.

As they put it, the students were slowly working to change the stereotypes that surround their culture -- stereotypes that characterize them as litterbugs, gang members, a drain on resources, outsiders without a role in the community.

"It's our home, too," said Lorenzo Palomo, 16, a junior at Gaithersburg High School who competed with his friends to see who could haul the heaviest branches.
"We want to show we care about stuff like this," added Milagro Aguilar, 14, a freshman at Albert Einstein High School.

Those messages are the kind that Identity staff members repeat over and over. The organization targets at-risk Latino youths in Montgomery, brings them together so they are not culturally isolated and helps them navigate a country that often rejects them. By reaching out to the students, advocates also reach parents, who often rely on their children as linguistic and cultural interpreters…" By Jenna Johnson, Sunday, October 28, 2007, The Washington Post.


October 26, 2007


The Coalition for Community Schools announces the following:

Full Service Community Schools Act included in House NCLB Proposal

We are very excited to tell you that the Full Service Community Schools Act has been included in the new House Committee draft for NCLB. All of you made this important step possible with your work on the ground and your advocacy with policy makers. The Coalition is grateful to the more than 50 partners who signed a letter of support for the bill to the House. This is an important step forward, but there is still work to do.

The Education and Labor Committee is tentatively scheduled to mark up the bill the week of September 24th. Once the bill is marked up by the committee, it must pass a vote in the House. The Senate is working on its own version of NCLB and we do not yet know what their language will be. In the coming months we will need to refocus our efforts on the Senate bill.

To write to your own Representative to let them know why community schools are important to you go to:http://www.house.gov/writerep/.

To read a summary of the bill go to: http://www.communityschools.org/CCSDocuments/full_service_community_schools_act-1_pager.pdf

To read the text, go to: http://edworkforce.house.gov/bills/MillerMcKeonNCLBDiscussionDraftIII.pdf


October 25, 2007


The 2008 National Council on Public History (NCPH) Annual Meeting April 10-13, 2008 will introduce a new session format. "Working Groups," led by senior practitioners and involving up to twelve participants, will allow conferees to explore in depth a subject of shared concern. In these innovative seminar-like conversations, participants will have a chance to discuss questions raised by specific programs, problems, or initiatives in their own public history practice with peers grappling with similar issues. For 2008, three working groups are being assembled:

- Public History and Civic Life (see descriptions below)
- Unifying and Dividing Communities through Historic Preservation
- Finding Common Ground between Interpreters and Historians

To join a working group, please submit a one-paragraph abstract describing the case you wish to raise with your peers, together with a one- or two-page resume or c.v. by October 31. Those who are accepted will submit for discussion a case statement (of no more than two to three double-spaced pages) that describes their particular experience, defines the issues it raises, and suggests strategies and/or goals for resolution. Final case statements must be submitted by March 1, 2008, and will be posted in PDF format on the NCPH website.

Individuals whose statements are selected will be listed as working group participants in the printed conference Program. Participants will be expected to read all the case statements for their session as well as a shared reading(s) identified by their facilitator(s), and arrive at the conference prepared to contribute to a substantive and focused discussion. Other conference participants may attend the sessions, and will have access to the papers as well.

For more information go to: Learn more about the April 10-13 conference by visiting http://www.ncph.org.


October 24, 2007


The following article is in today's Washington Post:

As Campaigns Chafe at Limits, Donors Might Be in Diapers

"Elrick Williams's toddler niece Carlyn may be one of the youngest contributors to this year's presidential campaign. The 2-year-old gave $2,300 to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). So did her sister and brother, Imara, 13, and Ishmael, 9, and her cousins Chan and Alexis, both 13. Altogether, according to newly released campaign finance reports, the extended family of Williams, a wealthy Chicago financier, handed over nearly a dozen checks in March for the maximum allowed under federal law to Obama.

Such campaign donations from young children would almost certainly run afoul of campaign finance regulations, several campaign lawyers said. But as bundlers seek to raise higher and higher sums for presidential contenders this year, the number who are turning to checks from underage givers appears to be on the rise.

"It's not difficult for a banker or a trial lawyer or a hedge fund manager to come up with $2,300, and they're often left wanting to do more," said Massie Ritsch, a spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics. "That's when they look across the dinner table at their children and see an opportunity."

Asked about the Williams family giving, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "As a policy, we don't take donations from anyone under the age of 15." After being asked by The Post about the matter, he said the children's donations will be returned.

Although campaign finance laws set a limit of $2,300 per donor per campaign, they do not explicitly bar donors based on age. And young donors abound in the fundraising reports filed by presidential contenders this year.

A supporter of former Massachusetts Mitt Romney (R), Susan Henken of Dover, Mass., wrote her own $2,300 check, and her 13-year-old son, Samuel, and 15-year-old daughter, Julia, each wrote $2,300 checks, for example. Samuel used money from his bar mitzvah and money he earned "dog sitting," and Julia used babysitting money to make the contributions, their mother said. "My children like to donate to a lot of causes. That's just how it is in my house," Henken said.

Just how much campaign cash is coming from children is uncertain -- the FEC does not require donors to provide their age. But the amount written by those identifying themselves as students on contribution forms has risen dramatically this year, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics. During the first six months of the 2000 presidential campaign, students gave $338,464. In 2004, that rose to $538,936. This year, the amount has nearly quadrupled…" By Matthew Mosk, October 24, 2007, The Washington Post.


October 23, 2007


The Dirksen Congressional Center invites applications for grants to fund research on congressional leadership and the U.S. Congress. A total of up to $30,000 will be available in 2008. Awards range from a few hundred dollars to $3,500.

The competition is open to individuals with a serious interest in studying Congress. Political scientists, historians, biographers, scholars of public administration or American studies, and journalists are among those eligible. The Center encourages graduate students who have successfully defended their dissertation prospectus to apply and awards a significant portion of the funds for dissertation research.

The awards program does not fund undergraduate or pre-Ph.D. study. Organizations are not eligible. Research teams of two or more individuals are eligible. No institutional overhead or indirect costs may be claimed against a Congressional Research Award.

There is no standard application form. Applicants are responsible for showing the relationship between their work and the awards program guidelines. Applications are accepted at any time. Applications which exceed the page limit and incomplete applications will NOT be forwarded to the screening committee for consideration.

All application materials must be received on or before February 1, 2008. Awards will be announced in March 2008. Complete information about eligibility and application procedures may be found at The Center's Web site: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_grants_CRAs.htm. Frank Mackaman is the program officer -- fmackaman@dirksencenter.org.

The Center, named for the late Senate Minority Leader Everett M. Dirksen, is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit research and educational organization devoted to the study of Congress and its leaders. Since 1978, the Congressional Research Awards (formerly the Congressional Research Grants) program has paid out $680,000 to support 350 projects.


October 22, 2007


The U.S. Department of Education announces the following:

The Teaching American History Grant Program supports projects that aim to raise student achievement by improving teachers' knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of traditional American history. Grant awards assist local educational agencies (LEAs), in partnership with entities that have extensive content expertise, to develop, implement, document, evaluate, and disseminate innovative, cohesive models of professional development. By helping teachers to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of traditional American history as a separate subject within the core curriculum, these programs are intended to improve instruction and raise student achievement.

- Applications Available: October 10, 2007.
- Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: November 9, 2007.
- Dates of Pre-Application Meetings: Pre-application meetings for prospective applicants will be held. Further information on the dates, times, and locations of these meetings will be made available through a notice published in the Federal Register and through the Teaching American History Web site at http://www.ed.gov/programs/teachinghistory
- Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: December 10, 2007.
- Eligible Applicants: LEAs, including charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law and regulation that must work in partnership with one or more of the following entities: An institution of higher education; a non-profit history or humanities
organization; and a library or museum.
- Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested $50,000,000 for new awards for this program for FY 2008.
- Estimated Number of Awards: 52-65.
- Additional Information: Applicable regulations, priorities, and other information are available in the Federal Register notice. Additional information is available online at:
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2007-4/101007a.html


October 19, 2007


Evaluating the levels of civic engagement among teenagers requires appropriate methods and tools. In CIRCLE Working Paper #55 "Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents' Civic Engagement" Connie Flanagan, Amy K. Syvertsen, and Michael D. Stout provide a rich set of civic measures with good psychometric properties that are appropriate for use with young people ages 12-18. These measures tap aspects of adolescents' civic behaviors, opinions, knowledge, and dispositions. They are easy to administer and can be used by educators, staff of community-based organizations, program evaluators, and scholars.

The civic measures are divided into 14 broad categories, allowing them to be used in a variety of ways. Organizations wishing to assess the overall civic engagement of their participants may chose to administer all of the measures in a pre/post test manner. Others who are interested in certain components of civic engagement may use questions from one or more of the following 14 categories

- civic behaviors
- elected officials and government
- conventional civic engagement
- alternative civic engagement
- political efficacy
- equality and injustice
- citizenship types
- parents' civic engagement
- political conversations with others
- values
- media consumption and perceptions
- school climate
- personal beliefs
- civic knowledge

The civic measures can be easily administered and can be used by a variety of groups. When interpreting the results of the measures it is important to note that all measures are based on students' self-assessments. This means that participants are being asked to evaluate themselves, and not all participants will evaluate themselves the same way every time. Furthermore, when using the measures to evaluate program effectiveness, it is important to be aware that the measures do not correct for issues of self selection (students who are highly motivated may "self select" into a program, thus making it appear that the program causes participants to be civically engaged). Finally, it is important to highlight the future orientation of many of the items in the constructs. For example, several of the questions ask students to estimate the likelihood that they will engage in various community and political activities after high school. Other items ask students to rate their perceived ability to respond in various ways to a hypothetical scenario (e.g., illegal drugs being sold near a school).

October 17, 2007


The Forum for Democracy, a non-partisan free web site, has launched its Beta version which allows students to weigh in on either side of public policy debates the site is conducting on a weekly basis. The site encourages informed responses, including not only blogging but also video and all forms of citizen journalism, which you are encouraged to upload to the site.

The site will award free trips, prizes and scholarships to the best and brightest solution-based participants. The aggregated majority and minority opinions will be presented to elected representatives in Washington, D.C. as an expression of the Voice of We the People. In time students will be able to earn college credit for participation. For more information go to: http://www.forumfordemocracy.com.


October 15, 2007


The Georgetown Public Policy Review
Call for papers
Deadline: November 1, 2007

The Georgetown Public Policy Review, an annual, student-run academic journal
at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, features innovative thinkers and
writers in politics and public policy. Each issue of The Review explores a
theme through relevant and thoughtful articles, interviews, book reviews, and essays. The Review currently is seeking submissions of academic articles for our 2008 print edition: Democracy in Practice: Campaigns, Elections, and Voters.

Submissions should focus on local, state, or national elections in the United States or abroad. Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:

- Election administration, policy, and law
- Democratic practices in emerging democracies
- Domestic and international political parties
- Polarization of the electorate
- Effect of media on public opinion and voting decisions
- Information technology and the voting process

The Review welcomes submissions of unsolicited manuscripts including articles, book reviews, and commentaries on current events in domestic and foreign elections and politics. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis up to November 1, 2007.

Please submit papers to:
The Georgetown Public Policy Review
The Georgetown Public Policy Institute
4th Floor, 3520 Prospect St. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20007
gpprevw@georgetown.edu

Questions regarding the submission process can be sent to gpprevw@georgetown.edu, Or, to Executive Print Editor, Karen Beach at Kmb74@georgetown.edu.


October 12, 2007


The Dirksen Congressional Center's announces its new online version of Congress in the Classroom® Online.

Congress in the Classroom® Online will help you understand today's Congress and suggest ways to teach about it. The self-paced online course is organized around the twin responsibilities of Congress members: representation and lawmaking. There are more than a dozen individual units on such topics as "What Makes for Effective Members of Congress?" "How Representative is the Membership of Congress?" and "Lawmaking: Understanding the Basics." All the information you need to complete the online course is available with just a few mouse clicks.

Do you teach social studies, American government, American history, or civics? Are your lessons about the U.S. Congress out of date? Is it hard to engage your students in learning about the House and Senate? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then Congress in the Classroom® Online is the course for you!

If you need help or have any questions about getting into the course, please contact one of the following:

Instructor: Frank Mackaman at fmackaman@dirksencenter.org

Moodle Admin: Cindy Koeppel at ckoeppel@dirksencenter.org or moodle@congressclass.org


October 10, 2007


The National Youth Leadership Council announces the following:

This fall, NYLC is offering advanced service-learning practitioners an opportunity to receive graduate credits, improve their service-learning practice, and earn a Certificate of Excellent Practice in K-12 Service-Learning - formal recognition of their service-learning expertise.

This program is offered in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and includes three online units of study, culminating in the submission of a portfolio for review by NYLC's evaluation committee.

Participants receive:
- two graduate credits from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (requires successfully passing all class work)
- advanced training in service-learning best practices
- a Certificate of Excellent Practice in K-12 Service-Learning, providing national recognition of expert service-learning practice (requires successfully passing the NYLC evaluation board review)

NYLC developed the Certificate of Excellent Practice in K-12 Service-Learning to promote a consistent level of practice and produce the best results for young people. Using criteria developed by a national panel of service-learning experts, the NYLC evaluation board offers this certification of practitioners whose work meets the established criteria for high-level service-learning.

As the program is only for advanced practitioners, potential candidates should complete a "pre-application," which will be used to determine whether their experience is appropriate for this program. Those accepted will be provided with registration information.

This year's cohort starts at the end of this month, and all work is completed by March 31, 2008.

Pre-applications must be received by October 19, 2007.

For more online information go to: http://www.nylc.org/services_service.cfm?oid=5456

If you have any questions, please contact Libby Rau, Youth and School Programs Director, at lrau@nylc.org or (651) 999-7378.


October 3, 2007


Reminder: The submission date for Park University's "Democracy Day" is October 5. The theme of this year's Democracy Day is the U.S. Constitution, supporting federal legislation proclaiming September 17 as Constitution Day. To celebrate the Constitution, Park University is sponsoring its 4th annual high school essay contest and has selected the topic of "Propose and Defend a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution." Park University is once again joined by their partner and co-sponsor, Presidents Park in Williamsburg, Virginia for the event. The contest is open to high school seniors.

The grand prize winner of the contest will receive a $2,000 Park University scholarship or a $1,000 scholarship to the college or university of their choice. Five first place winners will receive $250 each. The winners' essays will be posted on the Park University and Presidents Park http://www.presidentspark.org web sites. Essays will be judged by a distinguished panel of scholars and public officials.

In addition, Park University will offer 2,000 free printed copies of The U.S. Constitution and Fascinating Facts About It (edited by Terry L. Jordan) to all participating schools for distribution to their seniors. These will be available on a first-come, first served basis.

Essays must be word processed, may not exceed 250 words, must be free of spelling and grammatical errors, adhere to standards of academic integrity, and must be submitted via e-mail to democracyday@park.edu or mailed to: Erik Bergrud, Special Assistant to the President, Park University, 8700 NW River Park Dr., Campus Box 100, Parkville, MO 64152.

All high school essays must be submitted by the student's teacher or principal, along with a statement affirming the student's senior status at the high school, and permission to publish the essay if it is selected as a winner. The submission due date is October 5, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. Winners will be announced on Democracy Day: November 6, 2007.

For more information, please call Erik Bergrud directly at (816) 584-6412. For more about go to the Democracy Day web site at http://www.park.edu/democracyday.


October 2, 2007


The Dirksen Congressional Center has announced the completion of the Editorial Cartoon Collection project.

The editorial cartoons and related lesson plans from The Dirksen Center will teach students to identify issues, analyze symbols, acknowledge the need for background knowledge, recognize stereotypes and caricatures, think critically, and appreciate the role of irony and humor.

This month they have posted three new cartoons and related lesson plans:

- Caption: 1950 Senate Campaign
- Caption: 1960 Presidential Campaign
- Caption: The President's Program

For more on the project go to: http://www.congresslink.org/cartoons/index.htm.

To join the Communicator mailing list, send an e- mail to enews@webcommunicator.org with the phrase - Subscribe Communicator -- in the subject line of the message.


October 1, 2007


New: Publishing Opportunities in Service-Learning Research

As part of the Emerging Scholars in K-12 Service-Learning Research Seminar, CIRCLE has released Research in Service-Learning: Publishing Opportunities Resource List. This publication includes 93 research publishing opportunities and is invaluable resource for those interested in exploring potential journals and periodicals for service-learning research.

To access the publication go to: http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/SR_Homana.pdf.