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

September 30, 2005

• Registration for “Engaging Our World” a Southeastern Global Leadership Conference is open and ongoing. The conference will be held at Berea College in Berea, KY on October 21-23. The objective of the Conference is to raise regional ( Southeastern US ) awareness among students about problems confronting our global society. The conference will also be an opportunity for students already engaged in this region to network and support each other. Conference participants will be given tools to creatively engage global problems and participate in the creation of a better and safer world.

  Conference Topics Include: Trade and Economic Justice, Global AIDS, Environmental Justice, World Peace, Human Rights (Population, Women's rights), World Hunger, GMO's and Biodiversity, Climate Change and Peak Oil. Featured Organizations include: Bread for the World, DATA, Oxfam America, Feminist Majority Foundation, Idealist.org, Student Trade Justice Campaign and more.

  For more information or to register online go to: http://www.engagingourworld.org/ .

  September 29, 2005

• New CIRCLE Report: Driving Forces Behind the Rise in Youth Volunteering
  
  It has been well documented by numerous surveys that young people today are volunteering at unprecedented rates. A new report by Lewis A. Friedland and Shauna Morimoto examines the motivating factors behind volunteering.
  
  The researchers found that for middle- and upper-middle class high school students "resume-padding" is one of the motivating factors driving the increase in volunteering. 
  
  The report found that young people are facing higher stress, greater uncertainty and risk (although coupled with opportunities for some), and looser connections among family, friends, and communities. While parents' occupation may still predict the broad income band that children will occupy in adulthood, it will not necessarily predict educational achievement, occupation, or lifestyle. Students recognize that their future life chances rest on college attendance. Anxiety resulting from this recognition has suffused both the lives and future life-planning of all sectors of high-school-aged youth. Under these circumstances, young people of all classes are approaching service as (in part) an instrumental price to pay for college admission.
  
  In addition to the resume-padding, this study finds that several other factors are motivating the rise in volunteer activity, and these factors vary by class and racial position, ideological disposition, and religious involvement. Additionally, the report contains a typology of youth volunteers.
  
  To download the Working Paper go to: http://www.civicyouth.org/research/areas/comm_partic.htm

  September 27, 2005

• Elevating Student Voice. Education Week is holding a live chat on student voice, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 3 p.m., EST.

  The guest, Nelson Beaudoin, is the principal of Kennebunk High School in Maine. He is the author of "Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone: Lessons for School Leaders" and the forthcoming "Elevating Student Voice: How To Enhance Participation, Citizenship, and Leadership."

  For Beaudoin, giving kids a greater say in how they're educated reflects democratic principles and fosters responsibility and engagement. But while the idea may excite teenagers, some teachers wonder whether the scales are tipping too far.
  For more information go to: http://www.edweek-chat.org .

  For more information on Beaudoin and Kennebunk High, read "Vocal Arrangements," from the August/September issue of TEACHER MAGAZINE go to:
  http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2005/09/01/01vocal.h17.html
  

  September 26, 2005

• The Public Education Network online Newsblast announces the following:

  - Grants for Implementing Service Learning Projects. One hundred grants, funded by the State Farm Companies Foundation, are available from Youth Service America for teachers, youth (ages 5-25), and school-based service-learning coordinators to implement service-learning projects for National & Global Youth Service Day April 21-23, 2006. State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants enable youth and educators to bring the positive benefits of service-learning to more young people across America. Maximum award: $1,000. Eligibility: teachers, youth (ages 5-25), and school-based service-learning coordinators. Deadline: October 17, 2005.

  September 23, 2005

• The CivicMind announces two awards this month:
  
  - AMERICAN RED CROSS - for providing free disaster relief across the country and around the world through the assistance of over one million volunteers. In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, the American Red Cross launched "the largest mobilization of resources in its history" to bring food, shelter, counseling and other assistance to the victims. For more go to: http://www.civicmind.com/wrdcross.htm
  
  C-SPAN - a public service created by the American cable television industry to provide live proceedings of the U.S. House and Senate as well as to other forums "where public policy is discussed, debated and decided--all without editing, commentary or analysis and with a balanced presentation of points of view." For more go to: http://www.civicmind.com/wcspan.htm
  

  September 22, 2005

• Fifty Years in Public Causes: Stories From A Road Less Traveled is the new book by Independent Sector co-founder Brian O¹Connell.  It traces a lifetime of organizing, beginning at the local level and extending to national and international crusades.  A dynamic activist and inspiring teacher, O¹Connell passes along his experiences for volunteers, staff and young people with a passion for building public causes.  O¹Connell ends with the lessons he would emphasize for the nonprofit sector if it were possible to continue on this road less traveled another fifty years. The book is published by Tufts University Press, where O¹Connell is founder and professor of public service at the University College of Citizenship and Public Service. Go to: http://www.50yearsbook.com/  for book details, excerpts and ordering information.

  September 21, 2005

• The Constitutional Rights Foundation's Robinson Mini-Grant Program for Service-Learning projects designed to address serious community issues. Maximum Award: $500. Eligibility: K-12. Deadline: October 14, 2005. For more information go to: http://www.crf-usa.org/network/crf_robin.html .

  September 20, 2005

• Carter-Baker Panel to Call for Voting Fixes: Election Report Urges Photo IDs, Paper Trails And Impartial Oversight. “Warning that public confidence in the nation's election system is flagging, a commission headed by former president Jimmy Carter and former secretary of state James A. Baker III today will call for significant changes in how Americans vote, including photo IDs for all voters, verifiable paper trails for electronic voting machines and impartial administration of elections.

  The report concludes that, despite changes required under the Help America Vote Act of 2002, far more must be done to restore integrity to an election system that suffers from sloppy management, treats voters differently not only from state to state but also within states, and that too often frustrates rather than encourages voters' efforts to participate in what is considered a basic American right…” By Dan Balz, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, September 19, 2005; Page A03

  September 19, 2005

• Community-Campus Partnerships shares the following:

  Cancelled - GULF-SOUTH SUMMIT ON SERVICE-LEARNING AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT that had been scheduled for March 15-17, 2006 in New Orleans , Louisiana
  It is with a heavy heart that I have asked the Executive Committee of the Gulf-South Summit to excuse Tulane University 's Office of Service Learning from hosting the 4th annual Summit in New Orleans, LA.   As all of you have witnessed, the great city of New Orleans and much of the Gulf South has been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.  My colleagues and I, at the Office of Service Learning, hope to host the Summit again in the very near future so we could share with all of you the city, culture, and great people of New Orleans!

  Vincent Ilustre
  Associate Director, Office of Service Learning, Tulane University
  Chair, Executive Committee, Gulf-South Summit

  September 16, 2005

• The International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering (IJSLE) is a new faculty-reviewed electronic journal offered free, semi-annually, over the World Wide Web. The Journal welcomes manuscripts based on original work of students and researchers with a specific focus or implication for service learning in engineering, engineering entrepreneurship in service, or related service learning pedagogy.
  
  With articles relating to the latest design and research pertinent to local communities, the faculty-reviewed articles in each issue provide the reader with timely information related to:
  - research into appropriate technologies and solutions for developing community problems
  - design solutions for problem specific to developing communities
  - engineering entrepreneurship in developing communities
  - service learning pedagogy
  
  The Journal has issued its first call for papers, due December 30, 2005. It is also seeking faculty members who may wish to serve as a reviewer (or editor) for the Journal.
  
  Visit the journal at www.engr.psu.edu/IJSLE . For more information, please contact Tom Colledge at Pennsylvania State University, thc100@psu.edu .

  September 15, 2005

• Constitution Day Resources: An Online Chat for Teachers (Thursday, September 15th, 8:00 p.m - EDT)
  
  How do you help your students to understand their personal responsibility in a participatory government?  Will you begin to do so as you implement National Constitution and Citizenship Day on September 17? 
  
  Please Join Library of Congress Learning Page staff and your peers in a live chat session. Discover a special, downloadable "toolkit" of primary resources for Constitution day:
  http://www.loc.gov/learn/community/cc_wethepeople_kit.php and learn of additional Library of Congress primary source materials that may help you teach about U.S. government, citizenship and the nation's constitution.
  
  September 15, 2005 at 8:00 P.M. (EDT), Library of Congress Group Room: http://www.tappedin.org . Information on this session and links to related resources may be found at: http://www.loc.gov/learn/community/cc_wethepeople.php .

  September 14, 2005

• Schools to Tackle a New Mandate: Teaching About U.S. Constitution. “ Schools across the nation will be on the same page next week—on the crinkled and sepia-toned parchment that records the basic liberties of U.S. citizens and the structure of the government. Though the U.S. Constitution's final signing on Sept. 17, 1787, has long been celebrated by some, Congress mandated for the first time that all public schools and colleges conduct ducational programs about the document annually, on or around that date…” (Also includes set of resources) By Joetta L. Sack and Andrew Trotter, Education Week. Sept. 7, 2005

  September 13, 2005

• Reminder: Speak Up for Service-Learning and Learn and Serve America announce Voices for National Service Congressional Hill Day on September 14, 2005. Service-learning advocates will team up with representatives from AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs throughout the United States in Washington , DC to meet with Members of Congress and their staff to share their stories about the impact of national service on their communities.

  The Voices for National Service Hill Day is a powerful way to share with Congress your commitment to national service and to thank them for their support, which is critical if we as a field are to succeed in expanding and strengthening service opportunities for all Americans. This Hill Day allows national service advocates to make the case for Learn and Serve America, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps right as Congress prepares to finalize funding decisions for fiscal year 2006.

  To register go to: http://www.voicesforservice.org/participation_worksheet.htm .

  For more information, including an overview of the day's schedule, please visit: www.VoicesForService.org/events.htm . If you can't travel to Washington , DC you can still participate. Email info@servicelearningunited.org to receive ready-to-use advocacy tools and information.

  September 12, 2005

• The following article was in the September 10, 2005 Washington Post:

  Sept. 11 as Civics Lesson. “ The cloud of Sept. 11 still hangs over us four years later, but there is something of a silver lining. For out of that horrible event has come a renewed commitment to civic engagement among a crucial segment of the population: young people who were near college age on Sept. 11, 2001. New evidence from multiple sources confirms that those Americans who were caught by the flash of Sept. 11 in their impressionable adolescent years are now significantly more involved in public affairs and community life than their older brothers and sisters…” By Thomas H. Sander and Robert D. Putnam.

  September 9, 2005

• The following have been added to Pew Charitable Trust's “Supporting Civic Life” website:

  - Committed (Trust magazine article): Article on Amachi Big Brothers Big Sisters, a faith-based program to address the pain and needs of children with parents in prison.

  - Notes from the President: In Our Children's Interest
  

  September 7, 2005

• The Brookings Institution announces "Democracy at Risk: How Political Choiceds Undermine Citizen Participation" to be held on Wednesday, September 7 at 3:00 pm. This panel discussion focuses on the new book published by the Brookings Institution Press and sponsored by the American Political Science Association, a team of leading political scientists not only reveals the dangers of civic disengagement, but also diagnoses the causes and suggests possible cures. To launch this book, a panel of the authors will explore the problems of Americans' decreasing involvement in public affairs and show how scholarship can inform efforts to revive our ailing democratic life. For more information go to: http://www.brookings.edu/comm/events/20050907.htm

  September 6, 2005

• The Dirksen Centerannounces a call for papers for the ASPA's sixth annual conference on state politics and policy – Paths of Influence: Institutions and Processes Fostering Representation in American States to be held at Texas Tech University , Lubbock , Texas on May 19-20, 2006.
  
  The theme of the 2006 State Politics and Policy conference is Paths of Influence: Institutions and Processes Fostering Representation in American States . The theme is intentionally broad so as to be receptive to the full range of research exploring connections between the public and their polities. Papers exploring legislative, judicial, or executive institutions, political or policy processes, or mass-elite linkages formed by interest groups, political parties, public preferences, or political culture are invited. Proposals emphasizing cross-state or within state elements are welcome as are those incorporating sub-state governments or intergovernmental relations.
  
  Paper proposals due December 15, 2005 . For more information go to: http://www.fsu.edu/~statepol/conferences/2006/2006main.htm .

  September 2, 2005

• The following has been added to Pew Charitable Trust's “Supporting Civic Life” website:

  - Renewing Logan Square – Bringing A New Circle To The Square: A landscape renovation and maintenance plan for Logan Square will commence this fall.

  September 1, 2005

• A national study commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and conducted by researchers at the University of Connecticut says that America 's high schools are leaving the First Amendment behind. Educators are not giving high school students an appreciation of free speech and free press, according to the study researchers, who questioned more than 100,000 high school students, nearly 8,000 teachers, and more than 500 principals and administrators. A deeper analysis of the data indicates that suburban schools, those with the most resources, the most classes, the most forms of media, lagged behind rural and urban schools. Greater resources available in the suburbs do not parlay into greater tolerance and support for the First Amendment, researchers found. For more information go to the study Web site at: www.firstamendmentfuture.org where it is available in the form of a followup White Paper.  You can also access the study by going to the Institute for Digitial Education, Activities and Scholarship (IDEAS) web site at www.jideas.org .
  
  More White Papers will be produced over the next six months and be available at the study Web site. If you have any questions or comments, contact wwatson@bsu.edu