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

September 26, 2007


The Dirksen Center announces its new lesson plan - Congressional Power, Organization, Differences between the House and the Senate - Criticisms Then and Now.

Background information for this lesson:

In Federalist No. 51 Madison wrote, "In a Republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates. The remedy for this inconvenience is to divide the legislature into different branches." The Framers of the Constitution took great care in organizing the legislative branch of the United States government into a bicameral system to avoid overpowering the other two branches. There are distinct differences between congressional power and organization of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

In this lesson, students will discuss among their group why the Framers chose to organize the legislative branch of the U.S. government in the manner that they did.

For more on Congressional Power, Organization, The Differences between the House and the Senate - Criticisms Then and Now go to: http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_congpower_org_dif.htm.


September 24, 2007


The Forum for Youth Investment announces the release of a new report:

Core Principles for Engaging Young People in Community Change
By Karen Pittman, Shanetta Martin, and Anderson Williams

"Engaging young people as partners in community change is a compelling idea, but translating that idea into effective practice requires focused attention to a range of issues. The principles described in this paper emerged from the commingling of research and practice that occurred when the Forum merged with Community IMPACT! USA. They are important but simple principles for putting the idea of youth engagement into practice. They can be implemented in a wide range of organizations, including schools, youth organizations or community centers that want to strengthen their commitment to youth leadership, or community-change focused organizations or coalitions that want to strengthen their commitment to youth involvement." The Forum for Youth Investment.

To read the report go to: http://www.forumfyi.org/Files/FINALYouth_Engagement_7.9.pdf


September 21, 2007


The Public Education Network's (PEN) online NewsBlast announces the following:

"NEA Foundation Learning & Leadership Grants"
NEA Foundation Learning & Leadership Grants support public school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of two purposes: grants to individuals fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences, such as summer institutes or action research; grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson study, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff new to an assignment. Maximum Award: $5,000. Eligibility: public school teachers grades K-12; public school education support professionals; or faculty and staff at public higher education institutions. Deadline: October 15, 2007.
http://www.neafoundation.org/programs/Learning&Leadership_Guidelines.htm


September 19, 2007


City Year's annual report is now available online at http://www.cityyear.org/media/pdf/annualreport2006.pdf. City Year's mission is to build democracy through citizen service, civic leadership, and social enterprise. City Year's vision is that one day the most commonly asked question of a young person will be: "Where are you going to do you service year?" For more on City Year go to: http://www.cityyear.org/.

September 18, 2007


The following article was in yesterday's Washington Post:

Lessons in Forced Democracy

"Four years ago, during a speech in Manila, President Bush drew an analogy between the history of the Philippines and the history he was rewriting in Iraq.

"Democracy always has skeptics," Bush said. "Some say the culture of the Middle East will not sustain the institutions of democracy. The same doubts were proved wrong nearly six decades ago, when the Republic of the Philippines became the first democratic nation in Asia."

Since 2003, Bush has rarely mentioned the Philippines. But as the nation debates Gen. David H. Petraeus's recent report on the state of the Iraq war, a new study by political scientists Andrew Enterline and J. Michael Greig shows that the president ought to revisit his analogy.

Bush got some of his historical facts wrong, but his analogy turns out to be unintentionally accurate -- the Philippines is an excellent example of the risks, stakes and odds of imposing democracy on another country. By contrast, the oft-cited success stories of Japan and Germany turn out to be outliers.

Enterline and Greig's as yet unpublished study is a detailed examination of 41 cases over about 200 years where one nation has tried to impose democracy on another. As Washington debates the success of the recent U.S. "surge" in Iraq, the study offers a sobering glimpse of the big picture -- not the odds that the Iraqi insurgency will go up or down, but the odds that a stable democracy will emerge in the country…" By Shankar Vedantam, September 17, 2007, The Washington Post.


September 17, 2007


Reminder: Call for Papers and Proposals for the 66th MPSA Political Science Conference will be held on April 3-6, 2008 at the Chicago Palmer House Hilton. Proposal Deadline: 10/10/2007.

To submit a paper, a roundtable or to volunteer to serve as a chair or discussant, please go to http://www.indiana.edu/~mpsa/Conference/call2008.html.

The MPSA has 66 different sections that can select papers. They include all the standard political science subfields, as well as several sections on policy and public administration, six area studies sections (e.g. Canadian Politics, European Politics), several sections on political theory. There is also an interdisciplinary flavor to some of the sections, including Politics & History, Politics & Religion, Political Anthropology, Economic Policy and Political Sociology.

For a full list and description of the sections, you may go to: http://www.indiana.edu/~mpsa/Conference/2008concomm.html.

If you offer to serve as a panel chair or discussant, please indicate your fields of expertise and provide a statement of your interests. Groups not affiliated with MPSA that wish to sponsor panels should contact the MPSA Executive Director (wdmorgan@indiana.edu).

For more information about the MPSA, please go to: http://www.mwpsa.org.


September 14, 2007


Citizenship Matters, released by the National Center on Learning and Citizenship at Education Commission of the States, highlights the following:

- The 2007 Education Leadership Colloquium was held in Philadelphia, July 10-11. Focusing on civic education policy from a P-20 perspective, state teams -- which included youth and adult members -- worked together to craft a three-pronged agenda for citizenship education that includes civic education, service-learning and meaningful student engagement in decisionmaking in their respective states.
http://www.ecs.org/00CM999

- The National Center for Learning and Citizenship designed two sessions at the 2007 Education Commission of the States (ECS) National Forum on Education Policy. The sessions focused on student engagement and on education reform in Mississippi.
http://www.ecs.org/00CM1000

- Northwest region members of the 100 District Leaders Network spent two days together brainstorming, re-energizing and moving forward in their pursuit of advocacy for service-learning and civic engagement. By the end of the meeting three prominent outcomes surfaced.
http://www.ecs.org/00CM1001


September 10, 2007


It's not too late to participate in the National Learn & Serve Challenge, September 17-23, 2007. The Challenge is a concentrated series of special events and activities designed to spotlight service-learning successes around the country. It is also designed to show support for Learn and Serve America and inspire other schools and communities to launch their own service-learning initiatives.

Express your support for service-learning and Learn and Serve America by adding your organization's name to the growing list of participating partners.

For more go to: http://www.learnandservechallenge.org/

Email nslp@aed.org to join today!


September 7, 2007


The National Service-Learning Partnership announces the first-ever National Learn & Serve Challenge.

The National Learn & Serve Challenge is a concentrated week of special events and activities designed to spotlight service-learning successes around the country. It is also designed to show support for Learn and Serve America and inspire other schools and community to launch their own service-learning initiatives.

Last year, the federal government established the goal that by the year 2010:

- 5 million college students will be engaged in service; and
- 50 percent of America's K-12 schools will incorporate service-learning into their curricula

Join peers from around the country in this weeklong series of publicity events and community outreach activities designed to raise awareness of service-learning and build support for the 2010 goals.

Visit the Learn & Serve Challenge website to access the ideas and resources you need. Schools and organizations can express support for service-learning and Learn and Serve America by adding their names to the growing list of participating partners. Individual leaders can join the Challenge mailing list to receive regular update emails and information to help you plan and promote your Challenge event and activity. For more email nslp@aed.org.


September 6, 2007


Dirksen Center's New Lesson Plan: Role of Congress in Formulating Policy

During The Dirksen Center's annual Congress in the Classroom® workshop -- http://dirksencenter.org/print_programs_CongressClassroom.htm -- participants are asked to introduce the lesson plans, resources, and techniques that have proven successful in teaching about Congress in their classrooms. A 2005 participant, Bill Penberthy, Ironwood High School, Glendale, AZ, presented his lesson entitled, "Role of Congress in Formulating Policy."

Background information for this lesson includes:

In the modern world, most people associate the policies that the United States pursues with the President and forget that Congress plays a major role in how those policies are formulated and carried out. Historically, there have been times when Congress has played a very strong role vis-à-vis the Executive Branch, and at other times, it has been willing to let the President carry the ball. In both situations, there have always been strong members of Congress who felt they had a constitutional duty to do more than 'rubber stamp' or just sit by idly. This may mean that they proposed legislation, tried to significantly change proposed or already enacted legislation, or in some cases, fought to prevent passage. Whatever their approach, they were instrumental in the formulation of foreign and domestic policy.

The overall objective of this lesson is to help students learn that Congress plays a major role in how policies are formulated and carried out. Find "Role of Congress in Formulating Policy" at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_roleofcongress.htm.


September 5, 2007


Citizenship Matters, released by the National Center on Learning and Citizenship at Education Commission of the States, highlights the following:

- Public engagement is a two-way communication between a school district and the community it serves. This ERIC Digest examines how public engagement can foster student achievement, how school boards and administrators can facilitate the public engagement process, and how school leaders can solicit enduring support from key stakeholders.
http://www.ecs.org/00CM995

- The NCLC Learning That Lasts Field Guide has proven so popular that we had to reprint it. The guide is a companion to Learning That Lasts: How Service-Learning Can Become an Integral Part of Schools, States and Communities. It provides specific strategies to move service-learning from the margin to the mainstream in American schools.
http://www.ecs.org/00CM996


September 4, 2007


In the September 10 issue of TIME, Managing Editor Richard Stengel calls for the next president to institute a bold ten-point plan to build voluntary national service as a vitally important 21st century institution that can unite Americans of different backgrounds, build a strong civic culture, meet pressing community and national needs, and establish a year of service as a civic rite of passage for young Americans. Attached is the cover story of "A Time to Serve" -- to read the full article, go to: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1657256_1657317,00.html.