How Should Higher Education Help Us Create The Society We Want?
Posted: May 3, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: American Commonwealth Partnership, American Education, civic education, civic engagement, Civic Mission, civic responsiblity, civic summit Leave a comment »On April 19, 2012, Winona State University hosted the inaugural civic summit on the National Issues Forum and American Commonwealth Project Deliberative Dialogue Initiative on Shaping Our Future: How Should Higher Education Help Us Create The Society We Want? The first national conversation using this issue guide was held in honor of WSU’s retiring president, Judith Ramaley, who is a tireless advocate for higher education and its civic mission. President Ramaley serves as a member of the President’s Council for the American Commonwealth Partnership.
Over 110 participants attended the Civic Summit at Winona State University. Individuals came as high school and college students, university faculty and staff, community members, higher education experts, media editors and journalists, local law enforcement, and business people. It was quite the range of participants and they were mixed in groups with WSU students as trained moderators through the Minnesota Campus Compact moderator training series.
When organizing the Civic Summit, we immediately determined the event should be student led, as moderators, participants and organizers. This stems from our rich experience in student organizing and mobilizing efforts. It also reflects our experience with the Center for Democracy and Citizenship’s training led by Harry Boyte and Dennis Donovan in the “We the People” series held with the Minnesota Campus Compact in Spring 2011. For many of the fifteen plus students who became moderators, this was a new experience. Despite its unfamiliarity, the students rose to the challenge, prepared their notes, and were comfortable enough to welcome others to their tables. Each group of approximately 10-12 guests had two students—one as moderator and one as recorder. Each group was designed to have a variety of individuals from different backgrounds, however the structure was very minimal to encourage open and honest discussion. With little formality, students forged ahead, were indeed taken seriously by others, and extolled confidence and credibility to members of their groups.
“Seeing the different levels of a university present in one group with community members truly provided unique input regarding the different approaches. Seeing the differences between the views of students, professors, and members of the administration was extremely interesting, however, what was more exciting, was seeing the areas they agreed upon – that higher education does indeed help us create the society we want…” Laura Lake
One particular group that was indicative of the principles behind the NIF process included a local and well-respected business person from the Winona community. Known for his conservative underpinnings and his large contributions (nearly a quarter of a million annually to local grants and scholarships for students and community members), this community member began with strong support of American exceptionalism and Approach One. It was evident of the potential generation gap experienced within the group as the local businessman began the discussion by voicing his stereotype that young people were lazy, took out too many loans, and used the money to go on vacation. As one student shared his personal experience in joining the army (ROTC) to fund his education and his education at MCTC and transferring to WSU, without adequate financial aid and the lack of family support to co-sign loans, group members visibly recall the local businessman becoming more favorable and open to thinking about other ideas and other perspectives, with genuine respect towards the student advocating for and needing more student and financial aid. It became clear the businessman had changed his mind after he heard the student’s personal experience and was open to seeing the other side as the group’s discussion continued. In the end for the local businessperson, Approach II received support to train responsibility through community service. While there was not an overall consensus regarding one approach over the other in this group and many others, this particular experience in the Winona Civic Summit: NIF Forum demonstrated a student and a businessman taking each other seriously and respecting their differences on the shared purpose of higher education.
One aspect of the Civic Summit that makes it so exceptional is that people of all walks of life participate in the democratic process together. Having such a diverse group of individuals discussing a public issue or good can cause participants to feel hesitant about what the outcomes of the dialogue will be. Student-moderator Courtney Juelich, had first-hand experience with this principle within her democracy pod:
“At first many of the students, both college and high school, were apprehensive about talking openly with adults. They were not quick to answer the posed questions and often looked to myself or to the three older members of the group after a question was stated. After introductions and finding common ground on themes and experiences, communication was fluid and respectful between all members in my democracy pods.” Courtney Juelich
Even though participants came from all sorts of backgrounds but with a shared interest and common purpose, in the end the differences we previously used to distinguish ourselves were less important and noticeable than the sense of community, which was established over the shared principles of mutual respect and open discussion. Student-moderators thoroughly enjoyed the process and felt empowered to be taken seriously and welcomed in a group of diverse generations and members. We feel very fortunate to have launched this national conversation on the role of higher education in communities such as ours. We also want to thank all of the participants for thoughtfully contributing to the health and well-being of democracy and deliberative dialogue in Winona. Special thanks are extended to the Kettering Foundation, the National Issues Forum, and the American Commonwealth Partnership for granting us permission to pioneer this dialogue. We wish President Ramaley the best in her retirement from Winona State University and appreciatively recognize and celebrate her support of the civic mission and the civic responsibility of the university with Winona and beyond.
Courtney L. Juelich is a junior at Winona State University and a major in Political Science and Public Administration with a minor in Economics. She was one of the student organizers of the Civic Summit. Her hometown is Chanhassen, Minnesota. She was the creator and writer of the 2012 Warrior Grant named “The Green Grant”, which after winning the student referendum vote will create a self-sufficient composting system for the Winona State campus to collect organic food scraps as well as to educate the student body on the process of composting and how it is beneficial to the environment.
Laura A. Lake is a junior at Winona State University and a major in Political Science and Public Administration with a Music minor. She is involved in Pi Sigma Alpha, Political Science Association, Student Senate, and National Residence Hall Honorary, and is currently a Resident Assistant, and will be an Assistant Hall director in the following year. Laura was the lead organizer of the Civic Summit. Her hometown is Hillsboro, Oregon.
Kara Lindaman serves as the American Democracy Project Coordinator at Winona State University, where she is an associate professor of political science and public administration. She also serves on the Steering Committee of the American Commonwealth Partnership and enjoys collaborating with civically minded and passionately motivated students such as these.
The ACP’s New Initiatives Promote Civic Education and Education as a Public Good
Posted: April 3, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: A Crucible Moment, ACP, Center for Democracy and Citizenship, citizenry, civic education, civic engagement, Civic Mission, Deliberate Democracy, Morrill Act, Participatory democracy, Student Organizing Initiative Leave a comment »The American Commonwealth Partnership (ACP) is an alliance of community colleges, colleges and universities, P-12 schools and others dedicated to building “democracy colleges” throughout higher education. A Presidents’ Advisory Council, composed of distinguished college and university presidents who have long been leaders in engaged higher education movement, offers continuing counsel and wisdom (see list below).
Launched at the White House on January 10th, 2012, the start of the 150th anniversary year of the Morrill Act which created land grant colleges, signed by President Lincoln in 1862, ACP uses the concept of democracy colleges from land grant and community college history. Democracy colleges convey the idea of colleges and universities deeply connected to their communities, which make education for citizenship a signature identity.
The work of building democracy colleges draws on a rich tradition, dating back to Abraham Lincoln’s presidency:
The White House meeting, “For Democracy’s Future – Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission”, marked a new stage of coordinated effort to bring about a commitment to civic education and education as a public good. It was organized in partnership with the White House Office of Public Engagement, the Department of Education, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and the Campaign for the Civic Mission of the Schools.
At the White House, the Department of Education released its Road Map and Call to Action on civic learning and democratic engagement, described in remarks by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement released A Crucible Moment, a report to the nation on the need for a shift in civic learning from “partial” to “pervasive.”
ACP highlighted institutions that have taken steps toward becoming democracy colleges, including community colleges, liberal arts colleges, state colleges and universities, and research institutions. ACP continues to consult with Undersecretary for Higher Education Martha Kanter and her Office of Postsecondary Education on policies to strengthen higher education’s public engagement and is also helping to organize state level policy initiatives on the topic.
The ACP coalition promotes several initiatives including:
The Deliberative Dialogue Initiative, in partnership with the National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), is organizing a discussion on campuses and in communities on higher education’s role in America’s future. It is to be complemented by a communications effort to convey the potential of higher education in teaching skills, such as listening, deliberation, teamwork, negotiating different interests and views, to work across differences on public problems. Research by NIFI suggests that the public is largely unaware of higher education’s contributions to such skill development – seen as an urgent need by citizens of many views and backgrounds in order to turn around the growing divisiveness and polarization in America.
Citizen Alum Initiative, directed by Julie Ellison of the University of Michigan, aims to change the framework of alumni relations, partnering with alumni as “do-ers” as well as donors. Citizen Alum aims to find the hidden treasure—the creative, civic, intellectual, and social capital of alumni – especially recent “gap alums” and alums who opt out of conventional roles, supporting them as contributors to their home communities and as allies in education.
Student Organizing Initiative is a campaign to deepen the civic identity of college students, develop skills of deliberative public work, and strengthen the DemocracyU social media campaign and website as resources for students to share their stories and address their concerns for America’s democracy. This initiative is also exploring strategies for putting cross partisan citizen-centered politics back at the center of the highly polarized election campaign of 2012.
Pedagogies of Empowerment and Engagement Initiative is an organizing effort spearheaded by Blase Scarnati of Northern Arizona University. It will identity and collect the details of effective pedagogies of empowerment and engagement across the country that teach skills to work across differences. The group will also recruit new sites and partners.
Public Scholarship Initiative is organized by Scott Peters of Cornell University, Tim Eatman of Imagining America at Syracuse University, and John Saltmarsh of NERCHE (UMASS Boston). The team have began a participatory research project with various institutions on the work of building democracy colleges in the 21st century.
Campus-Community Civic Health Initiative, coordinated by the American Democracy Project in partnership with the National Conference on Citizenship, is developing ways to assess the impact of colleges and universities on community and campus civic health.
Civic Science Initiative is organized by John Spencer at the University of Iowa, Scott Peters at Cornell University, Molly Jahn at the University of Wisconsin, Rom Coles at Northern Arizona University, and Harry Boyte at Augsburg College and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. Civic science is a framework for understanding scientists as citizens, working with other citizens in ways that respect different ways of knowing, deepening collective wisdom on public questions, and developing civic agency.
ACP Policy Initiative, building on policy discussions with the Department of Education in 2011, focuses on state level policies strengthening engagement, and is consulting with the DOE on an ongoing basis about policies to strengthen engagement.
Presidents’ Advisory Council
Co-Chairs
Nancy Cantor, Chancellor, Syracuse University
Brian Murphy, President, De Anza College
Members
M. Christopher Brown, President, Alcorn State University
Thomas Ehrlich, President Emeritus, Indiana University
Freeman Hrabowski, President, University of Maryland Baltimore County
David Mathews, President Emeritus, University of Alabama
Paul Pribbenow, President, Augsburg College
Judith Ramaley, President, Winona State University
Inaugural Host Institution
Augsburg College, Minneapolis
National Coordinator
Harry Boyte, Director, Center for Democracy and Citizenship
Visit us on Facebook ( www.facebook.com/democracyu) and Twitter (@democracyu ) to help us spread the word about this campaign with your community.
For more information or to submit a blog, please email Karina Cherfas (kcherfas@gmail.com) or Karin Kamp (karinkamp@gmail.com).
The Next Generation of Engaged Scholars: Graduate Students Mobilize
Posted: February 22, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chronicle of Higher Education, civic engagement, Civic Mission, Ethnicity, Higher Education, Imagining America, Race, Scholarship in Action, Syracuse University, youth, Youth participation 1 Comment »At Syracuse University, there is a focused effort to embody democratic education through teaching, research, and engaged praxis. The rhetoric of publicly engaged scholarship is communicated through our vision, Scholarship in Action, and we purposefully enact the civic mission of higher education through hiringand admission practices, funded initiatives and within the scope of graduate education and research. Graduate education is an important site for the articulation and development of higher education’s role in participatory democracy because graduate students are the next generation of university professorate, administrators, and community partners.
Last October, The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article titled, Syracuse’ Slide where, among other things, Syracuse University’s commitment to publicly engaged scholarship was criticized as playing a role in lowering standards and reducing the national prestige of our university. This article mobilized graduate students from across campus, galvanizing us to speak back, across disciplinary boundaries, to the unfair depiction of our commitment to the university as a public good. The article deepened our level of solidarity as graduate students, stimulating an urgency about declaring the value of publicly engaged scholarship. Far from a slide, partnering with community stakeholders for the robust and dynamic production of knowledge is indicative of Syracuse’s Rise.
In my role as director for Imagining America: Artist and Scholars in Public Life’s Central New York, Publicly Active Graduate Education (PAGE), I e-mailed a copy of the article to PAGE members and suggested we write a collective letter to the editor. The response was overwhelming. Eighty-seven people identifying as “Syracuse’s Engaged Grads” answered the call offering to either help draft or sign the letter. The most remarkable feature of this response was the refusal of members of the Syracuse University graduate community to allow our University’s leadership in the new epistemology of reciprocal knowledge making to be mislabeled as anything but the most rigorous of scholarship. Using our own democratic practices as the foundation of our letter, we argued that:
• The building of knowledge is inseparable from practice;
• The inclusion of traditionally underrepresented students generates increased scholarly rigor by expanding perspectives;
• The dichotomous thinking that separates university and community knowledge is anachronistic;
• Community members are our partners and lived space is our laboratory and
• Engaged practice informs collective understandings and helps to create coalitions for civic action.
I am only one of the people who contributed to Syracuse’s Rise; it was a truly organic collaborative response to a gross mischaracterization facilitated by a far-reaching vehicle. I am proud to be a graduate student at an institution where our leadership, our professorate, and our student body are working to expand the paradigm of knowledge making to center the public good. When we consider our democracy in the United States today, there is no space for arguing if the University should engaged with the public; the time has passed for this question. Rather, it is for us, graduate students, to explore and develop new ways that our learning can cross disciplines and, quite literally, cross the street to respond to the problems and questions of the communities we rise up in. We believe that the strongest, richest, and most impactful knowledge making requires an honored place along the
continuum of scholarship for the acknowledgement of diverse scholarly forms and deep engagement.
A. Wendy Nastasi is a third year doctoral student in the Cultural Foundations of EducationDepartment in the School of Education at Syracuse University. Wendy is director of ImagingAmerica’s CNY PAGE program, and a member of IA’s Publicly Engaged Scholars study researchteam. As an instructor for SU’s Intergroup Dialogue Program, Wendy co-facilitates SOC/WGS 230:Intergroup Dialogue on Race and Ethnicity. Wendy’s research engages youth participatory actionresearch (YPAR) as a praxis for mobilizing urban high school students’ civic agency while centering youth’s voices and epistemic contributions. You can contact Wendy at either awnastas@syr.edu or at cnypage.syr.edu.
“For Democracy’s Future: Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission”- White House Event Reinforces The Need For Civic Education
Posted: January 12, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ACP, Arne Duncan, Civic Education. Civic Engagement, Civic Mission, Democracy, department of education, Engaged Citizenship, White House Leave a comment »At the White House yesterday, the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan,called on a gathering of civic education, government, business and philanthropy leaders to provide practical civic engagement opportunities for students from grade school to graduate school.
The group, along with other senior Obama Administration officials, were gathered to launch a national conversation “For Democracy’s Future: Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission” focusing on the importance of educating students for informed and engaged citizenship.
“Our young people have an appetite, their committed, they want to be engaged … But somehow we’ve walked away from providing those opportunities,” Duncan said. He added that he sees education as more than ‘book’ knowledge and included teaching students to participate in a vibrant democracy.
“Hands on learning experiences that engage young people in the community and have them, at very early ages start to see the impact they can have, I think, is probably the best way to teach that,”Duncan said.
Skills young people gain through civic engagement –critical thinking, working in diverse teams and asking hard questions – are the same skills that they will need to be successful in the economy.
Duncan also said that when senior college students are surveyed, they feel they have had less opportunities to make a difference during their time in college than when they first entered college. “That passion is there, that desire is there but somehow we’re not meeting that need. So collectively we have to do something very, very different”.
The White House event also marked the release of “A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future,” a new report to the Department of Education from leading civic scholars and practitioners, as well as the Department’s own report, “Advancing Civic Learning and Engagement in Democracy: A Road Map and Call to Action.”
Event also introduced the new American Commonwealth Partnership, which aims to bring together thousands of universities, colleges, community colleges, schools and other civic partners to promote civic education,civic mission and civic identity throughout all of education in the United States.
Senior Advisor to the President, Valerie Jarrett also spoke and reaffirmed President Obama’s commitment to education. “We hope that this provides us with a launching off point, a catalyst, the beginning of what we hope will be an ongoing engagement.”
Harry Boyte, Director of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at Augsburg College, talked about the importance of “democracy colleges”, which he said would reinvent citizenship for the 21st century. Boyte said moving the ACP (powered by DemocracyU) forward and developing these democracy colleges across the country is critical for the future of education and society in general.
“We see ourselves as responding to the call of the nation, to the crisis of the nation. There is a deep sense that we need to move from a ‘me’ culture to a ‘we’ culture,” Boyte said.
Student Engagement
A number of students and graduates also spoke on panels at the event. One, Nikki Cooley, of the Dinesh tribe also known as Navaho, who is a program coordinator at Northern Arizona University, recalled having trouble in math and science and not being interested in it in high school.
“I come from 17 million acres of land where 80 percent of the people don’t have electricity or running water, ” Cooley said. Her parents didn’t get electricity until 2011 (and are still waiting for running water). It was being connected to opportunities that were relevant to her background, she said, that led her to understand how and why math and science mattered to her future.
“I realized I had opportunities that were relevant to my background. That used my background as a Navaho woman … who is concerned about issues on the Navaho reservation and other native communities. Because that is who I am, first and foremost.”
Cooley described how cultivating these interests led her to complete a Master’s in forestry works, and work with climate scientists to learn more about climate change on the Colorado Plateau.
“If I [learned about] that in high school I would have been more inclined to be interested or stay awake in class,” she said. Cooley went on to urge the government and educators to consider relevant cultural educational opportunities when thinking about democracy in colleges and universities.
Bianca Brown, a student at Western Kentucky University and a senior coach at Public Achievement, spoke about the role of students and citizenship.
“It’s not enough to hang an American flag in front of your home and call yourself a citizen,” she said. Brown spoke to the importance of sharing knowledge and “empowering the un-empowered” through activity, and being engaged as a student.
She also said that her university professor, Paul Markham, gave her inspiration and the support she needed to find her voice. “I lived in the projects for ten years but I was always passionate. I always wanted to focus that passion,” Brown told DemocracyU.
It was the encouragement of collaborative work at university that showed her how to focus that passion, she added.
Watch the videos of all speakers at the event :
For Democracy’s Future: Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission (Part 1)
For Democracy’s Future: Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission (Part 2)
Read more on Civic Learning and Engagement in Democracy at U.S. Dept of Ed: http://www.ed.gov/civic-learning
Post-Event Discussion:”For Democracy’s Future: Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission.” We invite all to join us on facebook and twitter @DemocracyU and convene a local debate on the importance of higher education’s civic mission.
Posted: January 10, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: American Commonwealth Partnership, American Democracy, Citizenship, Civic Mission, Democracy, department of education, Higher Education, Morril Act, White House 3 Comments »Reinventing Citizenship and the Role of Education
Citizenship has different meanings. For some citizenship means voting. Some see it as a legal status, or obeying the law, or being a good person and a role model. To others it means respecting those of different views and backgrounds. “Productive citizenship” means making a public contribution through work, paid or unpaid – one can be a citizen teacher, a citizen business owner, or a citizen homemaker.There is no single “right answer” to the question, “what is a citizen?”People also have different views on where education for citizenship takes place. Some see families as the main “school for citizenship.” Other stress schools, colleges, universities or religious congregations. Many see all these playing important though differing roles. This discussion is intended to begin an ongoing national conversation on the topic of what is citizenship, what role does civic education and engagement play in being a citizen and how do we educate for it?Some questions to get you started:
- If you were explaining the responsibilities that come with being an American citizen to a visitor from another country, what would you say?
- As citizens, what do you think we owe to future generations?
- What are the roles and responsibilities of different groups (e.g. families, schools, colleges or universities) in educating citizens?
- What are your ideas for how we can learn to listen to each other and work together across partisan and other divides?
- What are the skills and values of 21st century citizenship? Do we have new or additional responsibilities that we didn’t have in the past?
- Do you think it’s important for students to get involved in civic work on campus and in their communities at large?
- How can civic engagement benefit our democracy as a whole?
A Crucible Moment: Civic Learning and America’s Future DemocracyU- American Commonwealth Partnership’s website. Center for Democracy and Citizenship The Center for Democracy and Citizenship collaborates with a variety of partners to promote active citizenship and public work by people of all ages. The center’s work is grounded in the belief that a healthy democracy requires everyone’s participation, and that each of us has something to contribute. National Issues Forums InstituteNational Issues Forums (NIF) is a network of civic, educational, and other organizations, and individuals, whose common interest is to promote public deliberation in America. It has grown to include thousands of civic clubs, religious organizations, libraries, schools, and many other groups that meet to discuss critical public issues. Forum participants range from teenagers to retirees, prison inmates to community leaders, and literacy students to university students.NIF does not advocate specific solutions or points of view but provides citizens the opportunity to consider a broad range of choices, weigh the pros and cons of those choices, and meet with each other in a public dialogue to identify the concerns they hold in common.
Highlights From
A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future
A report from the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement
In response to widespread concern about the nation’s anemic civic health, A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future calls for investing in higher education’s capacity to make civic learning and democratic engagement widely shared national priorities. The report calls on higher education and many partners in education, government, and public life to advance a 21st century conception of civic learning and democratic engagement as an expected part of every student’s college education.
A New Vision for Civic Learning in Higher Education
An earlier definition of civic education stressed familiarity with the various branches of government and acquaintance with basic information about U.S. history. This is still essential but no longer nearly enough. Americans still need to understand how their political system works and how to influence it. But they also need to understand the cultural and global contexts in which democracy is both deeply valued and deeply contested. Moreover, the competencies basic to democracy cannot be learned only by studying books; democratic knowledge and capabilities are honed through hands-on, face-to-face, active engagement in the midst of differing perspectives about how to address common problems that affect the well-being of the nation and the world.
Civic learning that includes knowledge, skills, values, and the capacity to work with others on civic and societal challenges can help increase the number of informed, thoughtful, and public-minded citizens well prepared to contribute in the context of the diverse, dynamic, globally connected United States. Civic learning should prepare students with knowledge and for action in our communities.
Components of 21st century civic learning should include:
- Knowledge of U.S. history, political structures, and core democratic principles and founding documents; and debates—US and global—about their meaning and application;
- Knowledge of the political systems that frame constitutional democracies and of political levers for affecting change;
- Knowledge of diverse cultures and religions in the US and around the world;
- Critical inquiry and reasoning capacities;
- Deliberation and bridge-building across differences;
- Collaborative decision-making skills;
- Open-mindedness and capacity to engage different points of view and cultures;
- Civic problem-solving skills and experience
- Civility, ethical integrity, and mutual respect.
- Reclaim and reinvest in the fundamental civic and democratic mission of schools and of all sectors within higher education
- Enlarge the current national narrative that erases civic aims and civic literacy as educational priorities contributing to social, intellectual, and economic capital
- Advance a contemporary, comprehensive framework for civic learning—embracing US and global interdependence—that includes historic and modern understandings of democratic values, capacities to engage diverse perspectives and people, and commitment to collective civic problem-solving
- Capitalize upon the interdependent responsibilities of K-12 and higher education to foster progressively higher levels of civic knowledge, skills, examined values, and action as expectations for every student
- Expand the number of robust, generative civic partnerships and alliances locally, nationally, and globally to address common problems, empower people to act, strengthen communities and nations, and generate new frontiers of knowledge
A Crucible Moment provides specific campus examples illustrating how to move from “partial transformation to pervasive civic and democratic learning and practices.”
See www.aacu.org/civic_learning/crucible for full report; see Chapter 3 for full set of recommendations.
[1] Adapted from the National Issues Forums Institute
Watch “For Democracy’s Future: Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission” Live from the White House and Join the Conversation
Posted: January 9, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: American Commonweatlh Parntership, civic learning, Civic Mission, Democracy, Higher Education, White House Leave a comment »On January 10th 2012, at the White House, a group of higher education and civic leaders with government officials will launch a year of activities to revitalize the democratic purposes and civic mission of American education.
The event is called: “For Democracy’s Future: Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission.” The Department of Education and the American Commonwealth Partnership (ACP) have joined with the Association of American Colleges and Universities, whose major report to the nation, “A Crucible Moment: Civic Learning and Democracy’s Future”, will also be released on that date.
“For Democracy’s Future seeks to change the long term dynamic that has led to an ‘ivory tower’ culture in many colleges and universities,” said Harry Boyte, chair of the ACP and Director of the Center for Democracy and citizenship at Augsburg College. “In a time of mounting challenges, the nation, and our local communities, cannot afford to have higher education on the sidelines. It needs to be back in the middle of problem solving and helping to lead a rebirth of citizenship,” he said.
The January 10th event will be streamed live at the White House ( http://www.whitehouse.gov/live. ) Viewers are invited to host their own discussions during the afternoon breakout session. Below, please find the event’s program and the discussion guide, for those groups and individuals wishing to watch the event and engage in dialogue similar to those discussions taking place in the untelevised breakout sessions.
WHAT: For Democracy’s Future: Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission
WHEN: Tuesday, January 10, 2012
TIME: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM EST (Streaming will be interrupted from approximately 4:00pm EST to 5:30pm EST to accommodate live breakout discussions at the event. Those watching the live stream are encouraged to concurrently participate in discussions using the attached “Discussion Guide” during the break.)
WHERE: www.WhiteHouse.gov/live
RSVP: Email CivicLearning@ed.gov with “Live Stream” in the subject to let us know you’ll view the event online, or with “Satellite Event” in the subject if you will host a viewing session for others.
DemocracyU is proud to lead ACP’s social media campaign. We will be posting event’s updates throughout the day on our Facebook and Twitter pages and invite everyone to participate in the on-going discussion to promote higher education’s civic mission.
For more information, please contact Karina Cherfas at kcherfas@gmail.com.
http://civicyouth.org/democracyu
A Live Event at the White House: The American Commonwealth Partnership and The Department of Education Join To Launch a Year of Citizenship and Civic Education
Posted: January 6, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ACO, American Democracy, Civic Mission, Democracy's Future, DemocracyU, department of education, Higher Education, Morril Act, President Lincoln, White House Leave a comment »On January 10th 2012, at the White House, a group of higher education and civic leaders with government officials will launch a year of activities to revitalize the democratic purposes and civic mission of American education.
The event is called: “For Democracy’s Future: Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission.” The Department of Education and the American Commonwealth Partnership (ACP) have joined with the Association of American Colleges and Universities, whose major report to the nation, “A Crucible Moment: Civic Learning and Democracy’s Future”, will also be released on that date.
The year will include a coordinated series of activities – local dialogues, forums, town meetings, and projects fostering civic identity. The goal is to strengthen the role of colleges, schools and other educational groups in educating students to be citizens; in connecting to local communities; and in engaging with the urgent problems of the nation. The year 2012 marks the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act, signed by President Abraham Lincoln, which created land grant colleges across America.
“For Democracy’s Future seeks to change the long term dynamic that has led to an ‘ivory tower’ culture in many colleges and universities,” said Harry Boyte, chair of the ACP and Director of the Center for Democracy and citizenship at Augsburg College. “In a time of mounting challenges, the nation, and our local communities, cannot afford to have higher education on the sidelines. It needs to be back in the middle of problem solving and helping to lead a rebirth of citizenship,” he said.
The January 10th event will be streamed live at the White House ( http://www.whitehouse.gov/live. ) Viewers are invited to host their own discussions during the afternoon breakout sessions. More information and a discussion guide will be posted on our site soon.
About the ACP and DemocracyU
The American Commonwealth Partnership is a cross-partisan campaign which is part of a coordinated effort with the White House Office of Public Engagement, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and the Department of Education. The American Commonwealth Partnership (ACP) was formed last year and brings together colleges, universities, community colleges, schools and other civic partners to create a strong “civic identity” in families, schools, professions, colleges and universities.
DemocracyU is proud to lead ACP’s social media campaign. Everyone is invited to contribute to our blog and to interact on our Facebook and Twitter.
We are honored to be participating in this national effort to promote higher education’s civic mission.
For more information, please contact Karina Cherfas at kcherfas@gmail.com.
http://civicyouth.org/democracyu
Citizen Alum: Bringing Alumni Back into the Action
Posted: December 12, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ACP, Alum, civic engagement, Civic Mission, Democracy, White House, White House Office of Public Engagement Leave a comment »By Karin Kamp, DemocracyU
If you’re a college alum, or will be sometime soon, you know that connecting with your alma mater after graduation usually means being on the receiving end of campus communications: reading the alumni magazine, clicking on emails from the alumni association chapter, and finding requests for financial donations in your mailbox.
A new group called Citizen Alum believes that colleges and universities would benefit enormously by expanding the way in which they engage with graduates.
“Alumni can be important partners in community-engaged learning and in strengthening the college’s public mission,” said Dr. Julie Ellision, the director of Citizen Alum, and a professor in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan.
The group is affiliated with the American Commonwealth Partners, a broad coalition of colleges and universities, community colleges, schools and community partners to promote civic education, civic mission, and civic identity throughout education in America.
Citizen Alum sees itself as an opportunity to harness the talents of alumni to help students and to become partners in campus life — from the colleges they attended to the schools in their home towns. The initiative aims to increase the range of people who consider themselves stakeholders in the future of U.S. higher education.
Citizen Alum says they are working to build new relationships with alumni who may not identify with standard alumni activities and the more traditional ways in which universities try to get their attention. They are currently focusing on reaching out to alumni to learn more about what matters most to them in their everyday lives.
To this end, a number of colleges and universities have begun ‘listening projects’ to understand how alumni engage with students and campus programs as well as with local organizations and global networks. These listening projects range from alumni interviews by staff or current students, alumni chapter meetings on the theme of active citizenship, research surveys, or workshops to reflect on vocation. The alums whose stories are now being heard include many whose public work has gone unrecognized.
Citizen Alum says that current students will benefit from this new type of alumni engagement as connections to alumni will allow universities and colleges to better support graduating students as they look ahead to a post-baccalaureate life of work, citizenship, and learning.
“Citizen Alum is responding to a thirst among both students and alumni to make meaningful connections between ideas in the classroom and life after graduation,” said Alex Olson, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan, who is a participating investigator for the project.
“Students are desperate for jobs but they have not lost the desire to make a difference,” he added. Valued for their work as catalysts of change, alumni can build relationships and contribute to classes, collaborate on campus-community projects, and serve as mentors for students in transition.
Ellision says Citizen Alum is currently developing a pilot program to identify best practices from colleges and universities that take a fresh approach to alumni relations. “We are seeing this energy among ‘gap alums’—people who graduated in the last five years—as well as ‘situated alums,’ people who are long-term residents of their cities and towns. Through their work lives, personal lives, and learning lives, all of these alumni have so much to offer, and we want to capitalize on that. In this case, it’s not just about the money,” ” Ellision told DemocracyU.
Citizen Alum plans to broaden alumni relations to include other measures of value, channeling the social, cultural, and creative capital of alums into relationships with current students and recent graduates.
Citizen Alum is affiliated with the American Commonwealth Partners, a broad coalition of colleges and universities, community colleges, schools and community partners to promote civic education, civic mission, and civic identity throughout education in America. The ACP is part of a coordinated effort, For Democracy’s Future, with the White House Office of Public Engagement, the Department of Education, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and the Civic Mission of Schools that will be launched at the White House on January 10, to reclaim education’s civic mission.
DemocracyU is proud to be part of The American Commonwealth Partnership
Posted: December 7, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: activism, American Commonwealth Partnership, civic engagement, civic learning, Civic Mission, Democracy, democratic engagment, educational change, Higher Education Leave a comment »About The American Commonwealth Partnership
The American Commonwealth Partnership (ACP) is a new partnership which aims to bring together thousands of colleges and universities, community colleges, schools and civic partners to promote civic education, civic mission, and civic identity throughout education in the United States. It is part of a coordinated effort with the White House Office of Public Engagement, the Department of Education, and the Association of American Colleges and Universities, to begin a year of activity called, “For Democracy’s Future – Reclaiming Education’s Civic Mission.”
ACP will kick off at the White House on January 10th on the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act, signed by President Lincoln in 1862. The Morrill Act created colleges known for their commitment to democracy.
As part of the initiative, the Department of Education is preparing a policy initiative to strengthen civic learning and democratic engagement in higher education and education broadly.
For the project the ACP has created DemocracyU to highlight the interest by university and college students to engage in civic work. It includes students’ stories of off-campus engagement in practical public work that benefits communities and society as a whole. It will also include discussions on the future of democracy in America and as the site grows, a variety of tools, resources and conversations about constructive educational change.
