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
Share your civic engagement work with us and the White House.
Posted: December 25, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ACP, civic engagement, democray, department of education, Education, Morrill Act, President Lincoln, White House Leave a comment »If you’re interested in sharing your civic engagement work on our blog, contact Karina Cherfas (kcherfas@gmail.com). Blog posts should be a few hundred words and focused on civic work on and off campus.
These questions can serve as a guideline for the posts:
Briefly describe the type of civic initiatives you are working on:
- Why is this work important to you?
- What have you learned through the experience?
- Why is it important for students to be engaged in civic initiatives?
There is no right or wrong answer, we just want to hear from engaged citizens like you and the impact students’ participation in civic work has on Higher Education and our Democracy.
It is critical that we can bring your voice to the White House and to the Department of Education to show that fixing our democracy is something that young people care deeply about, and have much to contribute to.
DemocracyU is proud to be part of The American Commonwealth Partnership, a broad alliance of higher education, P-12 schools and educational groups, philanthropies, businesses and others, 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, to begin a year of activity called, “For Democracy’s Future – Reclaiming Our Civic Mission.” It will kick off on the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act, signed by President Lincoln in 1862, another year of crisis in the nation. 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.
DemocracyU, together with ACP, are working to deepen the civic identity of educational institutions, moving engagement from activities to strong commitments to education as a public good.That’s because American students are making a difference. And in the process they’re beginning to co-create the kind of higher education they need and want for the 21st century.
Share your stories and ideas with us and inspire others.
Thank you in advance for your interest and we look forward to hearing from you.
DemocracyU staff
