Perspectives of a Lifelong Learner
For me, this article by Jennifer Breheny Wallace really hits home. In 1960 we moved, for the first time, from Colorado to California. I was eleven. There would be a couple more riding between Denver and LA on the California Zephyr. Although we had lived in Colorado Springs and like my big sister before me,... Continue Reading →
U.S. public education is rooted in the belief by early American leaders that the most important knowledge to impart to young people is what it means to be a citizen. If America is experiencing a civic crisis now, as many say it is, schools may well be failing at that job. To better understand the... Continue Reading →
"Civic education, like all education, is a continuing enterprise and conversation," Roberts said. "Each generation has an obligation to pass on to the next, not only a fully functioning government responsive to the needs of the people, but the tools to understand and improve it." http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2019/12/chief_justice_warns_that_civic.html?cmp=soc-facebook-shr&fbclid=IwAR37tJFJVhBdrL8AjkfWThXnVjg5phhNWbcv6oPeTAnlYE9JiEtClEdfsZs http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2019/12/chief_justice_warns_that_civic.html?cmp=soc-facebook-shr&fbclid=IwAR37tJFJVhBdrL8AjkfWThXnVjg5phhNWbcv6oPeTAnlYE9JiEtClEdfsZs
"To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required--not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a... Continue Reading →
"Civic Saturday is a civic analogue to a faith gathering: a gathering of friends and strangers in a common place to nurture a spirit of shared purpose. But it’s not about church religion or synagogue or mosque religion. It’s about American civic religion—the creed of liberty, equality, and self-government that truly unites us. At Civic... Continue Reading →
https://represent.us Our political system is broken, or so says Represent.Us. Regardless of the source, this thesis certainly needs our attention. On the surface, the organization offers food for thought for those concerned about the apparent dysfunction of our political process and methods of governance. Though well intentioned, it does makes an overly generalized statement concerning... Continue Reading →
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/02/opinion/sunday/political-polarization.html?fbclid=IwAR0t4dN76SYMSwq0VcLp_Eo6cjEAwCmpB0SBxksbJRDrFi6fuACkUCgodJg This is a must read. Arthur Brook's focus on contempt does seem to capture the mood of the nation although I would posit, with all due respect to the Civil War, this is not the most polarizing period of American history. It may just be quibbling but the Reconstruction Period, the occupation of southern States... Continue Reading →
"This crisis of incivility has become a chronic condition of public life. Consequently, incivility is compromising the success of American society and especially the viability of the government. We should not, however, assign the blame exclusively to our leaders. As a people, Americans have become highly desensitized to behaviors that would have been outrageous not... Continue Reading →
One of my central mantras. Many in the K-12 system and undergraduate programs think they are addressing civics adequately--THEY ARE NOT. Too often the system is geared towards meeting the short-term political needs of state capitols or employing teachers that are more interested in espousing their own political beliefs rather than providing the learning... Continue Reading →
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