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ACTION CIVICS: HARNESSING LITERACY SKILLS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE CHANGE MARY ELLEN DANEELS COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL, WEST CHICAGO, IL
ACTION CIVICS: HARNESSING LITERACY SKILLS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE CHANGE
MARY ELLEN DANEELSCOMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL, WEST CHICAGO, IL
AGENDA
My “paradigm shift” Helping kids make the
shift Tools and resources to
help students become “21st Century Citizens”
Connections to the “alphabet soup” of initiatives (CCSS, C3, P21, etc.)
COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
WHAT IS EFFECTIVE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY?
The 21st Century Citizen
“WHAT KIND OF CITIZEN? THE POLITICS OF EDUCATING FOR DEMOCRACY” BY JOEL WESTHEIMER & JOSEPH KAHNE AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL. VOLUME 41 NO. 2, SUMMER 2004, 237-269.
Personally Responsible Citizen
Participatory Citizen
Justice-Oriented Citizen
Description
• Volunteers in times of crisis
• Works and pays taxes
• Recycles and gives blood
• Active member of community groups
• Organizes efforts
• Knows how government agencies work
• Critically analyzes problems to seek out “root causes”
• Seeks out and addresses areas of injustice
• Knows how to effect systemic change.
Sample action
Contributes to a food drive
Organizes a food drive
Explores why people are hungry and acts to resolve root causes.
TWO-BOX INDUCTION
I am going to sort a number of statements into either category “A” or category “B”
It will be the job of your group to define the pattern
Why are some statements in “A” and others in “B”
WHAT IS THE PATTERN?
Students participate in a prairie cleanup
Students rake leaves for seniors in the community
Students provide landscaping services for a Habit for Humanity home
Students serve as peer tutors for freshmen in study hall
Students clean out their closet and donate items to Goodwill
Students serve as election judges.
Students lobby for the need to have suffrage at 17 for primary elections.
Students testify in front of legislative committee about the need for recycling in schools
Students testify before local zoning board about new subdivision’s impact on fens.
WHAT IS THE PATTERN?
Students collect money for a local animal shelter
Students volunteer to unpack food at a local food pantry
Students collect toiletries for Veteran’s home
Students work with a community group to help citizens navigate FOIA laws.
Students conduct a survey about school climate and present findings with policy recommendations to the school board.
Students volunteer to circulate a petition for a referendum on a new recreational center.
CIVIC ACTION Civil Society
Actions taken by individuals or groups within the community to meet needs within the community
Often deal with the “symptoms” of issues
“Service-Learning”
Public Policy Actions taken to
influence the democratic institutions with the community to address issues within the community.
Inform or influence policy that deals with “root causes” of issues
“Action Civics”
MIKVA CHALLENGE “ROOT CAUSE TREE”
NATIONAL ACTION CIVICS COLLABORATIVE
“GOOD” TO GOVERNANCE
PROJECT CITIZEN: CENTER FOR CIVIC EDUCATION HTTP://NEW.CIVICED.ORG/PROGRAMS/PROJECT-
CITIZEN
PROJECT SOAPBOX
ROOT CAUSES: SCHOOL CLIMATE
Lack of self esteem Significant personal
issues Media Lack of respect and
trust
Public Policy Solutions: must be addressed by school board and administration
Core Issue: School Climate
Civil Society Solution: what groups within school can do
Dean’s enforce dress codeHave periodic 3rd hour spot checks and send offenders to auditorium for reminder.
Many students lack self-esteem. Girls dress provocatively. Kids join gangs. Kids are subject to Peer influences that can be negative and result in alcohol and drug use, sexual activity and poor academic performance. All of this creates a confusing school climate. Some student lack role models.
Teachers must be consistent and remind students of dress codeActively recruit kids to join clubs and activitiesSponsors and coaches need to encourage members to dress appropriatelyActivity bus to encourage after school participation.
Student voice on school boardOpen campusRenovate bathroomsConsistent grading system
There is a lack of respect and trust in the school. Students abuse the facilities and act out as they perceive the school does not care about them. This negatively affects school climate.
Have student assistants monitor bathrooms and report hygienic issues to maintenance to be addressed ASAP
Teach cyber safety to all students In-service all teachers on school climate to thwart media messages.
Most teens devote more than 50 hours a week viewing media. Many teens receive messages that lower their self-worth and encourage them to make destructive decisions involving sex, alcohol and drugs. This has a negative effect on school climate.
Offer more clubs and activities for kids to participate inLate busPromote positive media
NEW SCHOOL TOUCHSTONE
TONY BLAIR FACE TO FAITH FREE curricular modules for
ages 13-18 that examine global issues related to faith, culture, the environment, the role of women, civil rights and more
FREE technology resources to promote civil discourse on issues through moderated on line discussion and live facilitated videoconferencing
Students can collaborate with their peers throughout the global community.
https://www.facetofaithonline.org/express-interest
We empower young people from around the world – by educating them about
different faiths, beliefs and values (including those in their own communities),
through exposing them, through technology, to a variety of different voices.
FACE TO FAITH AND SUSTAINABLE CHANGE
COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE CIVIC EDUCATION
Knowledge Content knowledge
informed by state and district standards.
COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE CIVIC EDUCATION
Knowledge Content knowledge
informed by state and district standards.
Skills Create questions that
guide inquiry using CCSS proficiencies.
Use CCSS competencies to demonstrate and reflect understanding.
Take direct and indirect action.
COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE CIVIC EDUCATION
Knowledge Content knowledge
informed by state and district standards.
Dispositions: Participatory Citizen Responsible Citizen Justice Oriented
Skills Create questions that
guide inquiry using CCSS proficiencies.
Use CCSS competencies to demonstrate and reflect understanding.
Take direct and indirect action.
COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE CIVIC EDUCATION
Knowledge Content knowledge
informed by state and district standards.
Dispositions: Participatory Citizen Responsible Citizen Justice Oriented
Skills Create questions that
guide inquiry using CCSS proficiencies.
Use CCSS competencies to demonstrate and reflect understanding.
Take direct and indirect action.
Actions: Participate in authentic
democratic activities - from elections to advocacy, from public debates to public policy
Participate in civil society localstatenational global
ACTION CIVICS: HARNESSES LITERACY SKILLS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE CHANGEStudent Outcomes
PARTNERSHIP FOR 21ST CENTURY SKILLS HTTP://WWW.P21.ORG/ABOUT-US/P21-
FRAMEWORK
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.2 Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.5 Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
CCSS SPEAKING AND LISTENING: COMPREHENSION & COLLABORATION
CCSS READING INFORMATIONAL TEXTS: INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE & IDEAS CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate
multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.8 Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses).
CCSS WRITING CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.7 Conduct short as well as more
sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
COLLEGE, CAREER & CIVIC LIFE FRAMEWORK FOR SOCIAL STUDIES
STATE STANDARDS
http://www.socialstudies.org/c3
ACTION CIVICS: STUDENTS AS ADVOCATES FOR SUSTAINABLE CHANGE QUESTIONS?
RESOURCE LINKS
Constitutional Rights Foundation Civic Action Project: http://www.crfcap.org/
Earthforce: http://earthforce.org/ Generation Citizen: http://generationcitizen.org/ Mikva Challenge: http://www.centerforactioncivics.org/ Project Citizen: http://new.civiced.org/programs/project-
citizen National Action Civics Collaborative:
http://actioncivicscollaborative.org/ Tony Blair Face to Faith Foundation
https://www.facetofaithonline.org/
