Civics Connect

 “If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.” ― Noam Chomsky

“There have been many measures taken to try to turn the educational system towards more control, more indoctrination, more vocational training, imposing a debt, which traps students and young people into a life of conformity... That's the exact opposite of [what] traditionally comes out of The Enlightenment. And there's a constant struggle between those. In the colleges, in the schools, do you train for passing tests, or do you train for creative inquiry?”
-- Noam Chomsky

Civics Connect is a content hub/learning platform to engage students in civics learning while developing 21st-century competencies. We curate media resources from open educational resources and create modules that cross-reference foundational literacies. Prompts engage students on today's issues affecting our civil society while developing critical thinking skills and exposure to different perspectives. Transmedia modules with discussion guides can be used in a civics class or integrated into any core subject curriculum. Virtual Webinars will scale awareness and use of the platform.

Civic learning ties directly to the heart of 21st-century skills. Media influences students’ lives more than almost anything else and can make tedious subjects more meaningful for students. It can open our minds and provide a bridge to understanding the major issues of the 21st century - and compel us to make a difference. Our transmedia approach allows students to engage through multiple learning modes.

Examples:

Immigration - Documentary Central https://www.youtube.com/@DocoCentral 

https://youtu.be/AWahML4NFjA?si=FAEayHnbehAG6magunaccompanied children Central make their way through Mexico, to reach the United States for a new home. 

Financial Literacy - https://youtu.be/Ze72rpWp_Dg?si=jZ1ph5kCE5yKIhaC Living on One Dollar  follows four students' experience living on $1 a day for two months in rural Guatemala.

Online Current Events: 

· A STARTING POINT - Conversations between D&R lawmakers. https://www.astartingpoint.com/events 

· GEN Z & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT https://www.astartingpoint.com/events/gen-z-civic-engagement_cM3Tv2bKN 

MUSIC https://citizen-dj.labs.loc.gov/about/

Global Perspective https://youtu.be/QFrqTFRy-LU

Conflict Resolutionhttps://youtu.be/Hc6yi_FtoNo

NEW MATERIAL: we will produce a live (and recorded) 60-minute webinar, with online high school students and AStartingPoint , on current topics in DIGITAL LITERACY & CIVIC 

Why Now

There has been a decline incivic education quantity and quality. We have replaced thoughtful deliberation about public issues with incivility and hyperpolarization. Four in ten employers say they cannot find high-school graduates possessing the “soft skills” necessary for entry-level positions. The continued decline in a wide range of important civic health and connectivity indicators threatens our prosperity, safety, and democracy.

· Only 24 % of high school seniors are proficient in civics (36% scored below the basic level.)

Opportunities to develop civic skills in high school are available disproportionately to wealthier students.

· African-American seniors lag white students by 29 points

· Hispanic seniors lag white students by 19 points. 

Teachers can’t be expected to have the subject matter expertise to cover the many racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic differences within their classroom. Our content hub will be curated to to allow students to engage with Civics from within their individual perspective.

Covid made us aware of the importance of digital education tools and created best practices that improved the digital learning experience. Many of these best practices exist now as OERs (open educational resources) but are underutilized because educators don’t know how to incorporate them into 21st-century learning models

Civic learning skills are very similar to those required to develop 21st-century skills because many of the competencies in question are the same. 

· Gathering and evaluating multiple sources of evidence

· Seeking, engaging, and being informed by numerous perspectives

· Written, oral, and multi-media communication

· Deliberation and bridge-building across differences

· Collaborative decision making