Civic Superheroes, Episode 2: Adventures in Civic Education
So what lessons did we learn from conducting numerous Civic Superhero Training events? Here are my top pieces of advice for engaging with your community.
Posts Tagged: civics
Civic Superheroes Episode 1: What’s Your Origin Story?
Our communities are full of caring, motivated people. So how can we facilitate their origin stories? How can we empower our local heroes with what they need to make an impact on our communities?
Beyond Schoolhouse Rock — Rethinking How We Teach Government
Those of us who work in government may not feel directly impacted by the world of civics teachers and government text books, but I’d argue they play an important, under appreciated role in our successes and challenges, big and small.
Quiz: Are you smarter than an 8th grade Civics student?
Can you correctly answer these three questions about our American government and nation from the 100-question naturalization test for new citizens? Most 8th and 12th graders in the U.S. could not! Read more in my new GPO Government Book Talk blog post called Quiz: Are you smarter than an 8th grade Civics student? in honorRead… Read more »
Frontiers of Democracy II set for July 19-21 at Tufts
Both in the U.S. and around the world we find ourselves in a dramatic period of civic awakening. We know this work and ideas under different names: public engagement, deliberative and participatory democracy, collaborative governance, educating for democracy and civic learning, public work, building social capital, and strengthening democracy. We promote it using diverse means;Read… Read more »
The Regulations.gov Relaunch
By Alex Moll, Communications Officer, eRulemaking Program Management Office Yesterday, the White House announced the relaunch of Regulations.gov in a post on remaking public participation by Cass Sunstein, the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA): “In response to the President’s direction, Regulations.gov has launched a major redesign, including innovative new searchRead… Read more »
The challenge for government: Why it’s important to know how people learn about their community
Information is power. Actually, there is no power in information but in who creates it and controls it. That’s the power of information –how it’s used. Did you know that local TV news is still the most popular source for local information in America? However, adults rely on it primarily for just three subjects: weather,Read… Read more »
Couch Potato Democracy?*
I was thinking about the remarkable power of citizens and their determination to peacefully overthrow the governments in Egypt and Tunisia. Their hope now is to replace decades old regimes with a democratic form of government whose leaders are selected and elected by the people. The model nation they are using? The United States ofRead… Read more »
Can Rapper Nas and Dr. King teach us to be more civil?
In a recent discussion about civics and civil society, one of my colleagues referenced a line by Rap artist, Nasir Jones, a/k/a Nas from his song, “Hate Me Now” that states: People “fear what they don’t understand, hate what they can’t conquer.” On this day of national recognition for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., hisRead… Read more »
10 reasons why online social media are critical to democratic governance (pt.1)
The Web has transformed and continues to transform how government serves and relates to its citizenry. With the spread of broadband internet access now in 66% of American homes according to the Pew Research Center, some futurists have predicted that without access to the web, citizens may eventually lose touch entirely with the ability toRead… Read more »