CIRCLE Online Seminar - Resources

"Guardian of Democracy: the Civic Mission of Schools" report provides a comprehensive look at the role civic learning plays in maintaining our democracy, examines the major problems confronting civic learning, shows six proven practices in effective civic learning and provides recommendations for policymakers, educators and all citizens.

A commitment to engaging young people in civic life and public decision-making in Hampton, Virginia has inspired a model for youth civic engagement. The article presents two ingredients for successfully engaging youth: creation of a system of multiple engagement opportunities, and systematic efforts to address adult attitudes that fail to recognize young people as resources to their communities. The author analyzes the lessons learned from working within a system of youth civic engagement, and presents preliminary findings of the benefits of engaging young people in the civic life of a city.

The mission of IndyKids is to engage young people to become informed world citizens through the production of a current events and social justice news source that is created by kids, for kids.

The Harry Potter Alliance is a coalition of fandom leaders and members who feel passionate about the power of story to inspire and affect social change. Just as Harry and his friends fought the Dark Arts in JK Rowling's fictional universe, we strive to destroy real-world horcruxes like inequality, illiteracy, and human rights violations. - See more at: http://thehpalliance.org/what-we-do/#sthash.K6WpIWGO.dpuf

IN THE COLLEGE, CAREER, AND CIVIC LIFE (C3) FRAMEWORK FOR SOCIAL STUDIES STATE STANDARDS, THE CALL FOR STUDENTS TO BECOME MORE PREPARED FOR THE CHALLENGES OF COLLEGE AND CAREER IS UNITED WITH A THIRD CRITICAL ELEMENT: PREPARATION FOR CIVIC LIFE. ADVOCATES OF CITIzENSHIP EDUCATION CROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM, BUT THEY ARE BOUND By A COMMON BELIEF THAT OUR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC WILL NOT SUSTAIN UNLESS STUDENTS ARE AWARE OF THEIR CHANGING CULTURAL AND PHySICAL ENVIRONMENTS; KNOW THE PAST; READ, WRITE, AND THINK DEEPLy; AND ACT IN WAyS THAT PROMOTE THE COMMON GOOD.

A scholar in the deliberative democracy and face-to-face democracy space. Her current work includes studies of representation, democratic deliberation, everyday activism, and the public understanding of collective action problems.

Scholars in the deliberative democracy space. This is a link to their book "Why Democracy?" The most widely debated conception of democracy in recent years is deliberative democracy--the idea that citizens or their representatives owe each other mutually acceptable reasons for the laws they enact. Two prominent voices in the ongoing discussion are Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson. In Why Deliberative Democracy?, they move the debate forward beyond their influential book, Democracy and Disagreement.

Video panel of teachers and colleagues from the Oakland Unified School District. EDDA = Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age, and we started by asking: "What do you see as the benefits and challenges of bringing civic engagement into the classroom?"

Common Core standards for Social Studies and History and the case for civic education.

APSA is pleased to announce the release of the Teaching Civic Engagement: From Student to Active Citizen edited volume compiled by editors Alison Rios Millett McCartney, Elizabeth A. Bennion, and Dick Simpson and with contributions from political scientists leading research on civic engagement within the discipline and related fields. Covering a wide range of critical discussions over 27 chapters, this work is a significant and timely contribution to the study of civic engagement.

Initiative's and resources put forth by the American Association of Colleges & Universities.

Connecting the corporate sectors to schools - PENCIL inspires innovation and improves student achievement by partnering business leaders with public schools. Our programs share a common premise: by bringing together the best ideas, talent and resources across sectors, we can create real change in our schools.

Video of presentation on the Global Philanthropy Forum website with panelits: Amit Bhatia, Founder and Chairman at Aspire José Zaglul, President at EARTH University Jennifer Buffett, President and Co-chair at NoVo Foundation Tsitsi Masiyiwa, Executive Chairperson at Higher Life Foundation Reeta Roy, President and CEO at The MasterCard Foundation - See more at: http://philanthropyforum.org/sessions/the-opportunity-to-connect-learning-to-jobs/#sthash.M9XMQbog.dpuf

The Center for Action Civics (CFAC) is the professional development branch of Mikva Challenge and provides teachers, schools, and non-profit organizations with the tools and strategies needed to engage young people in high quality Action Civics programming and experiential learning opportunities, either in a classroom, an after-school club, or as part of a community organization. To learn more about our curricula and professional development opportunities, please click here or on The Center for Action Civics link on the left.

A grassroots, non-partisan, non-profit organization that is building civility in a society that all too often seems tilted toward uncivil speech and actions.

The League of Women Voters' mission is to promote active, informed citizen participation at all levels of government through education and advocacy. Our focus is that our hands-on work will safeguard democracy leading to civic improvement. - After the January 2011 Tucson shootings, we undertook a study of the roots and causes of incivility and gave presentations to community groups.

Community Tools - YogaVotes is a national, nonpartisan campaign to get yogis out to vote in 2012. Awareness, connection, and participation are core elements of yoga on the mat. They happen to be central to our civic life, too, whether that be at the most local level or in this year's presidential campaign. YogaVotes will encourage the 20 million Americans who practice yoga to take their values into the public sphere and into the voting booth. We will use traditional and cutting edge organizing tools to reach, activate, and encourage these folks to go to the polls on election day-especially in key states where our collective voices will have a noticeable impact.

Check out her work - Hess researches how teachers engage their students in discussions of highly controversial political and constitutional issues, and what impact this approach to civic education has on what young people learn. Her first book on this topic, Controversy in the Classroom:

Can social studies classrooms be effective "makers" of citizens if much of what occurs in these classrooms does little to prepare young people to participate in the civic and political life of our democracy? Making Citizens illustrates how social studies can recapture its civic purpose through an approach that incorporates meaningful civic learning into middle and high school classrooms. The book explains why social studies teachers, particularly those working in diverse and urban areas, should infuse civic education into their teaching, and outlines how this can be done effectively.

Responsive Classroom is a research- and evidence-based approach to elementary education that leads to greater teacher effectiveness, higher student achievement, and improved school climate.