Civic Skills and Federal Policy
On April 29, 2010, scholars, civic leaders, and federal officials met in Washington to develop a federal policy agenda for civic skills. The conference was convened by CIRCLE at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service. It was co-sponsored by the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools and Strengthening Our Nation’s Democracy (SOND). This report was written and endorsed by 33 participants (not including any of the federal officials who attended).
The report can be found here.
December 25th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
This is an excellent start to an important agenda. I would say, however, that one of the fundamentals of civic skills is actual personal interaction, and I felt this was not given sufficient emphasis in the report. With the increase of online (as opposed to physical, face to face) social interaction, it’s crucial that those of the next generation learn to interact as accountable human beings as opposed to remote (and often anonymous) entities hiding behind their social media personae. I was recently asked on a social networking site ‘how do you talk to your friends?’, and it listed a range of social networking websites!! The answer is simple: over a coffee or a beer! Or on the phone (not even a text)! That way, you learn the nuances, body language, you develop your social radar and learn to empathise and truly listen.
January 11th, 2011 at 10:48 pm
I agree with the above poster. Personal interaction is a BIG part of being a civil servant. In this day and age of the internet, it’s so easy to hide and be a keyboard warrior. So many people don’t know how to hold a conversation these days, let along speak in a friendly way, that I’m not sure how much good the actual report will do…
February 24th, 2011 at 1:41 am
I do agree too, the Agenda must be run well, of course personal interaction is the fundamentals of civic skills. lets create the best future for the next generation.
April 7th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Thanks for the report link can’t wait to read the federal policy.
June 6th, 2011 at 11:19 am
[…] been teaching the right things. I, for example, believe that we haven’t been teaching the skills and arts of association–of group-membership and collective action–that de Tocqueville saw as the foundation of […]