National Action Civics Collaborative Launches Campaign to Energize and Improve Youth Civic Engagement Today, six organizations from around the country launched an effort to energize and improve youth civic engagement in America. Calling on Americans to reinvigorate civic education through “Action Civics,” they offered practical resources for educators interested in bringing action civics to their… Continue reading Launch of National Action Civics Collaborative
Author: 3lane
Incorporating Voices: A Modern Jeffersonian Meal
Last week, Generation Citizen Board Member Robert Flanders hosted a “Jeffersonian Breakfast” inspired by the dinners hosted by Thomas Jefferson back in the early days of our Republic. Jefferson would invite 10 friends to Monticello to discuss a set topic, which could range from politics to philosophy to archeology, to hear the personal experiences that… Continue reading Incorporating Voices: A Modern Jeffersonian Meal
A Double Introduction of New York PAs
We are thrilled to introduce the two newest members of our NY team: Ayisha Irfan and Yuan Huang. With different and equally interesting paths to GC, we thought we would have them introduce themselves together in this post. Ayisha: My path to Generation Citizen has been an interesting one to say the least. It started… Continue reading A Double Introduction of New York PAs
Walking the Local Political Talk
At a conference a few weeks ago, one of the presenters asked all the participants to share a story of the first time they remember becoming politically engaged. The story I always tell people is that I first recognized the power of individuals engaging in the political process while working on anti-genocide efforts in college.… Continue reading Walking the Local Political Talk
Bridging The Gap: An Intern’s Perspective
Going to an independent, all-girls school in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I have been indoctrinated to believe that youth, specifically young women, play an integral role in the communities where we live and study. Ask any of my fellow seniors about their community involvement and they will retort with a lengthy enumeration of activities. It… Continue reading Bridging The Gap: An Intern’s Perspective
My GC Journey (Which Has Only Just Begun)
Generation Citizen first found me only twenty months ago (it feels more like twenty years) in a cold, dimly lit classroom of the NYU Steinhardt School of Education. I was fresh off the plane from a semester in Prague, CZ, and during my obligatory soul searching while abroad I had concluded that I wanted to… Continue reading My GC Journey (Which Has Only Just Begun)
Direct Democracy in California: Meaningful Civic Engagement?
Before I moved here, all I really knew of Golden State politics was Arnold Schwarzenegger, marijuana and Proposition 8. In my first semester as a graduate student at Cal’s Goldman School of Public Policy, my understanding of the political landscape—specifically the effects of direct democracy—increased immensely. I worked with a group of my classmates to… Continue reading Direct Democracy in California: Meaningful Civic Engagement?
Can Philanthropy Save our Educational System?
Peter Buffet’s recent op-ed, “The Charitable Industrial Complex”, has been rocking the interwebs since its publication Saturday. His basic but harsh argument, that philanthropy is essentially preserving the status quo while causing small blips of success that allow the wealthy to feel “heroic,” has some people praising him for finally speaking truth to power, while others… Continue reading Can Philanthropy Save our Educational System?
Assessing Efficacy and Skills Impact
As Generation Citizen continues to grow, we continue to assess our impact- both through determining which parts of our our program are working and which we need to improve. To do this, we are employing a number of different evaluation tools, including a pre- and post-test survey, and more rigorous process evaluation tools, which involve… Continue reading Assessing Efficacy and Skills Impact
Gee(k), I love politics!
“I’msuchahugefan! It’ssonicetomeetyou! I’vebeenafanofyourclimatepolicyforsolong! MayIbeacompletedorkandgetaphotowithyou?” As I gushed, I’m pretty sure it all came out in one long word. Senate Candidate Ed Markey was very kind, saying it was nice to meet me too, and obliged me with a picture. After the fact, Christina, our New Sector Fellow in the office this summer, assured me that… Continue reading Gee(k), I love politics!