Category: Blog

Swimming Like a Duck

By Scott Warren   I’ve always had a weird admiration for ducks. When I was younger, my grandparents lived steps away from a pond filled with ducks. I used to visit it frequently, illegally feeding them breadcrumbs, searching for ducklings, watching them swim.   It’s a little clichĂ©, but one of the most fascinating aspects… Continue reading Swimming Like a Duck

GC Success: Sweeping Away Outdated Policies on Litter

By Ryan Castellano   “Yeah, wow, this really has to change,” said Councilman Antonio Reynoso, the chairman of the City Council Committee on Sanitation, validating months of work that began with a student asking if we could do anything about litter. When the class of seniors at the Academy of Urban Planning in Bushwick chose… Continue reading GC Success: Sweeping Away Outdated Policies on Litter

Welcome to Our Newest Intern, Gabrielle!

Hi! My name is Gabrielle Aaron. I am a student at Washington University in St. Louis, not to be confused with Washington University in Washington—I promise this one is in Missouri. I am studying Psychology, Marketing and Children’s Studies. If you ask how they all go together, the answer is simply that these topics all… Continue reading Welcome to Our Newest Intern, Gabrielle!

Defending Social Studies Funding in Massachusetts

On March 9, 2015, Greater Boston Advocacy Manager Leila Quinn gave testimony before the MA Foundation Budget Review Commission in defense of funding for social studies and civics courses. Below you will find an abridged version of her testimony.   State law charges our schools with a civic mission that we must revive. Students often learn… Continue reading Defending Social Studies Funding in Massachusetts

How Do We Educate to Improve Our Democracy?

How do We Educate to Improve our Democracy?   As Generation Citizen matures as an organization, we’ve realized that it’s not enough for us to solely focus on our in-school programming.  We continue to improve and iterate our action civics curriculum and teacher and volunteer training, but we have also recognized the necessity of building… Continue reading How Do We Educate to Improve Our Democracy?

A Semester of Milestones at GC Northeastern

By Sam Haas   A few weeks ago, I received Northeastern University’s student government’s “I Am a Husky” award for my connections to campus and the surrounding community. I was and still am thrilled (especially when I found out the award included gift cards to Qdoba and J.P. Licks) about the award, and I want… Continue reading A Semester of Milestones at GC Northeastern

From Pebble Beach to East Flatbush

A few weeks ago, I spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at a luxurious hotel located on the Pebble Beach Golf Course near Monterrey, California. My mornings comprised of runs along ocean-side cliffs with stunning vistas, and my days consisted of vigorous intellectual conversations about the lack of constituency voice in social entrepreneurial ventures, and the… Continue reading From Pebble Beach to East Flatbush

From One Semester to Another: Leaving My Comfort Zone Behind

By Katherine Dillon   My first semester at Fordham University was much like that of those portrayed in movies and TV shows – I was almost always learning, meeting new people, or simply in a state of awe at the newness of everything.   I had so often heard before leaving for college that my… Continue reading From One Semester to Another: Leaving My Comfort Zone Behind

What’s So Great About Young Founders?

What’s So Great About Young Founders? – Scott Warren   Last Friday, the author Robin Black penned a New York Times op-ed entitled, “What’s So Great About Young Writers,” rallying against a culture that she feels unfairly rewards youth, rather than merit. Describing her path to becoming an emerging writer in her late forties, she… Continue reading What’s So Great About Young Founders?

Meet a DC! Boston University’s Mai Mazan

The following interview was posted on the Microsoft Blog, after Boston’s Civic Tech Challenge hackathon event hosted at Microsoft N.E.R.D. in November. Mai Mazan, a Democracy Coach from Boston University, was generous enough to share her experience with GC with the folks at Microsoft, and we always love hearing about the incredible work our DCs… Continue reading Meet a DC! Boston University’s Mai Mazan