National Academy 2017: Questions, Answers and More Questions
In today’s political forum, no one is looking to start another argument. It's still true, however, that a good argument can make all the difference in what happens next. Good arguments require connecting ideas. Listening to one another and thinking through a logical...
Civic Perspective and the Cosmos
"'Come!' said Africanus, 'how long will your mind be chained to the Earth?'" Before setting out for Los Angeles, the scholars invited to the National Academy for Civics in Government read the Dream of Scipio. It's about finding perspective. Where you look for answers...
#CivicEDchat: Is this Civic Education’s “Sputnik Moment?”
Civic education has failed us. This, at least, is one of the explanations for the surprising election of Donald Trump. Stories since then have recorded the fall of one political norm after another. Clearly there are consequences to our patterns of disengagement. The...
This Week’s Canvas: On Getting Things Right
There's no magic trick for picking three stories to put at the top of the concerned citizen's reading list. I struggle to survive the daily deluge of news just like everyone else. I often fiddle with the idea that this week was the week when it became impossible....
Together as One People
The original project to unite the people of the United States as one people began in May 1787. There's a project taking place in New Orleans today that reminds us the project continues. The city started removing Confederate statues in the middle of the night. The...
What Do You Know about Civic Grit?
Attending a weekend workshop to focus on starting a business, I dug deeper into something Congressman John Lewis calls "good trouble." The question presented asked for a story about grit. Not all grit aims to serve our political community but there's a category that...
This Week’s Canvas: Complications–in Taxes, Health Care and Hope
Three themes from the week ending May 6th, 2017 The push to make 100 days matter dumped a whole lot of headlines on everyone this week. It was tempting to stick with Star Wars socks and not so fun facts about the Civil War for this round. Too Simple Math A single-page...
Ralph Ketcham: A Champion for Civic Education
Civic Education lost a powerful voice for meaningful civics this week. While some count political wins with states adding the citizenship test to graduation requirements, Ralph Ketcham led the charge for civic education that was "interdisciplinary, team-taught and...
We can judge our progress by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers, our willingness to embrace what is true rather than what feels good.
—Carl Sagan