Teachers have been urged to help school children to have a better understanding of their fundamental rights and adopt positive disposition towards their civic responsibilities.

Ms Fanny Judith Kumah, a Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), said this was necessary to deepen and strengthen the country's democracy.

She was speaking at the opening of a three-day training of trainers workshop in Kumasi for some selected teachers drawn from all the 10 regions to assist them to have thorough grasp of public policies and the decision making process.

It is being held under the theme; "Equipping the Youth for Qualitative Participation in Ghana's Democracy," as part of the "Project Citizen Ghana."

The NCCE is jointly organizing the programme with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the United States  Center for Civic Education with sponsorship from Hans Seidel Foundation.

Project Citizen among other things aims at helping students to monitor and influence policy making in their communities.

Ms Kumah said it was important to aid the young people to develop intellectual and participatory skills that promoted critical thinking, effective communication and reflective thinking.

Mr Samuel Dayi, Programme Officer, Hans Seidel Foundation, said the Project Citizen was an interdisciplinary institutional programme crafted for use by adolescents in schools and community organizations to help them monitor and influence public policies.

He urged teachers and other stakeholders to work hard to increase their knowledge base and to demonstrate complete understanding of citizenship to consolidate the country's democracy.

A few years ago, a class of fifth-graders sat down with Elk Grove Unified School District administrators and negotiated a $2 million deal.

The kids, students at Foulks Ranch Elementary School, wanted a running track for their school. The state was giving out grants for physical education, but state law prevented using the money for tracks.

As part of a civic education unit designed by their teacher, Jim Bentley, the students spent weeks researching a way around their dilemma—talking to legislators to understand the law, then drafting an alternate funding proposal for school district officials. The result: The district, impressed by the students’ presentation, used bond money to speed up track installation at Foulks and 13 other schools.

“That’s the kind of thing I want kids to be engaged in—not just learning content standards and taking a test, but using their knowledge in a meaningful way,” Bentley said of the exercise.

Giving teachers the freedom to take on creative projects like the track campaign is part of the motivation behind a new charter school being proposed for Elk Grove. Called The Grove Leadership Academy, the school would focus on community service and leadership training and ask parents to volunteer 40 hours of their time each year. The concept is already drawing support from parents disgruntled with changes in Elk Grove Unified and district teachers looking for a new challenge.

Click here for complete article.

On March 30, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite signed a new law on education which includes teaching history and geography, as well as the subject called civic education (about the rights and duties of citizens in a democratic country), in the Lithuanian language in the Lithuanian state-financed Slavic minority schools. It provoked a hysterical reaction from Poland, which was supported by a mild echo from the Russian Foreign Ministry as well.

On March 30, Grybauskaite talked about changes in the education of ethnic minorities while visiting the town of Panevezys. She said that better knowledge of the Lithuanian language would help ethnic minorities to integrate into the labor market and start a better life. “My main motive was to help Lithuania’s ethnic minorities to feel like equal citizens, to be respected and to know our dear language well,” Grybauskaite said, adding that she can speak almost all the languages of Lithuania’s ethnic minorities, and Lithuania is the best in the EU, in terms of ensuring the educational and cultural needs of ethnic minorities. On March 23, the Polish Foreign Ministry protested against the recent introduction of Lithuanian-language history and geography lessons in Lithuania’s Slavic schools (four percent of all Lithuania’s pupils attend Russian schools and 3.2 percent Polish schools in Lithuania).

On March 24, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry answered Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, saying that Lithuania just mirrors the Polish steps of 2007 for Lithuanian schools in Poland, where the situation of ethnic minority schools is rather tragic in comparison with Lithuania. “Unfortunately, the situation of Lithuanian education in Poland is worsening each year – half of Lithuanian schools were closed there during the last 10 years,” reads the statement of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry of March 24 about the situation in ethnic Lithuanian lands which Poland gained during its troops’ march on Vilnius in 1920.

Lithuanian pupils in Poland are forced to be translators starting from the age of seven: they study from Polish language textbooks because the Polish state does not print textbooks in Lithuanian, while the Lithuanian state does print textbooks in Russian and Polish. Gintaras Steponavicius, the Liberal Movement-delegated Lithuanian minister of education and science, stated that he would like to invite Sikorski to visit together Polish schools in Lithuania and Lithuanian schools in Poland on the same day. The comparison would not be in favor of Poland, according to Steponavicius.

Marcin Bosacki, representative of the Polish Foreign Ministry, stated on his ministry’s Web site that the new Lithuanian law can assimilate Lithuania’s Poles and it possibly breaks the 1994 treaty between Lithuania and Poland on friendly relations and good neighborly cooperation. The treaty states that the minority situation should not be worsened in both countries. Taking into account that the recent Lithuanian law just mirrors the Polish educational reform and changes in Poland’s Lithuanian schools of 2007, the Polish Foreign Ministry with such statements is accusing its own country of breaking the 1994 treaty. “We are disappointed. We wanted to respect the principle of not worsening,” Sikorski spoke on March 30 in an inarticulate manner, commenting on the news about Grybauskaite’s signing of the law. If some French, German or Dutch foreign minister, after too much wine, beer or marijuana, would interfere into the educational matters of Belgium, he or she would be forced to resign immediately. However, Sikorski, although he behaves as if he is using all those three substances together, is still in his post.

Click here for the full article.

Think back to the day you turned 16 and got your driver's license, especially that picture of you with your trendy haircut, greasy forehead and brace-covered teeth. Flash forward five years to the time you bought your first beer at 21, by which point you thankfully had learned to brush your hair, wash your face and wear your retainers. But what about that teenage year that falls so quietly in between? Nothing on your license changes when you turn 18, but it should really be a far more celebratory occasion than turning 16 or 21. Finally bestowed upon you is the right to have a voice in America's democracy: You earn the right to vote.

Almost 13,000 young people turn 18 every day, and by 2012, the Millennial generation will make up 24 percent of the voting age population. Since there is no systematic way to make sure these young people are learning how to navigate the process and getting registered to vote, the most common reason they don't participate is that they don't realize they have to register and, thus, often do so after it is too late. The problem is then reinforced throughout their early adulthood as campaigns are still directed to middle-aged voters and young people are far less likely to feel like they are part of the conversation. That is, unless we work to speak to young people directly about the importance of making their voices heard through the ballot box.

Forty years ago, educators and students fought side-by-side to win the right to vote for 18-year-olds, the same age group that the government had previously deemed old enough to fight in wars and pay taxes, but still too young to vote for the leaders imposing these duties upon them. If you were 18, you could be drafted to fight in Vietnam and were obligated to pay taxes on your apartment, but you were still treated like a child and could not vote for the people making these decisions for you. On March 23rd, 1971, students and educators across the country finally made Congress listen to them with the introduction of the 26th Amendment to lower the voting age to 18, aligning the duties imposed by the government with the right to vote for its leaders. Forty years later, we have to ensure that their hard work was for a reason.

So what if we took one day, once a year in every high school and spoke with students about the history of voting rights and their participation in our democracy? What if we inspire a new generation of students to carry on the legacy of students from forty years ago? We'll engage thousands of students from across the country, from big cities to little towns, from class presidents to star athletes, from every corner of every state, and register them to vote.

Democracy Class does just that. It's a 45-minute civic education lesson taught through music, pop culture and video that works to engage young people in a way that's relevant to their lives in a way that textbooks are not. On March 23, 2011, Rock the Vote in partnership with the National Education Association is celebrating the first-annual Democracy Day, and hundreds of teachers around the country will teach Democracy Class to their high school students.

Looking back to the fight that gave these students the ability to register on Democracy Day, led by groups like the National Education Association's Project 18, it is a reminder of the lasting impact young people can have on our country. Coming on the heels of a historical period such as the 1960s, characterized by its activism, the 26th Amendment remains an example of how young people can work within the system and use it to achieve the change they seek. It is the gift of one dynamic generation to those that followed, creating the foundation of lasting youth engagement.

Research continues to prove that civic education and early participation in elections creates a habit of ongoing engagement, which is why it is necessary to target this generation of high school students to bring them into the political process and encourage their involvement at an early age. With school budgets being cut and civics education being scaled back in high schools, we all must commit to teaching today's youth about what it means and how to participate as a voting citizen in our democracy.

It's not always an election year, but every day is someone's 18th birthday. Our work in determining whether each newly-eligible voter makes a life-long commitment to participate in every election plays a vital role in ensuring that America's next generation is heard in 2012 and in shaping their futures.

Click here to learn more.  

In the name of fiscal responsibility, Congress has decided to eliminate all earmarks, those special appropriations usually requested by a single member for his or her district or state that are approved with little oversight.

Such a broad-brush move may make political sense in the short term, but it will produce unfortunate consequences for the nation in the long run.

Federal earmarks in fiscal year 2010 amounted to $10 billion for all of Congress. That's a lot of money, but it pales when considering the federal deficit this year of $1.65 trillion.

Ending earmarks has become the mantra for making all things right in Washington. Why not? Critics have pointed to Alaska's bridge to nowhere, a teapot museum, and an opera house upgrade as recent examples of reckless spending in Washington. In that vein, criticisms are more than justified and long overdue.

But here's the catch: All earmarks are cast in the same light.

A case in point is the We the People program conducted by the nonprofit Center for Civic Education. For a quarter-century, the program has helped educators work with school children on portfolio-based curricula that promote civic engagement and the practice of democracy.

The idea is that by teaching students about the public policy process, students can better understand the system and their role in it. During the current fiscal year, the center has received $26.5 million from Congress to carry out this work. (Full disclosure: For the past decade I have had the privilege of working with educators who use We the People in their classes.)

Over the past quarter-century, 30 million students from elementary schools through college have participated in these group projects. In some instances, their proposals have been adopted by state or local legislators as public policies. A few years ago, for example, the California Legislature changed the voter registration process as a result of the recommendations from a class doing Project Citizen, a We the People application.

As an "earmark," this program now faces the loss of federal funding and possible extinction.

But wait, you say. We the People doesn't seem like an earmark. That's the problem. A few years ago, Congress expanded the definition of earmark to include any recipient of federal funds that isn't a federal entity.

That not only includes We the People but other programs such as Teach for America, the National Writing Project, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. None of these is the province of a single member of Congress or designed to benefit a single district. Rather, these are programs designed to prepare the next generation to take their role in society.

Yet, because of the enhanced definition of "earmark," they are all at risk.

In fact, We the People is a fully authorized program that is part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. As such, it has been thoroughly vetted in several congressional committees and is totally transparent. This doesn't come close to the earmarks currently on the chopping block, yet it's perilously close to elimination along with the others.

Still, for congressional critics, all earmarks symbolize what's wrong with Washington -- a government where elected representatives use the public purse to grease the grubby hands of their states and districts in defiance of the national good. 

That may be the case with some, but before Congress rushes to judgment, members would be wise to consider the extent to which they are throwing out the good with the bad.

Article by Dr. Larry Gerston

Source: www.mercurynews.com

Forty years ago, educators and students stood together and fought to give young adults the right to vote. In doing so, they amended the Constitution and empowered millions of American citizens to have a say in our democracy.  To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 26th Amendment, Rock the Vote, in partnership with the National Education Association, brings you the first annual Democracy Day.   We are kicking off Democracy Day on March 23, 2011, asking educators, principals, school support staff and community organizations nationwide to commit to teaching Rock the Vote’s Democracy Class lesson to students before the end of the school year.

Click here to learn more.

This Online Workshop will be held between Monday, March 21 and Friday, April 1, 2011. All educators are invited regardless of their computer use skill level. By registering for this workshop, you are committing to logging on to the site and participating in the online discussion at least three times over the two week period, for a minimum online time commitment of four to six hours. We also ask that you participate in a post evaluation.

Click here for more information.

The Indonesia-US Youth Leadership Exchange (IULX) offers high school students a practical, hands-on experience in environmental action planning and leadership development. This two-way exchange will focus on community activism to address local and regional environmental issues in the U.S. and Indonesia.The IULX initiative highlights young people as our future leaders and as valuable contributors to their communities.

Indonesian students plant trees as part of their environmental project

This initiative has multiple phases in the United States and in Indonesia. Students will visit and learn about each other’s countries, live with local families, participate in leadership training, and design and implement environmental improvement projects in their schools and communities.

U.S. participant applications due March 10, 2011

Sponsor and Partner

The IULX initiative is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs and implemented in partnership with the Center for Civic Education Indonesia (CCEI). Legacy and CCEI have partnered successfully for seven years on multiple ECA-funded projects:

Center for Civic Education Indonesia is an Indonesian NGO working to improve the quality of instruction, methods and access to civic education throughout Indonesia. Formerly an international office of the US organization Center for Civic Education based in Calabasas, California, CCEI began to operate independently in 2007.  Currently CCEI has active projects in 22 of the 33 Indonesian provinces, which has resulted in the instruction of over 300,000 students.

Click here for more information and to apply.

We the People: Project Citizen Trainings

1-day workshops are designed for educators interested in involving their students or members of youth or community organizations in Project Citizen - a structured learning experience that helps students become responsible and involved citizens. Through Project Citizen, students in grades 5-12 identify and research a public policy issue in their community, develop their own solution, and create and implement an action plan. Students also hone their presentation skills as they share their work with authentic policy-makers.

Project Citizen Workshop

February 17, 2011 marked the 70th anniversary of the International Visitor Leadership Program. A reception hosted by the U.S. Department of State provided Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton the opportunity to honor 18 leaders, or “Gold Stars,” from among hundreds of people representing 69 nations.   Elarbi Imad was named a Gold Star for his positive impact on civil society in Morocco.  Imad is the president of the Moroccan Center for Civic Education and country director of the Civitas International Program.

Imad founded the Moroccan nongovernmental organization in 2004, after collaborating with the Los Angeles-based Center for Civic Education in 2003. Because of his work, students throughout Morocco have participated in Project Citizen and Foundations of Democracy, school-based curricular programs that promote youth involvement in government.

The Moroccan Center for Civic Education served as host of the 12th World Congress on Civic Education in 2008, a Civitas annual event that brings together educators from more than 65 countries to share best practices and experiences in the field of civic education. The Moroccan Center for Civic Education was also recently selected by the Center for Civic Education as one of three Civitas Regional Institutes in recognition of its expertise and leadership role in civic education.

Civitas International Programs bring exemplary civic education curricula to students worldwide in partnership with organizations in the United States and in eighty countries.   The International Visitor Leadership Program, established in 1940, seeks to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations by bringing hundreds of foreign leaders to the U.S. every year.  

Secretary Clinton's Remarks: 

More than 40 percent of all teenagers with Internet access have reported being bullied online, but only 10 percent will report it to an adult, according to the National Crime Prevention Center. That's why members of Family Career and Community Leaders of America at Whitehall-Yearling High School have decided to take a stand on the issue of tolerance and human rights by launching their own Stop the Violence Campaign. "This is very important to us because we realize our school does have a lot of violence," said Lee Stahley, a member of the FCCLA. "It's not the physical stuff, but more of the emotional kind." In a small, informal poll taken at Whitehall-Yearling, many teens reported problems with "sexting" and online bullying, particularly on Facebook, Stahley said. In order to help put a halt to the trend, Stahley and other FCCLA members not only are launching a Stop the Violence campaign, but want human rights education to become a more permanent part of the school's curriculum.

For more than 10 years, and with $3.0 million in awarded grants, ING Unsung Heroes has proven to be an A+ program with educators. The program’s “alumni” have inspired success in the classroom and impacted countless numbers of students. Each year, 100 educators are selected to receive $2,000 to help fund their innovative class projects. Three of those are chosen to receive the top awards of an additional $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000.

ING Unsung Heroes began in 1995 as a way for ING to demonstrate its commitment to the education community. Grants are given to K-12 educators utilizing new teaching methods and techniques that improve learning.

Applicants need to complete the essay and budget sections in a separate Word document or other word processing program, and submit all application materials following the process outlined in the application.

Applications are due 30 April 2011.

Click here to apply.

Deadline for submission is  15 March 2011.

Click here to learn more.

The World Bank International Essay Competition 2011 would like to hear your views on the opportunities, challenges and implications of youth migration.

Questions to address in your essay / video :

1) How has migration (international or internal, in a sending or a receiving country) affected you, your family, your community, or your country?

2) How do you perceive the benefits of migration (increased opportunities for young people, remittances) versus the risks (brain drain, illegal immigration and exploitation of young immigrants)?

3) What actions can you recommend for broadening opportunities for young migrants in their countries of destination and their countries of origin?

More information: www.essaycompetition.org  

Court of Appeals Judge Paul D. Mathias was recently recognized by the Indiana Bar Foundation for his longstanding commitment to civic education in Indiana. On December 12, 2010, Judge Mathias received the William G. Baker Award, honoring attorneys who show outstanding dedication to citizenship education. Judge Mathias was cited for his work with the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program at both the state level and in the Third Congressional District in northeast Indiana.

Judge Mathias has been involved with We the People since the program’s inception in 1987. Judge Mathias annually recruits many volunteer attorneys and civic leaders as judges for the Third Congressional District We the People competition, now the nation’s second largest.

To learn more about Judge Paul D. Mathias, please visit the Court of Appeals website at courts.in.gov/appeals/bios/mathias.html. 

Click here for more information.

The Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC) has announced the recipients of its LYAC Leadership Awards, which are designed to recognize and honor the great young leaders of the state.

The award is given based on a student's civic engagement efforts, outstanding leadership, responsible citizenship within their community and the positive example they set for their peers. Certificates of recognition are presented by members of the council to one statewide award winner and to one young leader in each congressional district.

As Melanie Benit, 2010-2011 LYAC President and student at Chalmette High School explained,"Being a member of the youth council has broadened my perspective on the importance of civic engagement by students as well as serving as a youth voice. Like members of the council, there are many other students throughout the state who are making a positive impact in their communities every day. We are proud to recognize our peers who are choosing to step up and make a difference."

"I have experienced first-hand the enormous impact of political involvement with LYAC. My perspectives have undergone a series of changes because of the exposure to a variety of opinions that I would not have explored otherwise," added Michael Bell, LYAC senior advisor and freshman at Millsaps College. "LYAC encourages young people to make a difference and, with the opportunity to recognize teens statewide, the leadership award allows us to honor Louisiana's young leaders."

LYAC honored Brittany Babineaux as the first recipient of a LYAC Leadership Award in Congressional District 3. She is a graduate of St. Amant High School and a recipient of academic, allied health and sports training letter awards. She is also a member of the National Society for High School Scholars and a member of numerous clubs, including 4-H, BETA and Interact among many others. Brittany has participated in a number of community service activities, such as, transplanting marsh grass at Avery Island, working with Ascension Commodity Cookeries, and volunteering for and assisting numerous fundraisers. She currently attends Louisiana State University.

The state award honoree is Hayley Hilton, a graduate of Holy Savior Menard School in Alexandria, while other regional honors were awarded to Bridget Rogers, graduate of Grace King High School, Metairie; Anna Potter, graduate of Mount Carmel Academy, New Orleans; Emma Hollenshead, student at Caddo Magnet High School, Shreveport; and Christopher Simoneaux, graduate of St. Michael the Archangel Diocesan Regional High School, Baton Rouge.

Recipients of the awards, which are given in coordination with Project Citizen, are selected by the 21-member Legislative Youth Advisory Council. LYAC's mission is to facilitate communication between young people and the legislature on issues of importance to youth and to give students a unique opportunity to be involved in the workings of their government. It was statutorily created three years ago.

Source: http://www.weeklycitizen.com/lifestyle/x1145626099/Legislative-Youth-Advisory-Council-honor-young-leaders

Click here for more information.