« imagining a new college | Main | branding citizenship »
April 16, 2008
policies for youth civic engagement
Jim Youniss (a developmental psychologist from Catholic University) and I are editing a volume of essays on public policies that would help young Americans develop into active and responsible citizens. The various chapters defend policies for schools, political parties, local governments, and other institutions. We just received word that Vanderbilt University Press will publish the book, which means that it should be in bookstores--as they say--this winter. We could use a suggestion for a title. "Policies for Civic Education," the placeholder title, isn't very exciting and it probably suggests a narrow focus on schools.
April 16, 2008 7:40 PM | category: advocating civic education | Comments
Comments
Hellooo!
There is talk here about the lack of civic engagement. Well, I am surprised at the lack of engagement on this post and the lack of discussion about the issues it brings up. Where is everybody?
Perhaps people are all too busy to respond, like they are too busy to get civically engaged.
Sometimes I wonder why Peter bothers to post everyday. Do people read what he has to say? Is he doing it just to keep fit?
April 17, 2008 1:22 PM | Comments (4) | posted by airth10
I find that the typing is good for my tendons.
Seriously, this blog gets 200-300 unique visitors per day. A majority look at archived posts rather than the new posts of the day. I have the comment function switched off on the old posts to reduce spam, but no one would comment on an archive, anyway. I'm not sure how many people visit the new posts, but they may be a group that's not too prone to comment on blogs. Many are involved in civic life but not enthusiasts for digital media. Or maybe getting a comment or two per week is typical on sites with my kind of traffic. In any case, I appreciate visitors and don't mind the dearth of explicit discussion in the comments thread. Comments are welcome, but not commenting is fine, too.
April 17, 2008 5:20 PM | Comments (4) | posted by Peter Levine
Good!
April 18, 2008 7:45 AM | Comments (4) | posted by airth10
I'm trying to think of book titles, especially in light of your later "civic lingo" focus group post. The books market niche, if I may, seems to be the consideration of civil society and local government in addition to schools as the site of youth civic formation.
POLICY does seem like a legislative activity. CIVIC EDUCATION feels weaker than CIVIC ENGAGEMENT or FORMATION. And YOUTH and/or DEVELOPMENT seem important.
consider something toward FORGING FREE CITIZENS: Policies for Youth Civic Engagement
April 21, 2008 3:28 AM | Comments (4) | posted by Scott D