Civic Education Through the Eyes of Young People
There has been a lot of attention paid to the current state of civic education today, and PACE believes attention to civic learning is critical. All civics isn’t delivered equally, and in some cases, it isn’t delivered at all; perpetuating the disparity in how students receive civic education, as well as how it applies to their lives. And those inequities often fall along economic and racial lines. One organization, iCivics, is seeking to address that issue by asking an important question: What do students from a diverse set of backgrounds and lived experiences have to say about equity in civic education? What are their solutions?
iCivics launched its Equity in Civics Youth Fellowship in September to explore this idea. With 12 young people in their inaugural class, the fellowship is a new program designed to grow fellows’ leadership capacity and obtain media training throughout the 2019–2020 school year, while also serving as student ambassadors for equity in civic education. Fellows discuss student concerns about equitable civic education and student preparedness for civic life, and workshops are designed to prepare students to tell their stories about equity in civics in a compelling way.
Often, efforts and work related to strengthening democracy can feel very academic and conceptual, so we are excited to see efforts that “get proximate” to people and their everyday experiences. I sat down with one of the creators and facilitators of the fellowship at iCivics, Amber Coleman-Mortley, to explore more about what motivated them to launch the fellowship, what young people are sharing with them, and what lessons philanthropy can learn from the program thus far.
Kristen Cambell: What inspired the fellowship? What does iCivics hope to accomplish with the fellowship?
Amber Coleman-Mortley: The idea for this fellowship really started after a convening that CivXNow (a coalition supported by iCivics) put on at Facebook headquarters in early 2019. It was a civic education impact and measurement convening, but as everyone looked around the room, we all acknowledged that voices were missing from the conversation. In fact, two of the speakers called this out in their remarks, saying that we were talking about civic education and inequities, but the people who are experiencing it were not in the room. Collectively, we knew we needed more youth voices, and specifically, black, brown, and rural youth voices. It became a driving motivation to pursue those voices and get them to the table. The fellowship is one example of how iCivics is beginning to engage in equity work.
Additionally, iCivics reaches millions of students every year with the lesson plans and materials we provide teachers, but this fellowship gives us a chance to talk directly with youth. It’s really our first attempt at youth programming, which we think is a critical voice to inform our resources and work moving forward. After all, they are our customers, in many ways. We know what teachers think, but what about students? And what is the diversity of student perspectives that exists? It’s an important way for us to keep our ear to the ground.
KC: Can you share more about the fellowship? What is it and how does it work?
ACM: The Equity in Civics Youth Fellowship is a year-long program with both virtual and in-person components. From a pool of almost fifty nominations, twelve young people between 8th and 12th grade were competitively selected from across the country, and they attended the fellowship kick-off in Washington, DC, in September. After that event, they began to develop independent civic-based projects in their communities, complemented by monthly group calls that give students the space to collaborate and problem-solve together. Fellows also engage in local and national media opportunities related to their issues of interest and civic life, generally. In March, they will be the leaders of a coordinated, national social media campaign to promote youth civic engagement. The fellowship will conclude by bringing them back together in the spring for a wrap-up event. In addition, fellows will receive a $1000 stipend at the end of their fellowship, which reflects compensation for the amount of work they are doing over the year. They write op-eds, build social media campaigns, engage their schools, talk to local media, and engage in partners’ listening tours and panels. It’s a lot of work, and many of them are choosing to do this instead of taking on an after-school job. We thought this component was important to the success of the program.
One element of the fellowship design that we were very intentional about, is opening up the virtual component to more than just the selected fellows. Beyond the twelve fellows, another thirteen join the monthly calls and are encouraged to do projects locally. We did not have the resources to make these young people part of the official cohort, but they are passionate and need a little support. We are proud that we designed the fellowship in a way that has an option for their continued growth and development.
KC: Recognizing that there is a diversity of opinions and perspectives across the fellowship class, on the whole, how would you characterize the fellows’ perspective on the state of civic education today?
ACM: Each fellow is passionate about the need for civics, and they say we need more of it. They are very aware that the world is inequitable and that inequity perpetuates more inequity.. They understand the consequences of not acquiring basic civic knowledge and what happens when you are at the mercy of systems. I think people are really surprised our fellows are aware of these dynamics and issues, but social media is giving them the opportunity to take a deeper look into how other people live. They are not oblivious to the differences that occur economically around them and in the world. Why wouldn’t they want to do something about that? They see civics as the way to equalize that. This was a theme across rural/urban, ethnic, and cultural demographics within the cohort. In addition, fellows are passionate about the need for more focus on local government and politics. They understand that civic education cannot begin and end with the national government, and they’ve expressed that their curriculum focuses more on national over local government.
KC: What issues emerged as areas of passion for the fellows during your Fellowship Kick-Off in September? Why do you think these are the issues they care about most?
ACM: Fellows are very passionate about the environment. One fellow, in particular, has been pushing to get green school buses in his community. Many of them are passionate about discussing gun violence, as a complex issue beyond just gun control. Universally, they agree that gun violence is not okay, and we have encouraged the exploration of that conversation to unfold organically. Other topics of interest include the rising cost of living (not just college, but the day-to-day cost of affording life) and getting out the vote. A lot of them spoke in first person about these issues. They could see how these issues are impacting their lives every day, and they saw knowledgeable civic awareness as a way to tackle these very tough social issues.
KC: What does the future of the fellowship program look like?
ACM: This year, we are excited to continue our monthly virtual meetings with the current class of fellows as they develop their individual projects. They are also building a national #CivicsForUs / @CivicExperts campaign to release on March 2, 2020, which is designed to raise awareness about the inequities of civic education and what it would mean to fuel our democracy by speaking to students of all types. There will be a coordinated “tweet-out,” local and national op-eds, and some of the fellows will be paneling at SXSW EDU. We want to show the world that students of all types are already civic agents and involved in their communities.
We want to facilitate exposure. Our goal is to expand the fellowship class to 20 and a virtual network of 100 young people. When young people are exposed to new people, it opens their minds to new things, and we know there is a lot more exposure we can provide.
KC: Are there any lessons, messages, or takeaways for philanthropy from the fellowship program thus far?
ACM: That’s a great question, and one I’ve been thinking a lot about. There are four lessons to take away from this program, I think. First, we need more programs that develop critical thinkers. Our fellowship is what I call an “ah-ha moment” program — it is designed to expose fellows to peers from different environments and give them the space to challenge, share, and question alongside other young people. This is how they build the capacity for their futures. Second, we need to trust that fellows will leave better people than they came. I have found that funders want to know the impact of their investments right away, but growth is a long-term investment. Ideally, I would love to have the current cohort of fellows come back and be a part of the virtual program in future years, so we can continue to be a resource in that long-term growth. Third, we made an intentional design choice to build our fellowship in a way that is not talent-culling, meaning, it does not take the best of the best and then slams the door on the rest. That model only helps the best to get better, and it leaves a lot of young people behind. I think it’s important that philanthropy invests in programs that keep portions of the curriculum or the experience open to all young people who are motivated to access it. Lastly, we need to trust that young people are not being brainwashed. Our fellows tell us they hear this a lot — that adults in their lives and in the media are telling them they are influenced by the opinions and attitudes of adults at home, at school, even in this program. But they are not. They are living in their communities, and they can see the world. They have their own opinions based on their own observations, and it is our job to acknowledge, respect, and listen to that. If we want to preserve our democracy, we need to support any young person who wants to make their world a better place.
Amber Coleman-Mortley is the Director of Social Engagement at iCivics where she recruits teacher influencers; elevates diverse voices and perspectives within the civic education space; and manages the youth fellowship and network. Prior to joining iCivics, Amber worked for nine years at Sidwell Friends School as a P.E./Health teacher and varsity coach. She holds a B.A. in African-American Studies from Oberlin College and a Master of Communications from American University in Media Entrepreneurship. Amber is an NBC Parent Toolkit Expert. On her blog MomOfAllCapes, she covers parenting strategies in edtech, civic education, parent-teacher partnerships, and social-emotional development. She’s been featured in the LA Times, NY Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, Edutopia, and a variety of other publications. Follow her on Twitter: @MomOfAllCapes.
