Click above to watch Malachi Byrd read the audience-written collective poem “Democracy to Me.” WELCOME TO DAY THREE of the Civic Challenge! Today is all about voting (Choose!). Voting is at the heart of democracy, and students in our workshops do mock elections, learn about voting rights, and create their own songs, poems and art about what it means to make decisions as a group. Today, we invite you to support our work to empower civic engagement through…
WELCOME TO DAY TWO of The Civic Challenge! This week, we are inviting you to support our urgent mission to empower youth civic engagement through the arts. We’re also inviting you to weigh in on why the seven “steps to democracy” at the core of our program matter to you. Today, we invite your reflections on how to sift truth from fiction (Learn!), an increasingly challenging task for students as reliable news sources compete with conspiracy theories on…
TODAY, WE INVITE YOU to help up promote democracy and student success! Day one of this challenge will focus on the first “step to democracy” in our program: Civility, respect and peaceful conflict resolution (Listen!). This challenge is twofold. First, we invite you to support our program so we can continue helping students learn tolerance and civility through activities like listening games, conflict resolution scenarios, and teaching artist residencies that explore nonviolence, bullying prevention and peace. Second, we challenge…
AT THE CIVIC CIRCLE, we combine two powerful forces in the lives of youth: democracy and the arts. Starting this Monday, May 12, we are launching a campaign that will invite you to stand up for democracy by supporting our work, and by sharing your commitment to the civic principles at the heart of our program. The arts and democracy are inextricably intertwined. The freedoms we enjoy in our democratic society give artists the space to…
Interfaith Works visits Civic Circle students in Wheaton DEMOCRACY, HISTORY AND THE ARTS may be in retreat at the federal level, but in Civic Circle workshops they are going strong. At Arcola Elementary School and the Pembridge Square Apartments, students are doing service-learning activities centered on food and its role in our community. They’ve created community cookbooks to celebrate their cultures of heritage, and shared environmental messages about food waste through mini-magazines called “Zines.” They have also explored food…