HELPING OTHERS is the fourth “step to democracy” in Civic Circle workshops, a civic skill we call: Join! In January, our students learned about the legacy of Martin Luther King, and his maxim that “Everybody can be great … because anybody can serve.” Students learned about service-learning in Maryland, and did a volunteer activity coordinated by the nonprofit group Kits to Heart, which gives curated “care kits” to cancer patients and their loved ones. Students reflected on what it would be like to undergo treatment for cancer, and decorated journals with inspirational messages and activity pages to help patients pass the time and lift their spirits.
THE NEWS INDUSTRY MAY BE STRUGGLING, but Blair High School student journalists at Silver Chips, one of the nation’s leading independent high school newspapers, are going strong. They introduced Civic Circle students to the joy of holding an actual newspaper in your hands, and led a lively discussion about fact-checking, news gathering, and the process of putting the paper together. The older students had great questions, and the younger students had great answers: Why are newspapers important? "To spread real information around the world." Thank you, Silver Chips journalists, for keeping local news alive, and for sharing your passion for truth and accuracy with the next generation!
