Dayton: A Peace Process Education Seminar: “Making Good Citizens – the role of civic and character-education in 21^st century America.”

Sponsored by:

Thomas B. Fordham Foundation

University of Dayton School of Education and Allied Professions

October 10, 2005

Sinclair Community College, Dayton, Ohio

Objectives:

• To identify and define the essential components of “moral” and “civic” knowledge that American students need to know to be competent, thoughtful and responsible citizens throughout their lives.
• To describe how well the current generation of American students understand this knowledge.
• To identify what schools can and can’t do in terms of helping young people acquire the predispositions, skills, knowledge and intellectual virtues necessary for being competent, thoughtful and responsible citizens throughout their lives.
• To identify and share effective methods for teaching civic and character education in schools.
• To identify and share the possible lessons from America for newly developing democracies such as Bosnia, Ukraine, and Iraq.

Agenda:

8:00 a.m. – Continental Breakfast and Registration

8:30 a.m. – Welcome and Introduction: Thomas J. Lasley II, Dean, School of Education and Allied Professions, The University of Dayton

8:40 a.m. – Presentation – “The training of idiots: Civics education in America’s schools.” J. Martin Rochester, Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis

Issues Include: In political life, what defines an idiot? Are today’s young people more “idiotic” than previous generations? What is social studies and how well does it prepare young people to be effective citizens? Can schools and educators do a better job of preparing young people for the complexities of civic engagement in the 21^st century? How can this be achieved?

9:10 a.m. – Panel I: “The core knowledge required for moral, engaged, and responsible citizens.”

                  Participants:

·        Christopher E. Heller, President and CEO, KIDS Voting USA

·        J. Martin Rochester, Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis

·        Mary Beth Klee, Consultant in History Education and Character Education

·        Bishop Herbert Thompson, Episcopalian Bishop of Southern Ohio

Issues Include: Is there a core knowledge base that young people need to know to become engaged and responsible citizens? What do children need to know to become moral, engaged and responsible citizens? Would America be better off if schools simply stuck to teaching the three Rs and stayed out of teaching societal norms and values all together? How can the teaching of civic values help young people better deal with the often volatile feelings that they experience? Whose civic values should be taught?

10:10 Break

10:15 a.m. – Presentation – “The teacher as civic agitator.” Amy Kass, Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago.  

Issues Include: What is a teacher-agitator? How do teacher-agitators help develop students as thoughtful and competent citizens? How should teachers teach to get the “unum” back into the “E Pluribus Unum?” What are the keys to teaching teachers to be effective in preparing young people as citizens?

10:45 a.m. – Panel II: “How to teach for Democracy”

                  Participants:

·        Jeffery Mirel, Professor of Educational Studies and History, University of Michigan School of Education

·        Jayson Franklin, Social Studies Teacher, the WEB DuBois Academy

·        Amy Kass, Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago

·        Walter C. Parker, Professor of Education at the University of Washington, Seattle

Issues Include: What should be the role of formal instruction in civic education? Is teaching “social studies” enough to create moral, engaged and responsible citizens? Can the school alone prepare young people for the responsibilities of effective citizenship? What role can extracurricular activities play in civic education? What role can community service play? What are the most important lessons about the American experience of preparing young people for citizenship that developing democracies should take from us?

11:45 – 12:15 –     Presentation and Concluding Remarks - “The achievement gap and its impact on civic engagement.”  Rod Paige.  Former U.S. Secretary of Education, and Thomas B. Fordham Foundation Board Member.

12:15 – 1:00          Box Lunch and Conversation

1:00 -                     Seminar Adjourned

Registration

To register for the seminar please contact Ms. Mea Greenwood (937-229-3557) or e-mail at mea.greenwood@notes.udayton.edu.  There is no cost for the participants but we do need registration for the purposes of scheduling facilities and lunch. 

Accommodations

Should hotel reservations be required we suggest that you contact the Crowne Plaza at 937-224-0800 or the Dayton Marriott at 937-223-1000.