Engagement Curriculum For Youth Groups

in their communities. 4-H members have someof their first experiences learning about being apresident, vice-president, secretary and treasurerin their 4-H clubs and learn about parliamentaryprocedure, skills that can be used on communityboards and in local, state and federal government. 4-H members practice giving back totheir communities and caring for others by doingcommunity service activities. They learn andpractice leadership skills through demonstrationsand public speeches. Since 1982, Michigan 4-Hhas taught thousands of teens about state government and for a longer period of time, has had tripsto Washington D.C. to learn about the federalgovernment.The idea of a “Citizenship Academy” was originally conceived by Genesee County, MichiganState University Extension, in 1998 in order toincrease youth interest in the area of citizenship.The Citizenship Academy program in GeneseeCounty is founded on a partnership with theGenesee County Board of Commissioners. Eachof the nine county commissioners sponsors onehigh school student from his or her district withinthe county, and the nine sponsored students thusmake up the Citizenship Academy. Memberslearn about Genesee County history and politicalstructure, visit public facilities and attend countyboard meetings to foster knowledge of the localpolitical process. The youth explore county issuesand ultimately draft policy proposals, which arepresented before the board of commissioners.The groups have, historically, effected significantchange through their work and their relationshipwith county officials.The program has since had academies in Antrim,Livingston and St. Joseph counties, all coordinatedthrough Michigan State University Extension4-H Youth Development. The academies havebeen adapted to their unique environments atthe county level, but they continue to share thecommon goal of preparing the next generation ofactive, committed citizens.Why should Michigan4-H be involved in civicengagement?There are a variety of reasons that make Michigan 4-H a natural leader in this brand of civicengagement. First, being included and involvedin one’s community is a fundamental piece of thephilosophy of Michigan 4-H; one of the organization’s seven guiding principles for positive youthdevelopment is that “youth grow and contributeas active citizens through service and leadership.”Furthermore, the status of 4-H as an independentextracurricular education program helps to address the challenges that civic engagement facesin formal education. According to the CarnegieCorporation of New York and the Center forInformation and Research onCivic Learning and Engagement, “A youth is to be regardedwith respect. How do youcivic education in high schoolsis usually confined to a singleknow that his future willgovernment class, the focus ofnot be equal to ourwhich is mostly structures andpresent?”functions, with little discus— Confuciussion of the citizen’s role. Thisde-emphasis on citizenship and civic educationin schools is attributable to a number of factors:avoidance of topics that may seem controversialor political, lack of opportunity to experimentwith alternative approaches to civic education andbudget cutbacks from extracurricular programssuch as community service projects. Additionally,high-stakes testing in reading, writing and mathematics can divert resources away from civic education. Even when civics is included as a contentarea in standardized testing, performance is oftenmeasured only in terms of knowledge – skills andattitudes are ignored. In this way, the high-stakestesting movement can serve as a disincentive forschools to implement effective civic engagementprograms. For these reasons, it is all the moreimportant for organizations like 4-H to supplement civic education in the schools by providingexperiential learning opportunities.Creating a space forcitizenship and civicengagementThere are a variety of ways to introduce youngpeople to concepts of civic engagement orstrengthen the citizenship skills that they alreadypractice. 4-H traditionally employs “club” programs to support the development of youthparticipants in their areas of interest, and citizenship and civic engagement principles can growwithin the club structure. The most direct way toexpose young people to these concepts is to create a citizenship club, the central focus of whichis exploring issues of citizenship and civic engagement and becoming socially and politically activein the community. Clubs of this nature can meetcontinuously, on a permanent basis, or for limitedperiods to cover specific topics. Alternatively,already existing clubs with a focus other than4-H Citizenship: Government Is Us! A Civic Engagement Curriculum for Youth GroupsMichigan State University Extension 4-H Youth Development3

citizenship and civic engagement can incorporatethese ideas into their activities. Indeed, one of thecomponents of a model 4-H club is involvementin the community. For more information on clubdevelopment, visit the Michigan 4-H Youth Development Club Resources web site at http://web1.msue.msu.edu/cyf/youth/clubs.Other avenues for incorporating citizenship andcivic engagement content are through the formalschool curriculum and extracurricular after-schoolprograms. Recently, experts in the field of civiceducation have made calls to include a more experiential aspect to traditional civics programs inthe schools. Furthermore, the Michigan Department of Education, in redefining the state contentstandards for high school social studies, has placedresponsible citizenship as the ultimate goal of social studies education in the schools. Understanding and practicing citizenship and civic engagementis now a critical part of formal education.The political role of youthorganizationsYouth clubs and organizations inevitably havea political role. Whether intentionally or not,youth clubs encourage and reinforce a certainset of values and morals. Young people learnabout citizenship and character according to thegroup’s principles. For example, 4-H membersmake the 4-H pledge at every club meeting: “Ipledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart togreater loyalty, my hands to greater service, andmy health to better living for my club, my community, my country and my world.” Additionally,the governance of the club serves as a sort ofmicrocosm for our federal, state and local governments, and club officer training helps to teach theskills, knowledge and attitudes needed for futuregovernment involvement. In“4-H club activities involve these ways, youth learn howyouth in such experiences to function in a community andconform to a certain definias discussing issues,working in teams and tak- tion of citizenship, providing asolid foundation for the politicaling action — citizenshipsystem. That is, even if a youthskills that can be usedgroup is not founded aroundtoday and in the future.”the idea of civic engagement, it— Cyndi Mark, ph.D., still has a uniquely civic role inMichigan 4-H Program Leader the lives of its members.It is therefore the responsibility of youth organizations to define a responsible version of citizenship.The norms that are established and promoted bythe organization should encourage good charac4ter, tolerance and participation. These are important considerations regardless of the type of youthorganization; from rabbit raising clubs to theatretroupes – groups are political by nature, andgroup membership teaches young people politicalattitudes. Incorporating activities into the programthat highlight responsible citizenship is a way toensure that the youth organization is sending theright message about citizenship.Recruiting young peopleIdentifying and engaging participants in civiceducation are important steps in the process ofimplementing a program. Programmers in thisfield can benefit from the recent trend in manyhigh schools that requires student participation incommunity service projects. Even in the absenceof this requirement, establishing a relationshipwith schools is often the most effective way ofrecruiting young people. Working with principals,teachers and school counselors to identify candidates and distribute marketing materials and/orapplications has proven to be a successful method.This requires an active effort on the part of theprogrammer in order to reach out to schoolofficials and establish cooperative relationships.Other avenues of recruitment include web-basedmarketing, posting flyers in public places, newsarticles, recruiting youth from other youth organizations and directly contacting parents.As one of the major goals of civic education is tohelp young people understand a more inclusivedefinition of citizenship and of “the commongood,” it is important to consider a diverse, inclusive group of participants, facilitators and guestsfor any civic engagement program. This emphasison diversity should be present at all stages of theprogram – planning, implementation and evaluation – for the benefit of youth involved.Forming partnershipsYouth civic engagement requires collective action.Young people will not learn what it means to bepart of their democracy by working alone. A highly effective form of partnership is one betweenyouth and adults. This can encompass one orseveral adults providing guidance and support toa youth group or a youth group co-operating withan adult organization. Adult groups are often opento youth involvement for the unique perspectivethat young people bring. The youth group or theprogrammer should actively seek out individualadults or organizations that are affected by the4-H Citizenship: Government Is Us! A Civic Engagement Curriculum for Youth GroupsMichigan State University Extension 4-H Youth Development

same problems or that are interested in the sameissues.A particularly effective youth-adult partnership isone that links youth to an official governmentalbody. There are several examples in this curriculum of youth working with government officials– including the preceding Citizenship Academyexample – and this provides a unique opportunityfor young people to be involved in the politicalprocess. It is recommended that the programmercontact local government officials prior to beginning the program to determine if there is interestin collaboration. Indeed, the programs mentionedhere are founded on such collaboration. Attendinglocal government board meetings or schedulingappointments with individual board membersare both effective ways to introduce the idea togovernment officials.cal process. The activities included in this curriculum can be used several different ways. Theactivities can be done individually or in a series.They can be combined in a series of special groupsessions, as part of a regularly scheduled meetingor a one-day workshop. Non-4-H groups will findthe material helpful when planning civic educationprojects.Table 1 below shows the scope and sequence ofthe curriculum.Although the curriculum is designed to be usedas a whole, specific materials may be useful asa supplement to any civic education programor as an introduction to citizenship for groupsnot working directly with civics. Youth groupsinterested in citizenship, leadership and serviceactivities may find pieces of the curriculum usefulin working toward their goals.How to use this curriculum Reflecting on what hasThis curriculum is arranged in such a way as tobeen learnedprovide a coherent plan for anyone interested instarting a youth group with a local citizenship focus. It consists of six units: “Citizenship Defined,”“Diversity and Inclusion,” “Issues Identification,”“Local Government Knowledge,” “Taking Action”and “Finishing Strong.” These units are arrangedsequentially, and each contains user-friendly activities and materials designed to lead youth throughthe process of becoming active in the local politi-An important element of any citizenship and civicengagement activity is to make time for reflectionand sharing. Each activity in this curriculum is concluded with a series of reflection questions to helpyouth participants think critically about what theyhave learned and how it is important in a broadersocial context. This process of reflection is equallyimportant after taking action in the community.Table 1: Scope and sequenceContent areaUnit 1: Citizenship definedCorresponding ActivitiesUnit 2: Diversity and inclusion “Walk the (Trust) Walk”“Communicating Through Conflict”“Exploring And Challenging Stereotypes”“A Class Divided”Unit 3: Issues identification “It’s My Right!”“Agree To Disagree”“We Have Issues”“Cause And Effect”Unit 4: Local government knowledge “The ‘Invisible’ Government” “Behind-The-Scenes Of Local GovernmentUnit 5: Taking action “Board Meeting” “Guide: Writing A Petition” “Guide: Writing A Policy Brief”Unit 6: Finishing strong “Put on Your Reflecting Cap” “What Is Citizenship?” “Five Easy Pieces of Citizenship” “Government Is Us”4-H Citizenship: Government Is Us! A Civic Engagement Curriculum for Youth GroupsMichigan State University Extension 4-H Youth Development5

Whether engaging with community leaders, performing a community service activity or writingletters to your U.S. congressperson, it is important to make time for the group to share, processand think about how what they have leaned andaccomplished fits into the bigger social picture.Unit 6 focuses further on reflection and providesan activity to carry out a reflection project.Life skillsLife skills are defined as skills needed for effective living. Youth development programs can andshould actively promote the acquisition of theseskills that help individuals achieve success andsatisfaction in their lives. Examples of life skillsinclude communication, problem-solving, healthylifestyle choices and goal setting. Young peopleoften learn life skills from parents, peers and theircommunities in non-formal settings; youth development programs can supplement and enhancethese lessons with carefully planned, high qualityexperiences that give youth an opportunity tolearn and practice life skills in an intentional way.Citizenship and civic education training is a naturalspace for learning life skills. Learning to be a goodcitizen requires competency in many of the lifeskills, and each of the activities in this curriculumstate which of these skills are addressed and practiced. For more information on life skills, visit theIowa 4-H Youth Development web site, wherethey present their Targeting Life Skills ls/previewwheel.html.Notes to classroomteachersHigh school and middle school teachers may usethe materials in the curriculum to provide an experiential learning component to support formaleducation in social studies, in general, and civicsand government, in particular. Half of all publicschools currently have service-learning programsas part of their curricula, and this curriculum canfunction as a guide for implementing a servicelearning program that is connected to classroomlearning in civics and government. Shelley Billigof RMC Research Corporation has documentedthe benefits of service-learning programs for boththe student and the school; some examples areimproved grades and standardized test scores,improved overall school climate, increased mutualrespect between teachers and students and ahigher rate of student attendance.In order to facilitate the use of this curriculumin schools, social studies standards for the Stateof Michigan’s curricular framework are providedfor each activity in this curriculum. Responsiblecitizenship is the stated goal of high school socialstudies education for the Michigan Department ofEducation, and engagement in the real civic life ofone’s community is a cornerstone of the state’sexpectations. Therefore, a clear connection hasbeen made between the activities in this curriculum and the associated standards and expectationsfor social studies learning.Notes to advisorsDue to the multicultural nature of the materialin this curriculum, and the inclusive definition ofthe “common good” that the curriculum encourages, it is important for the user of the curriculumto have a good understanding of his or her owncultural values and assumptions. A good place tostart is by looking at our own cultural heritageand determining how it affects our present biasesand ideas of right and wrong. An understandingof how discrimination, stereotyping and oppression play out in society – and how we affect andare affected by them – is also a key part of beingmulticulturally sensitive. Ultimately, users of thiscurriculum should feel comfortable with differences that exist between themselves and othersin terms of race, gender, class, ethnicity, cultureand beliefs. It is equally important to recognizethe limits of our cultural sensitivity and, where appropriate, seek out opportunities to improve ourawareness through trainings, consultations, or bytalking with more qualified individuals.“Education is not preparation for life; education islife itself.”— John Dewey64-H Citizenship: Government Is Us! A Civic Engagement Curriculum for Youth GroupsMichigan State University Extension 4-H Youth Development

ReferencesBillig, S.H. (2000). Research of K-12 school-based service-learning: The evidence builds. Phi Delta Kappan, 81, 658-664.Carnegie Corporation of New York and The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learningand Engagement. (2003). The Civic Mission of Schools. New York: Carnegie Corporation.Diemer, M.A., & Hsieh, C. (in press). Sociopolitical development and vocational expectations amonglower-SES Adolescents of Color. Career Development Quarterly.Flanagan, C., & Van Horn, B. (2003). Youth civic development: A logical next step in community youthdevelopment. In F.A. Villarruel, D.F. Perkins, L.M. Borden, & J.G. Keith (Eds.), Community youth development: Programs, policies, and practices (pp. 273-296). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Hendricks, P.A. (1996). Targeting life skills model: Incorporating developmentally appropriate learning opportunities to assess impact of life skill development. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Extension.Michigan Department of Education. (2007). High school social studies content expectations.Sue, D.W., Arredondo, P., & McDavis, R.J. (1992). Multicultural counseling competencies and standards:A call to the profession. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 477-486.Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2004). What kind of citizen? The politics of educating for democracy. American Educational Research Journal. Vol. 41(2). 237-269.4-H Citizenship: Government Is Us! A Civic Engagement Curriculum for Youth GroupsMichigan State University Extension 4-H Youth Development7

84-H Citizenship: Government Is Us! A Civic Engagement Curriculum for Youth GroupsMichigan State University Extension 4-H Youth Development

UNIT 1: Citizenship DefinedActive citizens are the building blocks of ourdemocracy, and Michigan 4-H recognizes theimportance of developing good citizens amongour youth. A democracy is only as strong as thecitizens that make it up, and strength comes fromhaving the knowledge, skills and attitudes to workfor a common good.Citizenship meansresponsibilityCitizenship means enjoying certain rights and accepting certain responsibilities. As citizens in theUnited States, we all benefit from the freedomsprovided to us by the Constitution. But enjoyingthese privileges is only part of being a citizen. Wealso have to give back to ensure

A Civic Engagement Curriculum for Youth Groups 1 Michigan State University Extension 4-H Youth Development Acknowledgments. Leadership team and . authors. Cynthia Mark, PhD. 4-H Youth Development Michigan State University Extension Adam Voight 4-H Youth Development Michigan State University Extension Marian Reiter 4-H Youth Development