Civics Institute eyeballs teens at special community breakfast
Hartville Record - 9/18/03
Most people would agree that it is a good idea to get young people more engaged in the process of government. But how do you get a teenager interested in the intricacies of Medicare funding?
You don't. But laws that could affect when and how they receive a driver's license might get their attention. Once engaged, the teens might find the workings of the state government more relevant.
That's the idea behind the non-profit Civics Institute, which has been working relatively quietly for about three years on a project to improve middle school and high school course work regarding state and local government.
The initiative goes beyond lesson plans. Organizers hope to actively encourage youngsters to become more involved in the process, including drafting and supporting new legislation.
“It's clear the students aren't involved,” said Craig Ruff, who works for Public Sector Consultants, a public policy research firm in Lansing.
The goal of the project, he said, is for students to learn “how you practice good government, what you have a legitimate right to expect and how you advocate” your position within the governmental process.
The project is hoping for both a fund-raising and publicity boost Friday with the first Celebration of Civic Engagement at the Double Tree Hotel in Novi.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm is the keynote speaker at the $250-a-plate breakfast, which is hosted by an array of bi-partisan lawmakers, educators and business and civic leaders.
Ruff was attracted to the project by its biggest booster and Civics Institute chair, Doug Hart, who is also a Republican state representative from Rockford, near Grand Rapids.
Democracy depends on informed citizenry, but hart was convinced that “students lack the basic knowledge about how state government works and what it does,” said Ruff.
A former teacher, Hart enlisted the state's association of social studies teachers to create a curriculum that brings state and local government to the classroom.
To further involve students, Hart has recruited up to 30 state representatives to conduct workshops around the state in which students are encouraged to suggest new legislation.
Tiffany Aurora, who is on Hart's staff, says there have already been at least two legislative initiatives prompted by students.
As a result of one, Granholm signed a resolution that declares October as Backpack Safety Awareness Month. The other will result in budget language that will encourage the state to provide $10,000 in phone cards for Michigan residents serving overseas in the military.