Civic Engagement Issues

The book Soul of a Citizen by Paul Loeb makes a compelling case for civic engagement. The book emphasizes the need for people to get involved in civic life and it gives examples of people who made a huge impact just by deciding to do. These people saw something that was not right and they went out of their way to help. However, it was not size but they made up their mind that this was what they were going to do and went about doing it. They did not know that by doing that they were going to make a huge impact but they ended up making a huge impact and creating change. Just as these people did, I believe that everyone can engage in civic change and make a different. In this paper, I am going to discuss ways an average citizen can engage in civic life, ways that social worker can encourage others to get involved in civic life and why is it important for social workers to serve in this role.

The focal point of current educational trend in the United States is on preparing the leaders of tomorrow (National Task Force, 2012). Student success has been expanded to include civic responsibility which is a dimension of the college experience largely ignored until recently (Upcraft, Gardner, & Barefoot, 2005). The Department of Education has taken this charge and developed the National Task Force for Democratic and Civic Engagement. This initiative places developing civic responsibility as a national priority based on the tendency of young people who are often too caught up in ‘narrow collegiate worlds’ of their own existence to understand the larger role of being a contributing member of society (Upcraft, Barefoot & Gardner, 2005). Thus, engagement as a participating citizen living in community is frequently beyond the scope of young student leaders in college. Due to this, the government has renewed its interest in creating civic-minded young people prepared to advocate for change. This has led the charge for a civic engagement initiative nationwide.

There has never been a person who has changed the world by sitting back and hoping that someone would do something." This is what my father would say to me when I asked why we were attending town hall meetings. Admittedly, I did not enjoy these meetings as a child; I could not comprehend why these adults were yelling at one another. However, as I grew older I began to appreciate their passion, the belief that through teamwork and organization, these individuals can accomplish something that could not be done otherwise. As a first generation Armenian/Egyptian-American much of my extended family still lives in Egypt. I was raised a stone’s throw from the poverty and despair that marks much of the world. As I continue to move between endless opportunities that the United States has to offer and the deprivation of countries like my parents’, I realize the current challenges as a public agent in the field of reforming health policy in order to alleviate health disparities along ethnic, socioeconomic, and national lines.

When deciding what topic I wanted to write for my Civic Engagement Project, I already had in mind that I wanted something that most of us are not use to seeing nowadays. Many of us compare courts with punishment, but what if there was a court that did the opposite? When I was starting my research on the different courts we have here in Florida, I came across Drug Courts. The more I read up on drug courts, the more I became fascinated and intrigued. Drug courts do not aim to "PUNISH”, but yet to provide treatment to drug abusers. This kind of court believes that everyone deserves a second chance, that extra push. During my research, I was interested in learning a few things. Such things I 'd like to learn about this kind of

For the assignment civic engagement, I volunteer in four projects Temple, Bernie Sanders, Elementary School, and VTA transport to complete my 16 hours community service. However being a part of these amazing projects, I learn and experience a lot of things that how to interact, encourage, and help other peoples.

Civic Engagement Fair: Reflection Essay Socrates once said, “Perfection is constant change”. We live in a world that is constantly changing from the economy to the technology to even our everyday lives. This constant change can be seen particularly through the political process. The Civic Engagement project reflected these changes immensely with differing parties and their platforms, the various ways individuals could participate in the political process and how people discover their own ideals.

The Presidential election of 2000 was the first time we can account for having an election on both sides of the political parties making a real outreach to Latinos, but why is it that although we have been a part of this country’s history since before the beginning did it take so long for the Latino to final be a part of this civic engagement process?

Civic Engagement is a necessary focus that many young adults overlook. It is about learning and knowing how to fight for one’s belief or a noble cause, and trying to bring about change to a social or political condition (Parisella, 2013). The Washington Center’s Civic Engagement Framework required some components such as attending two modules that addressed issues of public concern and strategies for citizen participation, a public policy dialogue, and direct service. The first two served as an educational purpose to teach students how to get involved and finally the direct service allowed the opportunity for students to take action and volunteer. Therefore, I wanted my civic engagement to relate to the hazardous things that humans are exposed

I would like to nominate Dr. Johnson for the Civic Engagement Award based on her inspiring vision of service in Women’s and Gender Studies. Most recently, she organized the 7th biennial Bodies of Knowledge Symposium on the topic of queer kinship and queer community building. Her work in LGBT programming on campus is important for students and community members who identify as LGBT and for others who want to know more about it, especially in South Carolina where this identity can be controversial. She is also teaching a Girls Studies course this semester that includes service learning so that students can learn about the subject in class and apply what they’ve learned by working with young teenage girls in Spartanburg. This past fall, she organized

For a few days after I moved to DC, I wondered what actions I can do to illustrate the concept of “civic engagement.” I thought it was a broad term, maybe because I was not familiar with the American term. However, when I took the time to look over the exceptional amount of things I learned and done in Washington DC, it was easy to write this paper.

During the last century, American involvement toward civic are falling into a slump. This could mark a new era of history for democracy but the question is what happens when only about 5% of American will take part in civic. Since World II American civic engagement are greater and they are more likely to trust their government and community but over time the people trust is beginning fall. What could have caused this trust issue? Well, the problem here is over time the people begin to see a lot lies the government feed them, for an example, the Vietnam war was one of the reason that caused American reduce their trust the government as bomb the country with a lot of civilian casualties but the government only showed American the shooting part.

A volunteering experience that holds a lot of meaning to me was being able to participate in a FCCLA Students Taking Action with Recognition (STAR) Event called Advocacy. As part of my class assignment, my partner and I first had to research a need in our community, state, or throughout our nation and then “advocate it”, or make it know, as well as find a solution. Our research quickly showed that Texas was ranked fourth in the nation for the number of children living in poverty and our own county was ranked 116th out of 264 counties in Texas for the number of children living in conditions below the Federal Poverty Level. This project went from being a class assignment, to a volunteer experience that positively influenced and changed my life in so many ways.

In the Course Competencies section of the Syllabus, specifically in Competency 2, it says how “labs, office hour meetings, asking questions, and tutoring” can be an effective tool to develop college coping skills. However, isn’t it more diverse to add personal preferences as a way of diminishing the amount of stress we can be subjected to? Would not exercise, hobbies, and favorite activities be an important part of college coping skills, mainly as a way of increasing your social capital and motivation? This may bring Honors College students a step closer to “psychological balance” and keep our senses awake.

During my time in Civic 101, I engaged in civic engagement in the local community. While I have had participated in civic causes in the past, I have been able to serve my community to an even further through the volunteer opportunities of this course. Through the civic service I have completed over the past term, I feel as though I have the tools and drive to continue to serve the community through my future endeavors.

Yes, government should be in the business of promoting civic engagement and political participation. Why? Because people usually chose not to vote because they don’t believe that their votes matter or they are not educated on the material that the government is conveying to them. When it comes to politics, America has it good. Citizens that are over eighteen are able to vote on various different political stances. Americans can voice their opinions on what should or shouldn’t happen in the United States. In many countries, people don’t have a choice on what goes on in their government.