Democracy

Golden could be the first Colorado city to lower the minimum voting age to 16 (Orton.org)
Colorado law limits voting to adults 18 and older, but as a home rule city, Golden could lower that age threshold for municipal-only races and ballot issues. People would still need to be at least 18 to hold office in Golden. If the measure passes, the first election that minors would likely be able to vote in would be November 2019. Continue Reading

The forgotten majority: how norms inform the practice of democracy (Vox)
We have a lot of norms about democracy. They're not all consistent. Continue Reading

Study Finds Partisan Beliefs Drive Attitudes Toward New Media (Courthouse News)
Nearly two years into Donald Trump's presidency, the partisan divide over the media and its role in the American democracy appears to have widened, a new study from the Pew Research Center says. Continue Reading

Opportunity/Inequality

Black students default on college loans at a higher rate than others, study finds (Hechinger Report)
There's great disparity in the way that college graduates pay back student loans. Among black bachelor's degree holders, 21 percent defaulted on their student loans within 12 years of entering college, according to a report released this week from The Institute for College Access and Success. Only 8 percent of Hispanic degree holders and 3 percent of white degree holders defaulted within that time period. Continue Reading

Income inequality is changing how we think, live, and die (Vox)
Why society might be more stable if we had more poverty and less inequality. Continue Reading

Engagement

College-age voters: increasingly courted - and thwarted (Christian Science Monitor)
Many students are too busy to care much about politics, but those who tune in can make the difference in a tight race - so battles are heating up over whether certain voting rules create unfair barriers. Continue Reading

Will de Blasio's ballot proposals make a difference? (City & State)
City Councilman Brad Lander evaluates the mayor's Charter Revision Commission. Continue Reading

How governments can let citizens call the shots (GovInsider)
Participatory budgeting can help citizens become decision-makers, serve the underprivileged and be a force for good on a national scale. Continue Reading

K-12

Want to boost test scores and increase grad rates? One strategy: look outside schools and help low-income families (Chalkbeat)
A large and growing body of research backs up Marquita's experience, documenting not only that poverty hurts students in school, but that specific anti-poverty programs can counteract that harm. These programs - or other methods of increasing family income - boost students' test scores, make them more likely to finish high school, and raise their chances of enrolling in college. Continue Reading

Report: 44 states have implemented at least one K-12 computer science policy (Education Dive)
Since 2013, the number of states with at least one policy related to computer science education in K-12 schools has increased from 14 to 44, according to a State of Computer Science Education report released Thursday from the Code.org Advocacy Coalition and the Computer Science Teachers Association. Continue Reading

The Future of Education: K-12 Superintendents' Views (Gallup)
U.S. public school superintendents remain enthusiastic about the future of their school district, but they are much less excited about public education nationwide. Eighty-six percent of K-12 superintendents agree they are excited about the future of their district, including 53% who strongly agree. Only half as many, 42%, agree they are excited about the future of K-12 public education in the U.S. Continue Reading

Higher Ed/Workforce

Diversity Fatigue Is Real (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
For many folks of color in the academy, the language of diversity itself is tired and appears to be bandied about primarily for branding purposes. Continue Reading

How the Great Recession changed higher education forever (Washington Post)
For some colleges, the past 10 years have involved moving from one year to the next while grasping for strategies that might last longer. Others have approached the challenges of this past decade by hunkering down, hoping the tough times will simply pass. Rarely do enough college leaders peer far enough into the future, instead confronting the challenges ahead of them, incrementally, one year at a time. Continue Reading

Report: Colleges need more time to fill their incoming classes (Education Dive)
As competition for students increases, colleges are struggling to meet their target enrollment numbers by the traditional May 1 deadline, according to Inside Higher Ed's 2018 Survey of College and University Admissions Directors. The survey analyzed responses from 499 senior admissions or enrollment management professionals. Continue Reading

Health Care

Tennessee joins push for Medicaid work requirements (Modern Healthcare)
Tennessee officially posted its Medicaid waiver that would require enrollees to either seek or maintain work.It's the fourth state to propose a Medicaid work requirement this month for comment. Continue Reading

Health Care Transparency Effort Lags (WLRN)
With just months left in his term, one of Gov. Rick Scott's key health-care initiatives remains in limbo. Scott convinced legislators to set aside $3.5 million to create a new website and to create a claims database that would allow Floridians to shop around when it comes to health care. But with Scott ready to leave the governor's office in January, the health-care price information still isn't available to Florida consumers. Continue Reading

Bipartisan Negativity in Views of the Healthcare Industry (Gallup)
Republicans and Democrats have held similar views of the U.S. healthcare industry over the last two years since President Donald Trump took office, with 37% of Republicans and 33% of Democrats viewing it "very" or "somewhat" positively. However, this reflects a significant souring of Democrats' views of the healthcare industry since Barack Obama's second term as president. Republicans' views of the industry have recovered to pre-Obama levels. Continue Reading

Good morning, dear friends in social studies and civics. Today, let’s highlight the keynotes and special events. We have referred to these in prior posts about the conference (here and here and here, for example), but let’s talk about them a bit more today. And of course be sure to register for the conference here!

Friday, October 19, 2018

So Friday will be fun! Friday evening, there will be a reception open to all attendees to get us into the ‘Sunshine State of Mind’ and celebrate the great work being done with social studies in the state. The reception will be in the Heroes Ballroom at the hotel/conference center, and there will likely be some excellent food and drink available to enjoy as you mingle with colleagues, make new friends, and connect with some of the sponsors and vendors that will no doubt be attending and offering you some stuff! And to make it even more fun, folks are asked to wear something that represents key events,. people, or social or cultural aspects of this state of ours. Let’s show folks that there is more to Florida than Disney!

Saturday, October 20, 2018
Morning Keynote

Is social studies a constitutional right?  What a question, and one that in many ways is even more pressing than before as we struggle to make our way through civic life. UNC-Charlotte professor Dr. Tina Heafner, a renowned researcher, writer, and scholar of the social studies, will talk with us about why social studies can have such an impact on the quality of life and the quality of our nation, and why it matters so much. I have had the great pleasure of talking with Dr. Heafner in the past, and have heard her speak numerous times and this will be an excellent and engaging keynote about a provactive and important question. You can learn more about Dr. Heafner here.

Saturday, October 20, 2018
Awards Dinner

It’s time to have some fun! Join your friends and colleagues as social studies educators from all levels of instruction and from across the state are recognized for their hard work and leadership! This will be in the Legends Ballroom, from 6:30-8:30 PM.

Sunday, October 21, 2018
Brunch Keynote

The Sikh Coalition has been generous in providing a keynote speaker for Sunday Brunch. Satjeet Kaur, Executive Director of the Sikh Coalition, will talk about creating a healthy and inclusive classroom and provide us tools that we can use to do so! In the current climate that sometimes can boil over into our classrooms, this is something I think that we all can find useful!

Have I told you to be sure to register for the conference here!

About this time last year, the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship, as part of the Lou Frey Institute, was honored to be invited to attend and participate in the CivXNow discussion in Washington, DC with leading figures in Civics education. This Thursday, throughout the day, we will be participating in an online Twitter discussion about the state of civic education in the country today, and we encourage you to join us using #CivXNow, and feel free to @ us @FL_Citizen. And if you aren’t able to join, please consider taking the pledge to dedicate yourself to improving civic education in the United States!  Take the pledge if you believe every young person deserves to understand their rights and be equipped with the skills necessary to be informed and effectively engaged!

American Founders’ Month continues in Florida. Today, we look at an actual Founder of Florida, William Dunn Moseley. Governor Moseley was the first elected of governor of the new state of Florida, from 1845-1849. Before Moseley, Florida had the legendary Andrew Jackson as military governor and a series of territorial governors. So how was Moseley as a governor?

Like the vast majority of other Florida governors, Moseley was a Democrat (though we should recall that the meaning of ‘Democrat’ and ‘Republican’ has changed over time). Also like many of his peers, he was a supporter of states’ rights and slavery, owning a plantation near what is now Lake Miccosukee in Jefferson County. It is under Moseley, however that the first real efforts were made to establish a peaceful relationship with the Seminole Indians and the establishment of an agricultural industry focused around citrus.

You can learn more about Governor Moseley from the Florida Department of State!

Grab the PPT slide featured at the top of this post here: Governor of Florida Moseley FM

It’s that time again, dear friends! Time to check out Florida Council for the Social Studies conference sessions, scheduled for late October. Today, let’s take a look at some more early Saturday sessions. And of course, don’t forget to dress up for the Friday night reception!

Saturday, October 20, 2018
Concurrent Session 1
What if Everything You Knew About Hinduism was Wrong? 
Aesha Mehta, Hindu American Foundation

I have attended versions of this session at other conferences, and it is an EXCELLENT introduction into Hinduism, especially for those that may be teaching world history! And of course, the Hindu American Foundation has always been generous supporters of FCSS in the past! 

Conduct Relevant and Engaging Civil Conversations
Jennifer Jolley, Palm Bay Magnet High School
Frank Stockman, Bayside High School
Steve Masyada, FJCC at the Lou Frey Institute

This session draws on the work of the Constitutional Rights Foundation T2T Collab, and the effort to provide teachers with diverse pedagogical tools for teaching and learning about controversial issues and having difficult conversations. 

Concurrent Session 2
Teaching the Civil Rights Movement: Beyond Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks
Judy Lindquist, Orange County Public Schools/UCF

There is way more to learning about civil rights than the traditional standbys. This session will show you how to use primary sources, complex texts, and engaging literacy activities to go deeper!

Fostering Civic Engagement Through Design Thinking

Brian Furgione, University of Central Florida
This is a CUFA-oriented session open to practitioners (like you!)  that focuses on creating engaging and authentic experiences for civic learning in the classroom. Certainly worth a look, as we think about new ways to engage our kids! 

We’ll explore more sessions, including Sunday’s sessions and the keynotes, in a later post, but don’t forget that you are also invited to attend the Awards Dinner Saturday evening, where your peers will be recognized for their contributions to our field and our wonderful profession!

Be sure to register for the conference here.