First-Year Civic Engagement: Sound Foundations for College ...

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Faces/Phases of CitizenshipFace/Phase Community is… Civic Scope Levels of Knowledge BenefitsExclusionaryonly your own civic disengagement one vantage pointmonoculturala few and only fora whileOblivious a resource to mine civic detachment observational skillsonelargely monoculturalpartyNaïve a resource to engage civic amnesiano historyno vantage point aculturalrandom peopleCharitablea resource that needsassistancecivic altruismawareness of deprivationsaffective kindliness and respectmulticultural, but yours isstill the cultural normthe giver’s feelings,the sufferer’s immediateneedsReciprocala resource toempower and beempowered bycivic engagementlegacies of inequalitiesvalues of partneringintercultural competenciesarts of democracymultiple vantage points multiculturalsociety as a whole inthe presentGenerativean interdependentresource filled withpossibilitiescivic prosperitystruggles for democracy interconnectednessanalysis of interlocking systemsintercultural competenciesarts of democracymultiple interactive vantage points multiculturaleveryone now and inthe future
CHAPTER 5The Role of Newspapers in the First Year of CollegeFelice Nudelman, Director of Education, and Don Hecker, Training Editor for Staff Editors, The New York TimesIt is the first year of college, and every first-year student findseach day brings a new world and new marvels. For each newstudent the experience is a profoundly individual one. Studentssee their own experiences as unique; it is educators and mentorswho see — and encourage — the commonalities. By includingnewspapers in curricula and co-curricula, educators can nurturereading habits, create shared readings and discussions, and establisha culture of engagement. Newspapers can help students makeconnections — to their courses, their campus, their studies, theirlives, the contemporary worldHabits of Mind, New ConnectionsThe first year of college will establish the pattern and habit ofinvolvement that brings success in students’ college careers (andbeyond, the optimist hopes). This is when individual studentsdevelop the living connection with their peers, the faculty andthe institution itself. This is a time to encourage, if not impose,structure. Reading a nationally circulated, high-quality newspapercreates a shared environment based on contemporary eventsand issues.As with many other experiences of first-year students, the regularreading of a newspaper is likely a new habit. Newspapers arechroniclers of current events. Some of those events will be familiarto students, but others will not. The newspaper leads its novicereaders from the familiar to the new, encouraging an understandingoutside their own “bubble.”But the newspaper also enriches and enlarges that more focusedworld of the individual. The newspaper is the naturalextension of the textbook, providing the new chapters on eventsthat develop after the book is printed. And as students use theirgrowing academic learning to examine the larger world withgreater sophistication, the newspaper provides them with timelyinformation on national and global issues, matters of law, andsocial and political topics. Readers find debates about the environment,the evolving scientific landscape, government rulings,corporate ethics, civil liberties, terrorism, and a wide array of constitutionalissues. As students are exposed to diverse arguments,they learn to intellectually challenge and defend ideas, to siftthrough conflicting presentations in the search for conclusions.They become more critical thinkers.Engaged Readers and College SuccessIn “Bowling Alone,” Robert D. Putnam posited the importance ofassociational activity in an effective democracy, and he found adirect connection between newspaper readership and good citizenship.The newspaper helps students develop patterns of civicresponsibility by providing a front row seat from which to explorecurrent events and issues; informed awareness leads to engagement.Through the newspaper, students gain a critical knowledgeof issues and needs. Novice newspaper readers grow into skilledanalytical readers. They also become more skilled as writers sincethey are introduced in the newspaper’s pages to sophisticated andcreative exposition and analysis of issues.Newspaper-reading students find common ground with theirpeers and faculty in their growing ability to discuss the criticalissues of the day. They see connections between what they learnin the classroom and the world around them. This makes thatall-important first year of college more coherent and more comprehensibleand instills in students greater self-confidence. Here,then, is a powerful tool to promote student success, and througha body of successful students, to promote institutional success.Generating Civic Engagement with Newspapers: CasesWithin this monograph are some excellent examples of howthe newspaper and news information can be integrated into firstyearcourses and activities. These colleges demonstrate the valueand importance of the newspaper in creating a culture of civicengagement.Allegheny College uses The Times to create a cohort of engagedfirst-year students, many of whom have not read a newspaperbefore entering the college. They hone their verbal and analyticalskills by first leading a discussion in class and then movingbeyond discussion to the exploration and analysis of long-heldbeliefs. Their newfound awareness encourages them to explorethe world beyond their bubble, to reflect on their role in the community.At The Richard Stockton College, students utilize The Times toresearch environmental issues for their Environmental Citizenshipcourse. A key component of the course is engagement with the communitythrough council meetings, issue briefs, and events on campus.Because the newspaper is integrated into the course, students
Page 1: First-Year Civic Engagement:Sound F
Page 5 and 6: CONTENTSivPrefaceMartha J. LaBare,
Page 7: Zlotkowski, Edward, ed. (2002). Ser
Page 10 and 11: we had the “great flood” of the
Page 12 and 13: Requiring civic engagement demonstr
Page 14 and 15: The preparation of citizens was one
Page 16 and 17: preparation. At its heart, this wor
Page 18 and 19: in it of particular interest to tho
Page 20 and 21: often in tension. Political partici
Page 22 and 23: educating students for active citiz
Page 24 and 25: CHAPTER 4Civic Learning: Aligning P
Page 28 and 29: ecome more informed and participate
Page 30 and 31: ReferencesAstin, A.W., Vogelgesang,
Page 32 and 33: photography techniques to inmates a
Page 34 and 35: CHAPTER 8Action Steps to Move theFi
Page 36 and 37: ConclusionI wish to be very clear t
Page 38 and 39: CASE STUDYALLEGHENY COLLEGECivic En
Page 40 and 41: CASE STUDYANTIOCH COLLEGECivic Enga
Page 42 and 43: CASE STUDYCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSI
Page 44 and 45: CASE STUDYCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSI
Page 46 and 47: CASE STUDYCHANDLER-GILBERT COMMUNIT
Page 48 and 49: CGCC Global Engagement:http://www.c
Page 50 and 51: student blog in which students are
Page 52 and 53: CASE STUDYTHE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY
Page 54 and 55: I. Contributors’ Names and Contac
Page 56 and 57: opportunities of CSU students and C
Page 58 and 59: needs, and expectations of the serv
Page 60 and 61: Although Times Talk began in Septem
Page 62 and 63: CASE STUDYFRANKLIN PIERCE UNIVERSIT
Page 64 and 65: We now have a comprehensive assessm
Page 66 and 67: Another major assignment for this c
Page 68 and 69: CASE STUDYHAMPDEN-SYDNEY COLLEGELiv
Page 70 and 71: I. Contributors’ Names and Contac
Page 72 and 73: Qualitative assessment begins with
Page 74 and 75: 3. Lessons in Democracy. The IUPUI
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CASE STUDYLEHIGH UNIVERSITYJudging
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CASE STUDYMARS HILL COLLEGELifeWork
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CASE STUDYMERCER UNIVERSITYInterdis
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CASE STUDYMICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
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CASE STUDYPACE UNIVERSITYCivic Enga
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Susan-Feather GannonProfessor, Tech
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AssessmentData were gathered from s
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CASE STUDYPITZER COLLEGEThe Communi
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from people different from themselv
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Table 1Summary of the Major Outcome
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engaged stewards of the environment
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HIV-positive individuals. They also
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Students were then equipped to eval
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the World Affairs Council (WAC), in
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CASE STUDYTRINITY UNIVERSITYCivic E
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I. Contributors’ Names and Contac
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in the organization of health care
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study and a series of retreats as p
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ing based opportunities. Both semes
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engaging first-year students and st
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CASE STUDYWEBER STATE UNIVERSITY CO
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