How Shall We Live Together? Promoting Civility and Civic Engagement Across the School System

Home Democracy Schools 2024 Democracy Schools Convening- How Shall We Live Together? Promoting Civility and Civic Engagement Across the School System

Join the Illinois Democracy Schools Network for a day of learning about civic learning ACROSS the disciplines in grades K-12. Join a wide range of experts to delve into how ALL educators can prepare students for college, career, and civic life. Registration includes parking, a light breakfast, and lunch. Members of the Illinois Democracy School Network can contact Sue Khalaieff for information on reduced registration fees.

Agenda

Monday, September 23rd, 2024

7:30 a.m.

Doors open, and a light breakfast is available.
Civic Learning Providers will have tables for participants to visit.
Choose a book related to civic learning across disciplines as your gift from the DSI Team. Early arrivals have the first choice!

8:30 a.m.

Welcome and Opening Remarks

8:45 a.m.

Opening Panel: Civics: How shall we live together? A perspective from DSN Stakeholders

9:45 a.m. DSN Table Talk

10:00 a.m. Breakout Session One

10:50 a.m. Morning Break

11:00 a.m. Breakout Session Two

12:00 p.m. Lunch

Carolyn Pereria Civic Leadership Award
Darlene Ruscitti Civic Champion Award

1:00 p.m. Dismissal for Breakout Session Three

1:10 p.m. Breakout Session Three

2:00 p.m. Final Reflection and Thank You

2:10 p.m. Dismissal

Breakout Session One 10:00-10:50 a.m.

1A. What’s in Store for 2024 with Dr. Shawn P. Healy- Join Shawn Healy for a preview of the 2024 general election. What do the 7 keys to the White House tells us about the chances of this year’s candidates? What’s at stake in the House and Senate. What are the state races to watch? Come with your questions for an engaging session. Room 261

1B. Fostering Classroom Conversations around Current Events in Real Time with the Constitutional Democracy Project- Planning for classroom conversations around policy issues is one thing, but how can we foster civil discussions in real time when current events are unfolding? In this interactive session, participants will engage scenarios and collaborate with others on how to address current events as they unfold in real time. Room 162

1C. Art as Civic Action with Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center- We encourage our students to take a stand on civic and social justice issues that matter to them. But what forms does that take? In this session, explore approaches to art-making (2-D, 3-D, 4-D, and more) as a way for students to engage civically and make their voices heard. Room 164

1D. In Pursuit of Democracy and Freedom: A Conceptual Inquiry with Facing History and Ourselves- Join Facing History as they introduce our C3-aligned inquiry that asks, “how can we make real the ideals of democracy and freedom?” and “how have people used the tools of democracy to fight for their freedoms in the United States?” This interactive session will share resources and tools, including the “levers of power” framework to explore civic participation in history. Room 166

1E. Read the World: Rethinking Literacy for Empathy and Action in a Digital Age with author and educator Kristin Ziemke– Print books, text on screen, Ai, digital video, social media; today, students have more opportunities than ever before to access, interact, and build new knowledge. But are we adjusting our pedagogy to adopt and adapt instruction to meet the needs of today’s learners? Across grades and content areas, we rethink what it means to “read” and craft lessons that explicitly teach students to question, analyze, and comprehend. This session will investigate new entry points for all learners and share ideas for empowering students to read the world. Room 256

1F. Native Americans and SCOTUS: Using Supreme Court Cases to Teach Inclusive Histories with the American Bar Association Division of Public Education: This session will explore how the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted laws and engaged with indigenous communities in the United States. Landmark cases will be explored, including historical and contemporary matters. Discussion will also include a look at how marginalized communities have used the Court as a venue to assert rights. Considering how the Court has often expanded rights for marginalized communities in order to promote access and equal participation, the story of native communities is remarkably “othered,” often with similar goals of equitable free participation sought by other diverse communities. Participants will explore using SCOTUS cases to teach more inclusive history with classroom-ready case study materials. Room 167

Breakout Session Two 11:00-11:50 p.m.

2A. SCOTUS Preview with Professor Steven D. Schwinn: Get a preview of the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court term with Dr. Steven D. Schwinn. Steven D. Schwinn is a professor of law at the University of Illinois Chicago John Marshall Law School, where he teaches constitutional law, comparative constitutional law, and human rights. Room 261

2B. Combat Hate: A Digital Media Literacy Workshop with the Museum of Tolerance- The Mobile Museum of Tolerance (MMOT) invites Illinois educators and administrators to participate in an engaging and informative professional development workshop based on our nationally recognized and ISBE approved Combat Hate digital empowerment workshop for students grades 5-12. This workshop will examine issues of digital citizenship in an age of online hate and extremism and provide resources that educators can use to help support young people who may encounter online hate. This workshop will also share best practices for teaching media literacy skills and resources to help educators in supporting the development of students’ social emotional learning skills. Room 162

2C. Teach Different Through Better Conversations: Creating Safe Spaces in Polarized Times with Teach Different- Phones and social media have made thoughtful and empathetic face-to-face interaction between young people a huge challenge. In this workshop, participants walk away with a simple-to-learn protocol for leading inclusive and respectful classroom discussions that can strengthen our democracy. Room 164

2D. It’s Election Time! with David Olson from Retro Report- When did negative campaigning begin? What impact do third parties have? How did Hollywood influence campaign ads? Explore Retro Report video and lesson resources to examine chaotic conventions and primaries, groundbreaking political ads, and the historic origins of presidential campaign fundamentals. You’ll help students build inquiry and critical thinking skills with these free interactive lessons and films that are perf6ct for U.S. History, Civics/Government and English/ELA courses. Room 164

2E. AI for Equity in Education with Shawn McCusker- Discover the transformative potential of AI in promoting educational equity in high school classrooms. This session will provide an overview of cutting-edge AI tools and techniques that can help educators identify inequities, tailor instruction to diverse student needs, and create an inclusive learning environment. Learn how to integrate these technologies effectively to support every student’s success. Room 256

Breakout Session Three 1:10-2:00 p.m.

3A. Election 2024 and the Courts: Q and A with Dr. Steven D. Schwinn from the Universtiy of Illinois- Chiacgo School of Law (K-12): Bring your questions around what role the courts might play in the 2024 elections for Dr. Schwinn to respond to. Collaborate with others as we navigate the Trump Trials, questions about the electoral college, election security, ballot access and other issues. Room 261

3B. Engaging Student Voice and Agency with Participatory Budgeting featuring Alton, Spoon River Valley and West Chicago HIgh School- If you had $2000 to invest in your school, how would you spend it? Students in three Illinois Democracy Schools answered this question last year using Participatory Budgeting. In this interactive session, teachers from these divers schools (Alton, Spoon River Valley, and West Chicago) will share their experiences and provide resources for you to engage student voice and agency through the PB process. Room 162

3C. Steering Clear of Election Misinformation with Peter Adams from the News Literacy Project- In today’s polarized political climate, presidential elections prompt a flood of information. Though high quality political journalism does exist, it is too often drowned out in our feeds by more sensational commentary, “horse-race” coverage of poll numbers, memes, hot takes and dubious assertions. In this session, we’ll wade into this year’s messy information streams and discuss common types and tactics of election misinformation, including misleading data-based claims. We’ll also take a look at the News Literacy Project’s database of election misinformation and discuss how to convert the patterns and insights the data provides into meaningful, empowering news literacy learning experiences for our students. Room 164

3D. Engaging Students in our Citizen Nation with David Olson from Retro Report- Retro Report’s forthcoming PBS series, Citizen Nation, takes a behind the scenes look through the eyes of students participating in the We The People program across the country. Teachers will come away with new resources for teaching students how to engage in a variety of civil dialogue strategies and how to pair those with current debates and controversies. Room 166

3E. Teaching With and For Civility with Kate Arnold Ullman from the Legislative Semester Initiative- Civility is a core skill and norm to support civic engagement and democratic decision making within schools, communities, and institutions of all types. In order to engage students in the discussion of current, controversial issues they need to develop skills and dispositions for civility. Drawing on the principles and best practices of the National Institute for Civil Dialogue and other resources, we will develop a deeper understanding of what civility means, and how teachers in all subject areas and grade levels can model and teach civility. We’ll practice using a simulation of a public meeting as a way to immerse students in a context where civility is a foundational expectation and core element of discussion and decision making. Room 256

3F. Designing for Change: Artivism in Your Classroom with the Chicago History Museum: Examine the intersection of Art and Activism in your classroom through the histories and artworks in the Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s and 1970s. Explore some of the works featured in the exhibition that confront issues including race, war, gender equality, and sexuality. During the session, we will share strategies for analyzing historic art that served as a catalyst for social change and consider ways to use artistic responses in your own classroom. Room 167