WE CREATED A CIVICS CURRICULUM THAT PREPARES THE LEADERS OF GEN Z TO BECOME THE CIVIC SUPERHEROES THEIR DEMOCRACY NEEDS
This curriculum will be first delivered during Civics Unplugged's first annual Fellowship in Q1 and Q2 of 2020.
SOME CONTEXT ABOUT THE CIVICS UNPLUGGED FELLOWSHIP
Civics Unplugged is a 501(c)(3) social enterprise and intergenerational community committed to preparing the exceptional leaders of Generation Z to become the Civic Superheroes their communities and democracy need. A Civic Superhero is someone who practices first class citizenship, meaning they go beyond the conventional expectations of citizenship (such as voting or serving on a jury—which we acknowledge are still vital) in order to make a positive, long-lasting contribution to their communities and our democracy. Some Civic Superheroes we look up to include Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson, and the Parkland kids.
The Civics Unplugged Fellowship brings together exceptional young leaders from across the nation, and empowers them with the tools, training, and community to create the future of American democracy.
The twelve-week curriculum described herein is just one phase of the Civics Unplugged Fellowship we call the Training Phase. During this phase, Fellows have a weekly lecture on Monday nights where lessons on The Current State of American Democracy, How to Become a Civic Superhero, How to “Map” our Democratic Challenges, and How to Build Toward a Brighter 2030 are presented. After the lecture, Fellows have an opportunity to ask questions and discuss—all online through our virtual school platform called Remo. Later in the week, Fellows meet in groups of 8-10 to discuss the weekly assignment with an experienced educator we call a Guide. Throughout these twelve weeks, students will be practicing deliberative democracy within these small groups, filling out a Leadership Blueprint to help them along their journey, and "mapping" the challenges our democracy faces to better understand where they can intervene to save it.
During this Training Phase, Fellows will also take part in "Unplugged Conversations"—open, off-the-record group conversations with civic leaders (elected officials, social entrepreneurs, policy entrepreneurs, journalists, activists, philanthropists, etc) on our online platform.
Throughout this entire process, our curriculum will be continually evolving based upon the Fellows feedback, updated research on our political landscape, and best practices in online, remote education.
To learn more about other phases of the Fellowship, including the Drafting Phase, the Convention at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and our Civics 2030 Campaign, please see our full digital white paper.
🇺🇸 UNIT 1: HOW TO SAVE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
Lesson 1: Why We Created "Civics 2030" (February 3rd)
Did you know that only 30% of U.S. millennials think it's essential to live in a democracy? Or that only 17% of people in the U.S. trust the government to "do what is right most of the time?"
In this lesson, you will get an overview of how American democracy was designed to function (thanks Framers), how American democracy currently function (sorry Framers) and hear ideas to get back on track. You will come away knowing why we created the "Civics 2030" philosophy and how you can help us hatch a plan to save and build the future of American democracy (seriously).
💪 UNIT 2: HOW TO KNOW AND GROW THYSELF
In this unit, you will learn the importance of knowing and growing yourself, your partnerships, and your communities in order to make lasting positive change.
Lesson 2: How to Become a Civic Superhero (February 10th)
Our country needs better citizens: the people who vote, the people who serve faithfully on juries, and the people who can keep abreast of current events while placing them in proper historical context. But we also need "Civic Superheroes," those citizens bold enough to attempt to make lasting positive change for the betterment of our democracy. In this lesson, you will learn the importance of knowing yourself (your values, your passions, your strengths and weaknesses, etc) and growing yourself, so you yourself can turn into a "Civic Superhero."
Lesson 3: How to Connect and Build With Others (February 24th)
Civic Superheroes cannot act alone. They need a team. In this lesson, you will learn how to contribute to the success of a team by helping build and preserve a healthy team culture. We will also explore the different roles you can play (and are suited for) in the various communities you belong to.
Lesson 4: How to Design and Manage Your Life (March 2nd)
The final stage of transforming yourself into a Civic Superhero is ensuring you can live your life in accordance with your values, passion, strengths, etc. In this lesson, you will learn what in your life is in your control, why it helps to be in control of these parts, and how you can design different parts of your life.
🗺 UNIT 3: HOW TO "MAP" OUR DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGES
If you want to get to a destination, what's the first step? These days we pull up a digital map to plan our journey. Before you can go on your own journey to build a better democracy, however, you will need to "map" it to fully understand where to intervene. And that is what you'll learn to do in this unit.
Lesson 5: How to See How You See The World (March 9th)
How does having a "single story" of a person or group impact our thoughts and behaviors? What can it tell us about political polarization? In this lesson, we introduce you to the concept of "mental models”and how bringing them to the surface is critical to how we see and experience our democracy and the world.
Lesson 6: How to Understand Beliefs and Actions (March 16th)
Have you ever wondered how very smart people can sometimes make very bad decisions? In this lesson, you will learn the importance of "systems thinking," particularly a tool called the "ladder of inference" to help us analyze how we have come to hold long standing beliefs about democracy.
Lesson 7: Seeing Events and Patterns within our Democracy (March 23rd)
Does history have to repeat itself? In this lesson, we will learn how to examine the events, patterns, and behaviors within our democracy using a tool called an "Iceberg Diagram."
Lesson 8: Uncovering the Structure of our Democracy (March 30th)
Where is the best place to intervene if you want to help improve our democracy? This lesson will teach you how to examine the structures within our democracy by mapping the relationships between its constituent parts. From there, we can begin to make a plan for intervention.
Lesson 9: Understanding How Beliefs Shape Our Democracy (April 6th)
Is it possible to ever change a mental model? In this lesson, you will learn how to uncover and document the mental models that create and entrench our democracy's structure.
🔮 UNIT 4: HOW TO BUILD TOWARD A BRIGHTER 2030
In this unit, you will begin thinking about how to chart a 2030 vision for American democracy, and begin drafting a plan for the next ten years of your Civic Superheroic journey. In order for you to do this well, you will learn about what and who it takes to evolve democracy.
Lesson 10: How to Bring People Together to Commit to Something Great (April 20th)
What are some common characteristics of great convenings? What can we learn from that for our own convening in D.C.? In this lesson, we will be looking for common threads in such great convenings such as the Iroquois League of Nations convening, the Constitutional Convention, Seneca Falls, and the March on Washington.
Lesson 11: What American Democracy Could Look Like in 2030 (April 27th)
It is important to consider the rest of the world when thinking about how American democracy can be saved. In this lesson, you will be exposed to all the ways that citizens in countries all around the world are evolving their political systems to better serve the people. We will look at inspiring examples in Norway, Estonia, Singapore, Taiwan, and more.
Lesson 12: Launching the Campaign to Save American Democracy (May 4th)
You will get an overview of the next phase of the Fellowship, the Drafting Phase, through looking at historical examples and learn how to draft a document that is taken seriously by those inside and outside the CU Universe. Fellows will be elected to serve on the drafting committee in preparation for D.C.
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