Committees
The Civility and Respectful Engagement (CRE) Committee was created out of a shared desire to elevate the level of civic discourse in the United States. Democracy relies on trust and a willingness of its participants to engage meaningfully with one another in order to function as a society and meet the challenges of the day. When people shout past one another, more intent on scoring points than creating solutions, democracy falters.
We seek to promote the teaching of civic discussion where participants affirm one another’s “dignity and humanity” even as they question or critique each other’s claims. We do not seek to minimize differences or remove emotions from conversations. Difficult conversations are important—the stakes are often too high to let politeness alone stand in the way of sincere civic engagement.
We envision schools as places where civic learning involves students respectfully engaging with one another around issues and questions that matter. Students of all ages learn to listen carefully, put forward arguments and points of view, and seek common ground—all with the goal of shaping a more just society.
Resources on Civility and Respectful Engagement
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Civil Discourse: A Book Discussion with Joe Schmidt & Nichelle Pinkney | Constitution Day 2023 (Bill of Rights Institute Resource Library Video; 21 min)
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Constitution 101: Why Have Civil Dialogue? (National Constitution Center - Educational Video; 5:43 min)
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Civil Dialogue Primer (National Constitution Center - Classroom Resources)
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National Constitution Center Search - blogs, podcasts, etc. on civility
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Achieving Civility Through Classroom Conversation (PDF) (Eastern Michigan University)
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OER Project Community Search - blogs, etc. on civility and civil discourse
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The video Purple: American We Need To Talk, is an exceptional example of what it looks like for people with very different political beliefs to respectfully talk to one another.
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Engaging your classroom in respectful discussions often requires a classroom contract. Facing History & Ourselves provides a process for “contracting.”
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The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley provides a Bridging Differences Playbook of “research-based strategies to promote positive dialogue and understanding.”
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The Better Arguments Project provides materials to help you work with people to understand their 5 guidelines: Take Winning off the Table, Prioritize Relationships and Listen Passionately, Pay Attention to Context, Embrace Vulnerability, and Make Room to Transform.
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We rely on the generosity of our donors and members to finance our programs and initiatives.
Contact the CLC Treasurer, Devra Cohen, if you would like to make a donation or want more information about how you can support the Civic Learning Council.
Legislative Advocacy
The Civic Learning Council advocates for legislation and state funding that strengthens civic education statewide. In 2018, we supported legislation that requires school districts to provide a mandatory stand-alone civics course for all high school students.
The Legislative Committee in 2021 secured $500,000 in the OSPI budget to offer training and related staff development assistance to school districts and civic education teachers.
This year, we are seeking full-time support at OSPI to help elementary school teachers integrate civic education in curriculum. Washington State Superintendent Chris Reykdal supported our request and included funding for a new, dedicated position in the OSPI FY 2025-27 state biennial budget.
Contact Bill Basl, Legislative Committee Chair, on how you can support our efforts.
Membership
The Civic Learning Council is comprised of educators, attorneys, judicial officers, policy makers, and members of community-based organizations interested in civic education.
We seek to have diverse members and points of view and encourage those who are interested in the CLC’s mission to contact us and learn how they can participate or partner in our efforts.
There are no membership fees or dues.
To become a member, contact Margit McGuire.
The Policy Committee works in collaboration with the member organization, the national CivXNow coalition of civic education programs. The Policy Committee selects policies for quality civic programs and works to get them implemented in the state. As a member of the CivXNow coalition, the Civic Learning Council reviewed and prioritized guidelines for state policies on how to restore and enhance the civic mission of schools.
The Policy Committee’s first task was to analyze the national state policies and determine whether Washington had these policies and, if not, whether they would be good for Washington. There were several areas where the policy committee felt complying with the national statement of state standards would be beneficial.
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Universal Access to High Quality Civic Learning Opportunities
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State and Local Learning Standards
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Pre-Service Requirements
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Educator Professional Development Through Network-building Across Local Educational Agencies
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Assessment and Accountability
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Deepen and Honor School wide and Community Commitments to Civic Learning
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Equity
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Implementation
Learn more about the Policy Committee's work and recommendations.
The Policy Committee focused their initial actions on increasing elementary school civic learning and adding a middle school requirement. In addition, it explored in a meeting with the Superintendent of Public Instruction the creation of a seal of civic learning for high school students as well as increased efforts in media literacy.
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In 2022 the Washington Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) partnered with the Civic Learning Council (CLC) to form a grant program to provide financial grants and support to educators and students participating in high-quality civic education programs at the national, state, tribal and/or local government level. To date, approximately $40,000 has been awarded to students and teachers to provide financial support for projects involving civic education.
For more information or to get involved, please contact Grants Committee chair, Tom Fain.