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Civic Reflection News Update — November 2010UPCOMING TRAININGSOur next public facilitation training workshops will be held in downtown Chicago January 27-28 and May 19-20, 2011. Join us for two days of presentations and debriefs led by expert trainers, good food and conversation, individual feedback, and hands-on practice facilitating civic reflection discussions. Instructional materials and a copy of The Civically Engaged Reader are included. SPOTLIGHTCommunity College Uses Civic Reflection in In-Service Program In August, Highland Community College in Freeport, Illinois integrated a civic reflection training and discussions into its semi-annual in-service program for 120 faculty and staff. The program, titled "Fences and Neighbors," focused on how people build walls and connect across them at the college. Twelve faculty and staff members from across the campus—including support staff, Human Resources and finance personnel, librarians, and faculty from the sciences and humanities—were led in a 3-hour mini-training on facilitation by PCR executive director Elizabeth Lynn. The following day, after Elizabeth presented a brief introduction to civic reflection, each facilitator led two breakout sessions, one on Franz Kafka's parable "Fellowship" and another on two poems about walls, Robert Frost's "Mending Wall" and Yusef Komunyakaa's "Facing It." Highland's Vice President for Academic Services, Jeff Davidson, says, "Many of the faculty who participated said that the program was one of the best in-service programs that we have had at the college in many years. Several of our humanities departments have started some of their meetings with a brief civic reflection reading and discussion. This seems to end up making their meetings more productive." In an online survey, 100% of respondents said the program had helped them connect with others at Highland (68% "a great deal"). Seventy-eight percent said the program had sparked ideas for new activities in their work or community life. Participants also expressed appreciation for the chance to talk with others on campus with whom they would not ordinarily interact, and for the opportunity to reflect and renew their energy for a new academic year. Elizabeth Lynn noted that a key element of the program's success was that the facilitators came from within the organization: "They took this on and owned it, and not just the faculty owned it. There was much talk at the end about building the practice of civic reflection into their life together." Four Highland faculty members also received professional development credit to attend PCR's October facilitation training in Chicago, where they discussed strategies for incorporating civic reflection into the regular work of the college's faculty, staff and administrators. NEWS & NOTESCivic Reflection Website User Survey Thanks to all who have taken the time to fill out our website user survey and help us plan for a new website redesign coming in 2011! We will continue to accept responses through November 19th. If you haven't responded yet, we'd love to hear from you. New Website Gives Religious and Secular Perspectives on Vocation What's Your Calling?, a website exploring questions about vocation from diverse perspectives, was launched on November 1st. The site includes videos, articles and reflections on the notion of calling by people whose sense of calling has inspired them to do extraordinary things in the world, big and small. Each piece of content is accompanied by a question like these: Are we obliged to confront suffering? How can diversity strengthen service? What if your calling involves a violent but necessary act?. The Project on Civic Reflection has consulted on the outreach campaign, chiefly by framing central themes and formulating questions for thought and discussion. The "What's Your Calling?" website was designed around the forthcoming miniseries The Calling, which follows the experiences of seven people of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths who decide to join the clergy. The Calling will air December 20th and 21st on PBS affiliates nationwide. Civic Reflection for Board Members at National Humanities Conference Overflow crowds attended two civic reflection sessions at the National Humanities Conference, held in Albuquerque November 5th-6th. The sessions on "Civic Reflection for Board Members" were facilitated by Elizabeth Lynn of PCR and Anna Links of the New York Council for the Humanities. The reading was an excerpt from the seminal 1964 Commission on the Humanities report that set forth "America's need of the humanities" and recommended that the President and Congress establish a "National Humanities Foundation," later to become the National Endowment for the Humanities. Discussion centered on the question "Why does America need the humanities?" As a closing exercise, participants wrote "Twitter versions" of their answers to this question. Hawai'i Council for the Humanities member Ted Sakai offered an especially poetic response: "Empty calories / Slow but sure death / Disregard at your own peril." Elizabeth reports that the discussion was lively and thoughtful, and that she enjoyed catching up on the civic reflection activities of state humanities councils from Alabama to Guam.
October Facilitation Workshop The two dozen participants in our October facilitation workshop in Chicago enjoyed lively conversation, facilitation tips, practice and feedback, opportunities to network with others in their field, sunny autumn weather and—last but not least—tasty food, including Chicago-style pizza and a Mediterranean lunch buffet that won high praise. Participants included high school and college teachers, librarians, advocates for immigrant rights, national service and service-learning leaders, and program directors and staff of major foundations and Chicago cultural organizations. In addition to readings by Naomi Shihab Nye, Langston Hughes, Bertolt Brecht, Toni Cade Bambara and Anna Swir, participants discussed a painting, Kalounna in Frogtown, by the contemporary realist painter Jamie Wyeth.
Civic Reflection Online at Humanities Montana Recently Humanities Montana facilitator Lowell Jaeger led a lively and thought-provoking online discussion of Tony Hoagland's poem "America." "Reflections On…" discussions are an extension of Humanities Montana's Reflect: Community Readings & Conversations program. The Reflect program uses literary readings to provoke discussion about civic engagement, service and community values.
Maryland Humanities Council Launches Meaning of Service In October AmeriCorps program directors and leaders in service organizations throughout Maryland attended a Meaning of Service facilitation training workshop in Baltimore, hosted by the Maryland Humanities Council (MHC). The one-day workshop, led by Adam Davis and Kelli Covey, prepared participants to help implement Meaning of Service with volunteers in service organizations in their towns. Meaning of Service, funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities through the Illinois Humanities Council, is the MHC's newest program. Jean Wortman, Program Officer for the MHC, says, "Our Meaning of Service training was our fourth training with the PCR over the past few years and once again, I have seen how the process of civic reflection presented so superbly by your trainers has created a spark in a group of people who are now committed to this program. I am thrilled by the enthusiasm shown by all the participants and am excited to start Meaning of Service here in Maryland." Civic Reflection at Star Island Conference The Life on a Star Family Conference, a unique combination of a retreat and family camp, is held annually on Star Island in the Isle of Shoals, which straddles the border between New Hampshire and Maine. Life on a Star features educational and spiritual retreats sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church and the United Church of Christ. During the 2010 conference in August, Adam Davis facilitated a weeklong civic reflection discussion series on the conference's theme, "Reflecting on the Call to Serve." For the series, hosted by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, Massachusetts, Adam used selections from his civic reflection anthology Hearing the Call across Traditions, including readings by Rumi, Anna Swir, Gabriela Mistral and Rabindranath Tagore. Attendance at the discussions averaged about 60 participants. Kay Snowden, co-chair of the Life on a Star Conference, explains that she and her co-chair were looking for activities suitable for a "very multigenerational group," whose ages ranged from 1 to 86. They also wanted to make newcomers to the conference, which draws many families who have attended in previous years, feel at home. Civic reflection proved a very positive experience, says Kay, as a new way for conferees to connect: "Participants were very engaged and interested in being there, and discussions of the readings were incredibly rich… Some of the most active participants in the civic reflection discussions were brand new to the conference, so it was a great way to get to know them. I couldn't be more pleased." Since the conference, she adds, participants have mentioned wanting to incorporate civic reflection into other things they do, such as nonprofit work, as a way to deepen connections and decrease burnout. New Review of Hearing the Call across Traditions In this review in Koinonia, the Paulist Fathers newsletter, Thomas Ryan, C.S.P. writes: California Facilitation Trainings Last week we held successful back-to-back trainings in Northern California: one in Berkeley, hosted by Cal Corps Public Service Center, and one in Daly City, hosted by California Campus Compact. Our next issue, in December, will feature a report and photos from those workshops. NEW RESOURCESMLK Day Civic Reflection Toolkit Martin Luther King Day is January 17, 2011. The New York Council for the Humanities is offering a free civic reflection toolkit for leaders of community conversations organized in honor of Martin Luther King's legacy of service and engagement. Tax-exempt organizations or institutions in New York State may receive a stipend to help defray the cost of holding the program. Online resources available for MLK Day will include an excerpt from Dr. King's speech The Drum Major Instinct in text format, discussion questions, and guidelines for fostering good conversation in your community.
Readings on Immigration Lately we've received requests for readings to be used in community conversations about immigration. The New Hampshire Humanities Council is running a civic reflection series on immigration this fall, as part of the council's three-year, NEH-funded initiative Fences and Neighbors: New Hampshire's Immigration Stories. Thanks to facilitator Emily Archer and Program Director Kathy Smith for sharing the reading list and discussion questions with us. Civic Reflection Readings for AmeriCorps/VISTA Looking to put together a civic reflection series aligned with the four focus areas of the AmeriCorps/VISTA service year? Look no farther than the link below. The Hapa Project Thanks to staff of the Chicago Cultural Alliance for suggesting The Hapa Project, a series of photographs by artist Kip Fulbeck, for civic reflection focused on identity and diversity. New Discussion Plan We recently were asked to suggest a reading about leadership and risk-taking for discussion by the board of a nonprofit organization, and we thought of Frost's "The Road Not Taken." We've added a new discussion plan for this CR favorite, including opening and closing exercises, to the Sample Materials page of our website. New in the Resource Library "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden
Opening civic reflection exercise, to be done in pairs or triads, silently, or in writing: An informative poem guide, discussion questions, teaching tips and writing ideas for Hayden's poem can be found on the Poetry Foundation website, here. Have you come across a new reading, film, or artwork for civic reflection? Share your suggestion with us—we'd love to hear from you. New in the Facilitators' Forum
INTERVIEWBeyond "For" and "Against": Civic Reflection on the US Military Buildup in Guam The Guam Humanities Council has just wrapped up this year's events in its civic reflection initiative on the impending US military expansion in Guam. Monaeka Flores, Coordinator of Administration, Marketing and Programs for the Guam Humanities Council, and GHC Executive Director Kim Kihleng were trained as civic reflection facilitators in January 2009. In April 2009, Project on Civic Reflection associate Deva Woodly traveled to Guam and led a training workshop for eighteen Community Conversations facilitators. Since then the facilitators have led conversations with diverse groups—among them civilians employed by military contracts, activists, artists, social workers, high school and college students, members of the Municipal Planning Council, and at-risk youth. Fall 2010 events have included a weeklong series of readings and discussions with students by Guam Chamorro scholar Tina Taitano DeLisle and an evening of readings celebrating Chamorro women writers. Organizers have experimented with offering participants texts in three media—oral, written and visual. Eighty participants in a conversation with poet Craig Santos Perez, for instance, saw poster art created from his poems, heard Craig read, and then were given copies of his poems in breakout groups. The program also has used a short film, The Return of Our Elder Hurao, which features a contemporary Chamorro chant by storyteller and painter Jay Pascua. We interviewed Monaeka Flores, Coordinator of Administration, Marketing and Programs for the Guam Humanities Council, on the Community Conversation program's progress and impact. 8,000, How Will It Change Our Lives? Community Conversation on the US Military Buildup in Guam is partially funded through the National Endowment for the Humanities' We the People Initiative. PCR: What are participants saying about their experience of the civic reflection model? Monaeka Flores: They feel challenged to talk about issues around the text, and appreciate how it changes the nature of discussion, from opposition or contention to "real dialogue." One retired Chamorro US Marine said he was so happy to find the project, because it allowed him to talk about the buildup in a completely different way. He explained that the discussion went beyond the "for" and "against" to "what is really important." A local activist was in a group with someone she usually argues with at town meetings, and admitted that the model gave them a chance to "really talk" and listen to each other… What we have heard from a majority of participants is that the model has offered them an opportunity to have "real dialogue" unlike other events going on in the community. What are the facilitators saying? Do they seem to feel that the training prepared them to lead these conversations? We also have a very diverse group of facilitators. Initially, most facilitators ask for guidance, but as soon as they put the model to work, they feel comfortable, confident and prepared. What impacts, if any, have you seen these conversations have so far? Immediate impacts we have observed are that several participants want to volunteer for the Council or other community organizations or become more involved in other discussion events about the military buildup. Some participants have been quite affected by the texts, thinking and talking about them well beyond the group. Some GED students have also started writing poetry as a means to discuss issues that concern them. Has anything surprised you about the way the program is rolling out, vs. what you expected? I am surprised at how some activists have responded to the [civic reflection] model, especially that those who "need to do something" come away appreciating how it works. One activist said a conversation was the first event she left without feeling "angry, depressed, attacked, frustrated, insulted, drained or crying." The community response around our events with the scholar, Tina Taitano DeLisle, has been positive and continues to grow. What else would you like people to know about this program? The incorporation of Pacific literary pieces into the program has been very important for our participants to feel the program is culturally and socially relevant. The program has provided the community with a new way to discuss and reflect upon the buildup that is much more fulfilling, meaningful and analytic. We have trained a wonderful group of facilitators and are eager to get them out into the community to do MORE conversations.
STAFF NOTESWe are delighted to announce the addition of two new members to our Chicago team. YangYang Zong, our new development and program associate, received her BA in English Literature from Peking University and her MA in the Humanities from the University of Chicago. YangYang's service experience includes teaching in impoverished areas of China and volunteering with the Chinese American Service League in Chicago. Benjamin Kim, who coordinates our trainings and discussions, holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ben joined us in September through an internship with Public Allies. Welcome, YangYang and Ben! |
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