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Classroom Experience

Every GC classroom is unique, but they all provide a powerful vantage point of young people coming together to take action on issues they care about.

 

clasroom1Generation Citizen offers students the opportunity to practice important civic skills, including critical thinking, group collaboration, and persuasive oral and written communications.  Students practice civics, or engage in real-world politics,  just as they would have the opportunity to interact with and practice problems in any math, reading, or writing class or science lab. Students learn about the political process not from textbooks but by actively working with the tools of advocacy – meeting with and lobbying decision-makers; organizing letter-writing campaigns, petitions, or surveys; writing opinion pieces for newspapers; holding community meetings; and utilizing other tactics. Through participating in Generation Citizen, students recognize their ability to take action on issues they care about and come to appreciate the value and power of their own voices. They also learn that community engagement is not a semester-long objective but rather a lifelong endeavor.

Classroom Teachers are instrumental in bringing this learning to life

clasroom2Teachers play a vital role in the Generation Citizen classroom. GC provides our teachers with a complete Common Core-aligned action-civics curriculum, a trained college co-facilitator, and supplementary resources that lighten the burden on them to create from scratch meaningful hands-on action experiences for each of their classes. Our teachers then focus on actively participating in their students’ exploration and in supporting their students and Democracy Coaches to strengthen the Generation Citizen experience for all involved. Teachers manage classroom culture and behavior, offering pedagogical expertise and knowledge of the learning needs of their class, reviewing lesson plans and materials, reinforcing curricular content connections, coordinating school and program logistics, and offering consistent feedback to their college Democracy Coaches, helping them as they navigate issues within and beyond the classroom.

Generation Citizen’s published and award-winning action civics curriculum is at the heart of our work. Click here to learn more.

How does Generation Citizen help you accomplish Common Core standards? Click here to find out.
How does Generation Citizen fit into your specific school and classroom? Click here for our guide.

What other teachers are saying about Generation Citizen

“From my experience, I can strongly recommend bringing Generation Citizen to your school. Too often we hear how schools should prepare our students for jobs in our technologically advanced world, which is, of course, important. But students are more than just future workers. We also need to empower our students to care about their community and become active citizens, so that we can create a community worth working in.”
“Students that often went days without speaking up now appear more willing to engage their peers in open conversation.”
“I… love the fact that the mission of GC is evident in every encounter that a program member has with our students. Everyone has been very professional, reflective, and ready to take on various challenges. I am very satisfied with the experience that has been provided for our kids. I hope that GC continues to expand to other 8th grade classrooms, as this is a much needed program across the state. Thank you, Generation Citizen, for providing a necessary venue for our students to expand their horizons.”
“Students were much more willing to interact with individuals closer to their age and to discuss issues they might not have been willing to discuss with their regular teacher.”

 

Interested in bringing Generation Citizen to your school or classroom?
Send us a message below or contact your local Program Manager to request more information or materials.




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