[Libs-Or] Civics Workshops

[Donna Cohen]

Hello, everyone. Hope you are managing to stay relatively cool! I am gearing
up for a busy new "season" of civics workshops. Whether it's misinformation,
the Constitution, elections/campaign finance or citizen advocacy, my
interest and my research skills result in constant efforts to learn more,
and to refine the workshops.

 

The fall will be particularly challenging for all of us to track election
developments. And, the new, "long" state legislative session in 2019 should
be very interesting. The Constitution workshop now discusses the application
of the Bill of Rights to the states [they only applied to federal laws for
most of our history] and some considerations of who actually interprets the
Constitution for us. 

 

The workshops are non-partisan. The knowledge and tools I provide to people
can be used by anyone for any reason. A number of workshops are scheduled
for the fall; I'll have a flyer soon. 

 

Feedback is welcome about: would libraries/library systems like some type of
professional development 1/2 -day workshop? It could be geared to the type
of knowledge covered in all the workshops. This could help libraries decide
if they want to develop some in-house talent around any of the topics.

 

One more thing: I've postponed a trip to the coast 'til the spring. Please
let me know - especially libraries from north to mid-Coast, if you are
interested. 

 

PS A heads-up - for 2019, the cost of the workshops will be $350. Between
ongoing development and customization to locations, I spend far more time on
them than may be obvious. I could earn more if I was a traditional librarian
but this undertaking is one to which I am devoted. 

 

Here are the workshops:

Civics for Adults [and others!] Workshops: 

Enhancing Civic Knowledge / Inspiring Political Engagement

The goal of all workshops is to provide information typically hidden behind
the headline-grabbing, background noise of our lives and to encourage
utilizing this knowledge to improve our communities and country. Our
democracy is strengthened when citizens have accurate civic knowledge and a
basic understanding of political structures.

 

Misinformation, Fake News and Political Propaganda

We are overwhelmed with messages from politicians, news sources and other
media. Learn to distinguish truth from fiction using critical thinking
strategies. The workshop uses real world examples of political ads, news
headlines, logical fallacies, graphs / charts, the effect of word choice in
messaging, statistical data and other types of information in a "what do you
see here? / what is missing?" type of format. The last part is about finding
accurate information. The goal is to help people become their own
"factchecker". 

 

Citizen Activism 101-Making Change Happen 

Want to improve life for yourself and your neighbors or have a concern about
local, state or federal laws? Learn about strategies for change, and more:
Examples of successful advocacy; Brief historical perspective; Choosing your
battles; What matters to you?; Who makes the rules?; Getting heard: tools
for change; "Tracking" legislation

 

The Influence of the Constitution on Civic and Political Conversation

By looking back at the creation of the Constitution and tracing major
changes to it and its interpretation we puncture some myths and develop a
broader perspective on its significance - perspective that helps us evaluate
current politics more thoughtfully. 

 

Beyond Voting: Elections and Campaign Financing

This is a unique workshop covering numerous topics related to our electoral
systems and presenting specific ideas for bi-partisan civic/political
engagement. Topics:

Voting as Constitutional right(?), Voter Rights, Voter Fraud, Voter
Registration, Voter Turnout, Felon voting, Alternative Methods of
Determining Winners, Redistricting, Electoral College, Campaign Financing,
SuperPACS and 501(c)4s, Contribution Limits, Dark Money, Campaign Finance
Databases, Public Financing of Elections

 

"The most important political office is that of the private citizen."
Justice Louis Brandeis

 

Enjoy the rest of the summer; it goes SO fast!

Donna

 

Donna L Cohen, MEd, MLIS

Portland, Oregon

503-737-1425

citizen at civicthinker.net

Civics for Adults Workshops: To Enhance Civic Knowledge and Inspire
Political Engagement

Keep up-to-date: Facebook:
<https://www.facebook.com/Civics-for-Adults-1490728887922036/>
https://www.facebook.com/Civics-for-Adults-1490728887922036/  and/or let me
know if you want to be on the Civics email list.

 

 

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