[Libs-Or] Civics workshops - upcoming and looking to fall and elections!

Sun Mar 25 18:29:21 PDT 2018

Hello, everyone. 

FYI, I have a few more spots for June workshops. I'll be picking up again in
the fall. No July/Aug workshops unless someone is looking for staff
training. Next fall are mid-term elections so it's a perfect time to
schedule that workshop. A lot of material has been coming my way concerning
approaches to our electoral systems and campaign finance. It's so easy to
forget that these issues are not static; people across the country
[including here!] are working on them.

I'm very pleased that all four of my workshops are scheduled for the next
two months! The public is becoming so much more aware of the significance of
these topics. People are even starting to recognize the timeliness [although
when is it ever not timely!] of the Constitution workshop. It is so
eye-opening to learn many of the circumstances of the founding era. All my
workshops attempt to give people a broader perspective than we typically
have. And, if you've been a teacher you know how it encourages you to keep
learning more, as well.

Two more sections below - schedule of workshops and some interesting posts
from the Facebook page:

Oregon Reference Summit workshop, June 1.

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:
Brief historical perspective; Examples of successful
advocacy-local-national; Choosing your battles; Who makes the rules?;
Getting heard: tools for change; "Tracking" state and federal legislation.

Thurs. April 5   700-8:30   Silver Falls Library  410 S Water, Silverton

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, 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?" format. The last part is about finding accurate
information. The goal is to help people become their own "factchecker". 

Tue.  April 10    6:00-7:30  Sellwood-Moreland Branch - MCL  7860 SE 13th
Ave, PDX 

Sun. April 15    2:30-4:00   St Johns Branch - MCL  7510 N Charleston Ave,
PDX

Sat. April 28   11:00-12:30  Hillsdale Branch - MCL  1525 SW Sunset Blvd,
PDX

Sat. May 19   12:30-2:00   Corvallis-Benton County Pub. Lib.  645 NW Monroe
Corvallis

The Influence of the Constitution on Civic and Political Conversation

By looking back at the creation of the Constitution we puncture some myths
and develop a broader perspective on its significance - perspective that
helps us evaluate current political events more thoughtfully.

Thurs. April 19   7:00-8:30 St Helens Public Library   375 S 18th   St
Helens

Sat. May 5   2:00-3:30 Oregon City PL 606 John Adams St   Oregon City

Tues. May 8  6:7:30  Albina Branch MCL  3605 NE 15th St.  PDX

Elections and Campaign Finance

Covering 20 topics with ideas for bi-partisan engagement. Topics include,
but not limited to: Voting as Constitutional right(?), Voter Fraud,
Registration, Turnout, Felon voting, Instant Runoff Elections,
Redistricting, Electoral College, Campaign Financing, Oregon's Campaign
Finance Database, Public Financing of Elections

Tues. May 22  6:00-7:30 Woodstock Branch MCL 6008 SE 49th PDX

Facebook posts:

FYI, here is a list of all the bills that passed the Oregon Legislature, and
were signed by the Governor, from the 2018 legislative session.
<https://gov.oregonlive.com/bill/signed/2018/>
https://gov.oregonlive.com/bill/signed/2018/

***

Landmark Cases season two continues. Last week was Plessy v Ferguson - the
"separate but equal" case. This week is Gideon v Wainwright, in which a poor
career criminal changed the face of counsel for defendants.  "Each Monday at
9 pm ET for a LIVE look at 12 impactful Supreme Court decisions."

 <http://landmarkcases.c-span.org/> http://landmarkcases.c-span.org/ 

**

How cool is this? "Bend looks for ways to get parents, kids to City Council
meetings"

http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/6084863-151/bend-looking-at-ways-to-g
et-parents-involved
**

A resource I mention in the Misinformation workshop is the Pew Research
Center. You will hear it cited very often in the media. They are
non-partisan and survey and measure the public along a raft of criteria:
politics, social trends, religion, the media, etc. Well worth a look
<http://www.pewresearch.org/> http://www.pewresearch.org/

**

Here is a recent academic paper on the history of gun regulations in this
country. Fascinating. "Gun Law History in the United States and Second
Amendment Rights" 2017 

<https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4825&context=l
cp>
https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4825&context=lc
p

**

Helpful for upcoming elections. Check the LWVPDX [League of Women Voters
Portland] site [or FB page  <https://www.facebook.com/lwvportland/>
https://www.facebook.com/lwvportland/ ] for election info in other
locations.

Donna

BTW, I have flyers for the workshops in .jpg and in .pdf, if you want.

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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