Minnesota Civic Health Index 2009

2009 MINNESOTA CIVIC HEALTH INDEX

INTEGRATING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT INTO COMMUNITY LIFE

1 2 4 8 10 13 14

Introduction Executive Summary Minnesota’s Civic Culture in a Time of Change The Challenge Today Reconnecting Education and Communities as a Foundation for Civic Life Endnotes Civic Indicators Working Group and State Partners

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Harry C. Boyte and Nan Skelton Co-directors, Center for Democracy and Citizenship, Augsburg College Target Corporation Minnesota Campus Compact Citizens League

INTRODUCTION Education for democracy was at the center of the nation’s public discussion and debate in 1946, the year in which the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) was founded by Congress. More than one million returning veterans flooded the nation’s campuses, taking advantage of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (the “GI Bill of Rights”). And President Truman established a Presidential Commission on Higher Education charged with examining “the function of higher education in our democracy and the means by which [it] can best be performed.” According to the Commission report, “education for a fuller realization of democracy in every phase of living” was the principal goal of higher education. Democracy was understood in an expansive fashion, as “much more than a set of political processes…it is a way of life—a way of thinking, feeling, and acting.” In the same spirit, Congress granted NCoC a formal charter and charged it with the responsibility of promoting effective citizenship and civic education.

The 2009 America’s Civic Health Index is based on a national representative survey of 1,518 Americans and an addition oversample of 2,371 respondents in six states, including Minnesota (with an oversample of 395). The polling firm Knowledge Networks used random digit sampling, address based sampling, and cell phone based sampling in addition to online sampling to minimize potential biases. For those who do not have internet at home (19.3%) Knowledge Networks provided free connection and equipment. The survey aimed to take the pulse of American civic life in a moment of great change.

In 2006, NCoC launched an initiative to establish a yearly national index to measure the state of America’s civic health. Since that time, developmental work on the Civic Health Index has been undertaken in partnership with the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), Harvard’s Saguaro Seminar, and a group of distinguished scholars and practitioners. The Civic Health Index is intended to help the nation chart its progress toward preparing active citizens who are confident, effective contributors to a democratic way of life.

Introduction

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY “Minnesota’s distinctiveness [is] the result of an unusually vibrant civic culture, one in which citizens engage in widespread discourse and action on matters of common interest.” -Nina Archabal, Director, Minnesota Historical Society1 Through the first half of 2009, scenes of civic life in the fictitious Lake Wobegon, famous across the nation for their depictions on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion public radio show, gave way to a flood of national news stories about the recount of the senate election. The 2008 election pitted the incumbent Republican Norm Coleman against the Democrat Al Franken. And it continued until June 30, when Governor Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie signed the certificate declaring Franken to be the winner. “Minnesotans love elections so much they never want them to end,” quipped one comedian. As contending camps drew the headlines – and late night comedy lines -- a nonpartisan story of civic effort took shape behind the scenes. Thousands of citizens worked across party lines to ensure a fair and thorough recount of contested ballots. The recount followed a year of enormous political activity on behalf of Democratic, Republican and also minor party candidates. “We had thousands of volunteers in last year’s election,” said Ben Golnik, Midwestern director of the John McCain presidential campaign. In his view, response to the choice of Sarah Palin as McCain’s running mate illustrated the state’s populist civic traditions. “All through the summer we had about 100 people sign up each day to volunteer. When she was announced, the figure shot up to 1,000 a day. The energy and enthusiasm was infectious. For a lot of people she was a regular person, not a career politician, but someone who came out of the grassroots. People saw themselves in her.”2 Jeff Blodgett, director of Barack Obama’s Minnesota campaign, similarly saw the campaign as a sign of grassroots civic life. “We had 15,000 active volunteers. Technology was important but only a tool to make virtual people real. A lot of people got involved for the first time, and the process was a real education.”3 Elections are like an island of civic activity in the state, peeking out from a mountain range below the ocean’s surface. Civic activity takes many forms. The America’s Civic Health Index sponsored by the National Conference on Citizenship observes that civic engagement performs many functions. It develops

our collective skills to meet challenges and address problems, reaffirms our civic and democratic values, and strengthens our social bonds. In addition to being participants in civic life, Minnesotans see themselves as active producers of a civic culture as well. Many observe that this goes against the grain of a consumer society. Ted Kolderie is former director of the Citizens League, a Twin Cities civic association which pioneered many of the reforms that produced what Newsweek called “The Minnesota Miracle.” He said a distinctive feature of the state is people’s sense of it being a work in progress: “This place is made.” 4 Timothy DenHerderThomas shares a similar view. He came to Macalester College in St. Paul in 2005 from the East Coast. Back in his home town, he explained, “People tend to think of themselves as consumers of society. And young people feel they don’t have any agency. Things just happen.” When he visited Macalester on a college tour he liked the academic excellence and international atmosphere. But a more intangible quality was most appealing. “Minnesota seemed to me like an active community. People actually treat things as if they can shape them, rather than react.” Tim jumped into the renewable energy movement, linking college activities to the larger community. 5 Productive citizenship builds civic confidence, ownership in civic life and public goods, motivation, and civic muscle -- a sense of empowerment. Minnesotans express such citizenship in many ways. None has been more important than the strong commitment of the state’s citizens to the ongoing public work of creating a world-class system of education, both formal and informal. One of the first acts of the state legislature when it opened in 1858, just after statehood, was the creation of a normal school in Winona to train teachers. In 1866 Olson H. Kellogg founded the National Grange of the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry, a semi-secret society among farmers, women as well as men, which organized cooperatives and sparked a nation-wide selfeducation movement among farmers aimed at the social and intellectual enrichment of rural life. In the 1920s and 1930s, eleven settlement houses in the Twin Cities helped immigrants integrate their talents and cultures into American society, and became models of learning experiences woven into the fabric of the community. The state pioneered in early childhood

parent education, community education, and community service programs, and created the nation’s first charter school. Thirtytwo colleges and universities are in the state system, while the University of Minnesota has five campuses. More than twenty private colleges and universities flourish in the state, including several ranked among the nation’s finest private colleges. The state has the most educated citizenry in the country, first in the percentage with a high school education and just over 60% of the adult population with some college. With such foundations, Minnesota showed civic resilience in a year when much of the nation saw a sharp drop in civic effort. These are the highlights:

1st in voter turnout, with 77.8 % of those eligible voting, 14.2% higher than the national average.

1st in citizen consciousness of having a “strong civic tradition,” with 26.5 % saying it is strong compared to other states, compared to 13.2% for the national average.

3rd in donations to charitable organizations, with 60.2% donating $25 or more.

50.9% of Minnesotans say they would be willing to “work less” if doing so would create more jobs for those who are unemployed.

53% Almost 53% say they are willing to volunteer more.

Initiatives for Civic Change Minnesotans support a variety of policies for strengthening civic involvement and reinvigorating “the Minnesota Miracle” of education tied to civic life:

86.4% believe that young people should

be able to earn money for college through community service projects.

80.8% believe that young people should be

required to do community service in higher school.

71% believe that students in high school need to pass a new civics test. On a more personal level

4th in statewide volunteering, with 60.5%

43.7% support training opportunities to learn

6th in working with others to fix something in

15.3% value the opportunity to learn and

volunteering in the last year.

the neighborhood, with 12.4%.

The sharp economic downturn of 2008 negatively affected civic involvement in Minnesota as in other states. But the state weathered the crisis differently than most.

72.2% nationally said they had cut back in volunteering; in Minnesota the figure was 58.6%

41.4% of Minnesotans said they had increased

volunteering – compared to 27.8% for the nation as a whole. There are also other signs of positive response to the difficulties:

40.3% reported being involved in community discussions about the effects of the economic recession.

skills as part of volunteer activities.

to be challenged as the first priority for their career, while 9.3% of Minnesotans seek to make a “public benefit” as the first priority. The quarter of the population who prize civic and educational aspects of jobs contrasts to 18.7% for the nation as a whole. Strengthening productive citizenship through reconnecting education and communities A promising long term strategy is also appearing for civic renewal in Minnesota. There are multiple new efforts to reconnect education and communities; Minnesota is taking national leadership in a new movement to make education the responsibility of whole communities again, not simply professional educators. As in the past, civic life in the 21st century will depend on such civic education anchored in the life of communities.

Executive Summary

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MINNESOTA’S CIVIC CULTURE

IN A TIME OF CHANGE “Perhaps the most attractive feature of the State, after its rare natural beauty, is its refreshing attitude toward adventurous experiment… One sees this spirit operating in the State’s cooperatives, the largest number in America…[W]ith greater economic security has come a new kind of pride, and today every town of any size boasts its park, playgrounds, and scenic drives.”

announced he would not appeal and congratulated Franken by phone. Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Ritchie signed the certificate on June 30.7

-WPA Federal Writers Project Guide to Minnesota, 19386

addition to efforts by political parties, a variety of governmental and also nonpartisan civic groups made get out the vote efforts. For instance, the Secretary of State’s office sponsored a highly successful “Vote in Honor of a Veteran,” in which citizens could offer a tribute to a family member, friend, or someone they admired. One woman from Ely, Minnesota, wrote in honor of Justin, a soldier in the Gulf War:

Through the first half of 2009, contending camps in the recount of the senate election between Norm Coleman and Al Franken drew the headlines – and late night comedy lines about a senate race that seems to never end. But another story of nonpartisan civic effort was taking shape behind the scenes, as thousands of volunteers and state officials joined to make the recount fair and credible. The recount had been triggered automatically by the official vote tally on November 18, as an initial Coleman lead of 726 votes on election day had shrunk to 215. This was a change “well within the normal range in the days immediately following an election, when county officials double check and verify election night tabulations reported to our office,” according to Secretary of State Mark Ritchie. And 215 was well under the one half of one percent margin that triggers a mandatory recount according to state law. A hand recount took place in 110 locations across the state. Ballots that were challenged were sent to a five person State Canvassing Board panel consisting of Ritchie, two state Supreme Court justices appointed by a Republican governor, one judge appointed by an Independence Party governor, and one judge elected in a non-partisan election. On December 12, the Board voted unanimously that counties sort through rejected absentee ballots, and counts and recounts continued until January 5, broadcast live online by independent news outlet The UpTake. The Board certified the recounted vote totals on January 5th, with Franken ahead by 225 votes. In all thousands of volunteers of all political persuasions took part in ensuring the election returns. After a court challenge, a subsequent trail conducted by a a three judge panel, and an appeal, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Al Franken was entitled to be certified as winner. Coleman

The recount effort followed an intense political year in which tens of thousands of volunteers participated in the election. In

Justin, my grandson, enlisted in the Navy while still in High School. He served in the Gulf War from Jan 07 to September 07. He starts his 2nd tour of duty again this January. This tour will be hard for him because since his last tour he and his wife have had a baby. Brayden is 2 months old. I know Justin is thinking about all of the accomplishments that Brayden will make while he’s gone & going to miss: that first tooth, seeing him sit up for the first time…simply watching him grow. I just hope he knows how very proud we all are of him and how anxious I am to hold that new baby. Election activity was an indication of a very broad culture of civic involvement and productive citizenship. Minnesota is the twelfth largest state geographically and the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents. Minnesota, created from the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory, entered the Union as the thirty-second state on May 11, 1858. It is known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” though the total is closer to 15,000, and its name comes from an Indian word for “sky-tinted water.” The lakes, forests, parks, and wilderness areas create a beautiful tapestry of outdoor recreational opportunities. These public facilities, as well as many of public buildings, were the legacy of citizen work in New Deal public works projects

like the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and the National Youth Administration. The 1938 WPA Guide to the state, reissued by the Minnesota Historical Society in 1983, conveys the rich patterns of civic life and involvement which have been so distinctive. Most Minnesotans live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, the Twin Cities, which is a major center in the upper Midwest for transportation, business, and industry, and an internationally known arts community. There is also a vibrant farming sector and tourist industry. Most Minnesotans are of Nordic and German descent, but there is increasing ethnic diversity in recent decades with substantial immigration from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Minnesota grew with exuberant speed following statehood in 1858 – from a population of 5,354 in 1850 to 780,773 three decades later; 71 percent of those new residents were European immigrants of the first and second generation. Business leaders lured immigrants by “high-pressure salesmanship,” as the WPA Minnesota Guide of 1938 put it. And they made money in the process. But many business leaders also often had a civic side. In the Twin Cities, the “refinements of civilization” were second to none, said observer Julian Ralph. Railroad tycoon James J. Hill’s mansion walls were lined by “the best efforts of Munkacsy, Diaz, Tadema, Detaille, Messionier and many other masters,” while “the literature of two continents, freshened by the constant arrival of the best periodicals, is ready at hand and well marked for use.” 8 The state’s established leaders helped to create a tradition of cooperative civic work in which contributions to public and civic amenities was seen as the mark of success. “Second Generation devoted to Pursuits of Culture,” wrote Bertha Heilbom with the Minnesota Historical Society, in the special 75th issue of the St. Paul Pioneer Press commemorating statehood, December 31, 1933. “Those who grew up in Minnesota during the period immediately after the Civil War saw Minnesota emerge from a frontier state and grow into a modern commonwealth.” Heilbom profiled Charles M. Loring, president of the Minneapolis Park board from 1883 to 1890, who laid the foundations for that city’s system of parks. “He published articles, gave illustrated lectures, and in various other ways made clear to the people of

the state the advantages of parks and civic improvement.” The St. Paul Pioneer Press issue also described civic efforts spearheaded by leading citizens to build libraries and schools, colleges and universities, orchestras, art galleries, theater and symphonies that complemented the growth of business and industry.9 The “spirit of adventurous experiment” was also an egalitarian and democratic culture that immigrants created. Swedish immigrants wrote home thousands of “America letters.” One described the “the democracy that obtained in the new country,” as the WPA Guide put it. “Caste lines in Sweden were severely restrictive [but] here was a land where everyone was a landlord and servants sat down to table with the masters.” “I am my own master, like the other creatures of God,” wrote another immigrant, after two and a half years. “Neither is my cap worn out from lifting it in the presence of gentlemen. There is no class distinction here between high and low, rich and poor, no makebelieve, no ‘title sickness’ or artificial ceremonies…”10 Civic spirit and productive citizenship infused grassroots movements for reform in the state. In 1866 Olson H. Kellogg founded the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, a society among farmers which organized cooperatives and fought to control economic concentrations of power, establishing the principle that “railroads and other corporations ‘clothed with public interest’ were properly subject to public regulation. The Grange, open to women as well as men, emphasized the social and intellectual enrichment of rural life, sponsoring a variety of educational efforts. The Farmers Alliances, a network of cooperatives that built on the Granges in the 1880s across the state, organized neighborhood gatherings, newspapers, lectures, and reading circles, as well as cooperatives. Similarly, suffragists in Minnesota combined the fight for equal rights with reading circles and book clubs. They led in the creation of libraries. The state’s tradition of citizenship in which citizens of all walks of life join together to produce things of lasting public benefit is especially illustrated in the history of education. As often as not

Minnesota’s Civic Culture in a Time of Change

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schools borrowed from educational centers in the life of the community as much as the other way around. In Minneapolis, the formative experiences of Richard Green growing up revolved around black churches, extended family networks, and especially the Phyllis Wheatley Settlement house on the North Side, the heart of the African-American community. Gertrude Brown, director of Phyllis Wheatley from 1924 to 1937, created an intellectual powerhouse, where cultural and intellectual leaders of national and international statue often visited. She was widely seen as an outstanding educator, concerned about the civic and public leadership potential of every child in the neighborhood. She schooled a generation of future civil rights, political, and civic leaders. Green remembered Wheatley as a community “commons,” a civic center full of public activities and relationships that shaped his vision for public schools: “commons” for an

The state also has a history of both racial conflict and efforts at racial inclusion. The tragic Dakota War with Indians of 1862, were desperate from hunger and forced removal from tribal lands, resulted in the mass execution of 38 Dakota men, some of whom had not been involved in the fighting.

information age. His vision, in turn, inspired educators and families in Minneapolis, where he served as school superintendent in the 1980s, and led him to be chosen chancellor of New York public schools, before an untimely death. Like the commons of old, Wheatley was “the focal point” of social life and more. It taught values of hard work, self-discipline, accountability, achievement, and giving back. “Even though we were not a community of wealth, it certainly was a community of cooperation and helping the young people grow up in a healthy manner.” Settlement workers and others who sustained Wheatley “would smack your ass in a minute if you got out of line.”11

veterans of First Minnesota were celebrated as local heroes. The members of First Minnesota helped to establish a long tradition of leadership in the fight for freedom and racial justice. Senator Hubert Humphrey’s famous speech at the 1948 Democratic convention demanding a fair employment plan was an example. So was Congressman Al Quie’s offer, as a Republican office holder in 1968, of office space to those encamped at Resurrection City, the civil rights poor people’s march. In 2006 Keith Ellison was elected to Congress from the Fifth Congressional District, the first Muslim to hold national office.

In contrast, Minnesota’s legacy includes the story of the First Minnesota, a regiment of farmers and shopkeepers, Germans, Swedes, Irish, and Yankees who were among the first to volunteer for the Union army. At the Battle of Gettysburg, the 262 members of the First Minnesota, outnumbered more than eight to one by Confederate soldiers, charged the Alabama regiments and turned back their assault on the key position at Cemetery Ridge, the center of the Union line of defense. Many believed that their action may have saved the Union, and as long as they lived the

Minnesota is more civically involved than most of the nation on a variety of measures:

CIVIC INVOLVEMENT 60.5% US Average

Minnesota 43.3%

39.9%

32.4% 18.5%

16.3%

B

32.8%

51.6%

39.1% 26.5%

26.8%

25.2%

A

49.9%

12.9%

C

A Volunteering in last year B Participation in a community project C Involvement in a public discussion of issues

16.1%

15.1%

13.2%

8.4% D

E

F

D Worked with people in the neighborhood on problem E Tried to change a public policy in a place like a school or workplace F Tried to influence at least one other to vote for or against candidate

G

H

I

G Tried to persuade friends about an issue since the 2008 election H Gave food to someone not a family member I How strong is civic tradition in the state compared to other states?

Minnesotans are also community and family-minded.

Minnesotans support policies to strengthen civic engagement.

COMMUNITY AND FAMILY MINDEDNESS

SUPPORT FOR POLICIES

82.8% 73.7% 67.4%

67%

65.7%

69%

58.3% 53.8% 50.6%

49.5%

48.7%

41.7%

40.3%

38.9%

86.4%

70.8%

67.9%

59.6%

81.8%

81%

80.8%

38.5% 36.2% 26.3%

A

B

C

D

A Regular church attendance (at least once a month) B Generally, most people are honest C Family usually eats dinner together

E

F

A

C

D

E

Federal money for secular non-profits Money for faith based organizations Require high school students to do community service Require students to pass civics test Involve more than 1 million Americans in a national discussion of an issue F Offer every young person a chance to earn money for college through community service US Average

Minnesota

Minnesota

NAVIGATING THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

73.7%

72.2%

67.1%

65.8% 58.6%

63.6%

31.7%

41.8%

40.3% 28.8%

27.8%

19.1%

A A B C D

B

C

D

Cut back in volunteering Increased volunteering Local schools cut back staff and budget Participated in community meeting on economy and how it is affecting schools, etc.

US Average

52.8%

50.9%

47.7%

41.4%

F

A B C D E

D Spend a lot of time visiting friends E Most of the time people try to be helpful F Most of the time people just look out for themselves

US Average

B

E

23.1%

F E F G H I

40.1%

G

H

I

Responded by looking out more for selves and family Helping each other more and serving the community Would be willing to work less to help others get jobs Willing to volunteer more Willing to buy US products

Minnesota

Minnesota’s Civic Culture in a Time of Change

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THE CHALLENGE TODAY Earlier generations of Minnesotans pioneered in what were then revolutionary ideas of productive citizenship such as free public libraries, rural self-education efforts, and public parks open to all. These greatly nourished the civic traditions and culture of the state. We need similar boldness and adventurousness now, to sustain and create a forward looking civic culture adequate to the great challenges of the 21st century. Here are two ideas:

Cultural Change from Me to We: A Campaign to Celebrate our Public Stories of Civic Life By communicating widely across the state some of the myriad and vital but often invisible stories of civic renewal and productive citizenship, others can gain a sense of hope and possibility. (FIX) The Hmong Freedom festival: Each July, the Hmong Freedom Celebration brings tens of thousands of new immigrants and their native born American friends together for three days in a huge public park in St. Paul. Dozens of soccer teams play round the clock. The smells of Hmong cooking fill the air. Extended families gather for conversation, story-telling, and celebrations. Children play traditional Hmong games with cousins, alternating with American style games, showing off their twittering skills at the same time. Adults spend much of their time in discussion key social and political issues facing the Hmong community, sometimes coming to decisions. Minnesota state senator Mee Moua, the first Hmong state senator in the US, seems to be everywhere, in the midst of discussions, responding to concerns, voicing her views. The entire event is dedicated to the concept of “freedom,” at the heart of Hmong culture, a value they bring to the American Fourth of July. North House Folk School: Driving out of Grand Marais, a town near the Canadian border on the North Shore of Lake Superior, one sees a sign for North House Folk School, founded in 1997 by Jim Hanson, a local boat maker. But boat making was just the beginning. The school now spreads out along the shore, across from the light house. In one building, boats hang from the ceiling, over machine tools. A shop is full of local products and books. In a large building across the parking lot, students learn to make boats in courses. Their catalogue describes their philosophy: Since its beginning, North House has aspired to offer a valuable alternative to the ‘high tech, low touch’ world of today. North House’s vision is different and has untold value – ‘high touch, low

tech’ – North House’s success is testament to the importance of our unique educational mission: Foster hands on learning in a student centered environment; Nurture a sense of place by connecting the the present and the past; Create a non-competitive setting where learning is valued for its own sake; Celebrate the cultures of the North through the exploration of traditional crafts; Build community, serve community, engage the hands, the heart, and the mind. The learning at the North House Folk School is inspired by the Scandinavian “folkehøjskole” where learning is valued for its own sake and students take a great deal of responsibility for their learning. The focus is on traditional methods and technologies and on a cooperative, student-centered learning approach. North House has grown to more than 250 courses on all manner of crafts – basketry, clothing, music, photography, painting, jewelry, fiber arts, knitting, food, northern ecology, timber framing, tool making, wood carving and others, with more than 135 teachers. And it has become a civic center throughout Northern Minnesota aimed at sparking regional development. Stories like these are only a sampling of the myriad of stories of vibrant civic life in Minnesota. The challenge is how to spread the word. Alexis de Tocqueville, the great French observer of American democracy, described the knowledge of how to work together as “the mother of all knowledge in democratic countries.” But here is the difficulty: “Yes we can” is inspiring, but today most people don’t normally work with others very different than themselves on community or public problems and often think that few examples exist. A variety of studies show widespread discouragement and feelings of powerlessness about collaborative work across differences to solve problems.12 How can we revive a sense of civic efficacy in addressing our common challenges”? One important finding of the national Civic Health Index points to the importance of widely communicating stories about civic

traditions and current practices. Knowledge of the existence of a civic tradition turns out to be a powerful predictor of civic engagement. People who know that there is a civic tradition are much more likely to be civically involved. This fits with the house meetings and soundings on civic life and civic values, which have found the state, like the broader society, is increasingly developing a “Me First” culture. It also points toward an important communications strategy for civic renewal if we are to see a cultural shift from “me to we.” In 2005 the Minnesota Community Project, created by former vice president Walter Mondale at the Humphrey Institute, noted disturbing trends such as “divisions into increasingly irreconcilable [political] camps . . . deep skepticism about public institutions, and strong disagreements on their role,” as well as a sense of declining community as people no longer know their neighbors, suburban fears of increasing immigration, and worry about the state of public schools.13 Against this background, the Center for Democracy and Citizenship joined with partners across Minnesota to solicit views from Minnesotans about what civic and community values are important, what people perceive as threats to community, and what can be done to address the problems and to strengthen our community life. Several thousand Minnesotans participated in house meetings, small group sessions usually held in a home or similar informal setting in 2006 and 2007. Many participants mentioned issues regularly discussed in conventional politics—schools, abortion, taxes, race relations, growing income divides, the war in Iraq. But probing for civic values and threats to them also revealed other subjects not so often discussed. People expressed a good deal of anxiety, even fear, that Minnesota’s civic culture is endangered. Many voiced the view that a sense of community is eroding. “People in cars don’t make eye contact any more in my neighborhood,” said one suburban doctor. “I drive into my carport and shut the door, and never talk to my neighbors. It’s a culture of me, me, me.” Students commonly worried about the erosion of relationships. “We’ve lost face to face human contact. Everyone walks around in their own little iPod world, wired up but tuned out,” said Amy Jo Pierce, a student leader at the University of Minnesota. Many feel they live in “bubble cultures,” worsened by the way the society pigeonholes people. “When I tell people I’m a Marine and a Christian and a former athlete, they assume my politics,” said Blake Hogan, another student at Minnesota. People make false assumptions.”14

Participants in the discussions also identified destructive trends in the mass culture. “Parents in my classes say, in regard to most any topic, ‘I’ve tried fighting society,’” said Sally Wiley, a parent educator with Minnesota Early Childhood Family Education. She is a leader in an initiative, Community Based Parent Education, designed to uncover and involve young parents in “the public sides of parenting issues.” Wiley described typical remarks: “I made my own babyhood, I breastfed, I didn’t let my children watch television. For the first two years I fought: fought my family, my friends, ads in the media. I turned off televisions whenever and wherever I could if we were in the room. Now I’m tired and my kids are being influenced by those things I detest: fast food, ‘have it your way,’ television programming created as ads to sell products, cross-marketed everything. They are being influenced and I realize I don’t have a choice in it.”15 A number of people expressed concerns about excessive consumerism and materialism. “I don’t like how children are growing up these days in the consumer culture,” said a college student at the Jane Addams School for Democracy who participates in what is called the East African Circle, with East African immigrants. “My family says they can see a big difference between me and my little sister,” said a Somali college student in the group. “I grew up in East Africa, and am more oriented to my family and my community. What my little sister cares about is shopping.” 16 In a house meeting with state legislators, Peg Chemberlin, formerly the executive director of the Minnesota Council of Churches, said that this dynamic is visible across the state in the religious communities. “Increasingly congregants think of themselves as consumers of church, not producers of church, and congregations think of themselves as consumers of denominations, not producers of denominations,” Chemberlin said. “In many of our denominations the trend shows up by congregations saying ‘We don’t like what you’re doing, so we’re going to quit giving you money,’ which is a consumer mentality, understanding themselves as consumers, unobligated to the denomination. We understand that same dynamic to be in play in civic life where we are all too often identified as taxpayers (consumers) rather than citizens (producers).”17 In a me first culture, it is perhaps not surprising that people who know that there is a civic tradition and a lively civic life are more likely to be involved. This suggests the importance of a self conscious public story campaign by media, political and civic leaders to bring the civic heritage alive and to convey modern stories of strong citizenship. The Challenge Today

9

RECONNECTING EDUCATION AND COMMUNITIES AS A

FOUNDATION FOR CIVIC LIFE By expanding the sense of ownership and responsibility for children’s education through whole communities, we can greatly strengthen education while simultaneously building flourishing, civic –minded neighborhoods. The Civic Health Index this year found that civic activities such as rates of volunteerism are also highly vulnerable to the sharp economic downturn, with significant cutbacks in levels of volunteerism and other activity. While Minnesota has partly bucked the national trend, falloff in various forms of civic involvement have also been significant in the state. A compelling case can be made that the resiliency of civic life has especially to do with civic centers in the life of communities in which people have a strong sense of ownership and an ongoing role as “civic producers.” Thus, for instance, those active in religious congregations continued to show strong commitment to helping others, against the general trends of decreasing civic activity. But many institutions which once had strong community connections such as neighborhood schools have increasingly become walled off—more akin to “secured” private institutions than to centers of community life and learning. Schools feel accountability to the district, the media and State and Federal mandates, such as NCLB, rather than to the local community and families. For long range change and civic renewal, this pattern needs to be turned around. Through Minnesota history, schools functioned as civic centers in many ways. In cities and towns alike, principals, teachers, and staff were often important civic leaders, taking part in the civic life of the community in ways that stretched far beyond the classroom. Villages and small towns had strong identification with their schools -- sports could be a source of immense pride. The school presence symbolized the future of the community. Schools as centers of civic life generated a sense of civic power, growing from everyday interactions which built relationships, problem solving skills, confidence, and connections to the larger world. Civic centers depended on educators as “civic professionals,” who saw themselves as co-workers with others in the community.

The strong tie between education and the civic life of communities has been embodied in education policies pioneered in Minnesota, from community education to community service and early childhood family education. This link has begun to be renewed over the last decade in the Twin Cities, particularly in St. Paul where neighborhoods, working with schools and the city government, have been organizing to improve learning for children by reconnecting education to civic life and developing a culture of learning throughout the local community.

The Challenge:

Since the 1960s, Minnesota has seen the same weakening of the relationship between schools and civic life that has taken place across the country. In the language of the intellectual historian Thomas Bender, teachers, like many other professionals, have shifted from “civic professionalism” to “disciplinary” professionalism. As civic professionals have been replaced with disciplinary professionals, civic centers have become service centers for clients and customers, sometimes augmented by volunteers but much less woven into everyday community and informal practices. Schools are increasingly a world unto themselves, with their own ways of measuring success, achievement, and even what reforms mean. Deborah Meier and Diane Ravitch, both well known national education leaders who have often differed over the years, found common ground across the partisan divide in a remarkable article published in Education Week in 2006 about what they saw happening in big cities. [Today] principals and teachers, regardless of their experience, are ordered to comply with mandates about how to teach— down to the minute in many elementary schools—undermining not only their professionalism, but often their common sense... Fear is widespread among teachers, principals, and kids alike, none of whom have any strong countervailing institutions to count on for support…Almost all the usual intervening mediators—parent organizations, unions, and local community organizations—have either been co-opted, purchased, or weakened, or find themselves under siege. The drifting away of schools from their moorings in community life which Meier and Ravitch described may be further along in big cities such as New York than in most parts of Minnesota.

But this disconnection between schools and communities has occurred everywhere across the country, including in Minnesota. David Mathews, president of the Kettering Foundation, has observed on the basis of his foundation’s research that “the public as a real force in the life of schools was deliberately and systematically rooted out. Citizens were replaced with a new group of professionals, true guardians of the public interest, there to do what it was assumed citizens couldn’t or wouldn’t do.” Peter Levine documented this pattern in parent involvement. Membership in PTAs in 1960 was 45 percent of all families with children in school. By the early 21st century it was less than half that figure.18 As a result, learning is often defined far too narrowly. The Time, Learning, and After School Task Force, chaired by Vincent Ferrandino, executive director of the National Association of Elementary School Principles and including leaders in teachers unions, concluded that schools today isolate and fragment student learning, too often disregarding the many ways students learn after school and in communities. The Task Force Report, “A New Day for Learning,” calls for a shift in responsibility to whole communities.19 Similarly, civic education has sharply declined in the curriculum, even though people want to see it emphasized. As Mathews summarized the Kettering Foundation’s research, “When citizens think about accountability they are particularly concerned with the moral commitments of educators, not just their professional or technical competence. . . . Studies show that people value teachers who can encourage and inspire, who can make learning come alive, who are inventive in their classrooms, and who are patient in one-on-one relationships with students.” Overall, said Mathews, “citizens are looking for more than data from schools. . . . They want to know what kind of people their youngsters are becoming as well as how they are doing academically.”

that almost none of today’s teacher colleges have classes on working with communities or parents. But the Bush Foundation, a major leader in philanthropy in Minnesota and the region, has now declared a 10 year commitment to work with teacher education programs on wide ranging changes that point directly in this direction, preparing teachers to work in much more collaborative fashion with parents and communities. Educational reconnection with communities will also depend upon a recognition by Minnesotans that to renew the civic life of communities and schools requires systemic change in many current policies in order to open facilities, to share data, and most importantly to draw from the enormous but now untapped resources throughout the neighborhoods. In this process, cultural groups whose children often struggle in conventional schools – African Americans, Native Americans, new immigrant communities like the Hmong and Latinos – need to be recognized as tremendous potential educational and cultural resources for learning in the 21st century. Groups like the Powderhorn Phillips Cultural Wellness Center in Minneapolis have been demonstrating these resources. The purpose of the Cultural Wellness Center is “to unleash the power of citizens to heal themselves and to build community.” The center’s philosophy is based on the proposition that “health results from the process of people’s active engagement and participation in life, in defining the standards of health for themselves, and in addressing sickness and disease on the community and cultural as well as personal levels.” It grew out of a two-year process of listening and engaging people in conversation across the area. This philosophy also has powerful implications for educating young people.20

Reconnecting schools and communities will require a revamping of teacher preparation throughout collegiate institutions in Minnesota. Joe Nathan of

For instance, the Cultural Wellness Center’s Invisible College explicitly addresses the meaning of education for people of all ages. It involves an extensive series of class offerings, including cultural competence courses for professionals. Of relevance to communities everywhere, it also consciously challenges the overly professionalized views of education that are dominant today. Thus, a class on old ways of parenting begins with parents asking what kind of values and practices they want to teach their children, how they want them to grow up, and what their traditions have to say about preparing children to contribute to community life. This, in founder Atum Azzahir’s account, helps families—many of whom feel marginalized or discounted

the Humphrey Institute’s Center for School Change has found

by public school educators today—reclaim their heritage as a

If people’s confidence and skill to be agents of change and productive citizens are to be renewed for the 21st century, we will need community-centered schools (and other educational centers) with deep roots in the life of communities.

Strategies for change:

Reconnecting Education and Communities as a Foundation for Civic Life

11

source of wisdom and power. Other elements of the Invisible College similarly emphasize cultural resources. The class on keys to self-care involves intergenerational learning about the wisdom that comes from different communities’ experiences with survival, struggle, and endurance. Others features of the class include developing one’s family tree, eating foods of one’s ancestors, exploring different cultural ways of understanding the end of life, and heritage as a key to self-care. The faculty composition makes a powerful statement in itself. Teachers are elders and others knowledgeable about cultural ways of knowing. They are chosen and prepared through reflection and immersion within cultural traditions. Thirdly, to reconnect schools and communities will also require conscious work with teachers unions and associations of school administrators on a new conception of the role of the professional educator as a citizen working with other citizens. The recently formed Citizen Professional Center directed by Bill Doherty at the University of Minnesota, has pioneered in such work. Its statement of the “citizen professional ideal” argues for The role of professionals in rebuilding the civic life of communities in addition to their traditional role in providing specialized services to individuals. It moves beyond the late 20th century notion of the professional as a detached expert who informs other citizens but is not informed by them… Citizen professionalism is mainly an identity: seeing oneself first as a citizen with special expertise working alongside other citizens with their own special expertise in order to solve community problems that require everyone’s effort. The Citizen Professional Center builds on a successful track record of work over a decade with parent educators, schools and immigrant communities. This work has shown the possibilities for civic change in professional identities and practices that can have often enormous catalytic effect in energizing and activating citizen energies. To spread concepts and practices of “citizen teachers” across the state will require a variety of spaces for licensed teachers and community teachers including youth workers and parents to engage together in professional development institutes and cross training. Finally, the St. Paul experience provides rich lessons to build upon for a movement to reconnect education and communities. The Neighborhood Learning Community formed on the West Side in 2001 out of a recognition by citizens that neighborhood

life and education alike were suffering from administrative centralization and the segmentation of schools, parks, libraries and other community institutions from each other. Leaders in the neighborhood and schools formed a partnership with the city government, the Minnesota Department of Education, and the school system, to reclaim authority over education as a whole community. As a result, schools as well as nonprofits, congregations, and businesses have begun to reconnect with the life of the neighborhoods in a variety of lively ways, from linked educational camps, tied together by a free “Circulator Bus” for children, to Educators Institutes that bring together teachers and residents, and a Youth Apprenticeship Program which highlights the educational possibilities of work experiences. The Neighborhood Learning Community’s success has led other neighborhoods in St. Paul to also seek reconnection between communities and schools, with support from city officials. This process has also begun to result in connecting children’s educational development to a bold vision of neighborhood vitality, city-wide institutional systems reform, and democratic renewal for the whole city. As a result of these efforts, St. Paul has been chosen by groups such as the Mott Foundation and the National League of Cities as one of a handful of cities across the nation to be part of movement to develop new understandings of student success based on whole-community approaches for student learning.

ENDNOTES 1

Nina Archabal, Introduction to Minnesota Real and Imagined: Essays on the State and Its Culture, Ed. Stephen R. Graubard (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2001), p. ix.

Work. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.; Mutz, Diana C. (2006). Hearing the Other Side: Deliberative Versus Participatory Democracy. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.]

2

Ben Golnik interview with Harry Boyte, Minneapolis (by phone), September 4, 2009.

13

3

Jeff Blodgett interview with Harry Boyte, Minneapolis (by phone) September 4, 2009.

14

4

Kolderie, speech to the St. Paul Skylight Club, January 18, 2006; quoted from p. 2.

15

5

16

Timothy DenHerder-Thomas interview with Harry Boyte, St. Paul, June 5, 2007. 6

WPA Guide to Minnesota (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1938, 1983), p. 7.

Walter Mondale, The Changing Shape of Minnesota (Minneapolis: Humphrey Institute, 2003). House meeting at University of Minnesota, Minneapolis campus, September 19, 2005. Email communication from Sally Wiley, October 23, 2005, to Harry Boyte. East African Circle, November 14, 2005; comments from author’s direct obervation of Somali student quoted from student forum, November 10, 2005, University of Minnesota Leadership Minor class. 17

7

This account is largely taken from “The United States Senate Election in Minnesota,” Wikipedia accessed September 3, 2009.

Peg Chemberlin, prepared remarks, House meeting with state legislators, May 11, 2006, Minnesota State Capitol. 18

St. Paul Pioneer Press commemorating statehood, December 31, 1933 special issue.

David Mathews, “Public-Government/Public-Schools,” National Civic Review 85, no. 3 (Fall 1996): 15; Peter Levine, The Future of Democracy: Developing the Next Generation of American Citizens (Boston: Tufts University Press, 2007), 110.

10

19

11

20

8

Ibid. 11.

9

WPA Guide to Minnesota (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1938, 1983), pp. 77-78; Swede quoted from William E. Lass, Minnesota: A History Second Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 1998), p. 143. Hubert Humphrey, Education of a Public Man: My Life and Politics (Garden City: Doubleday, 1976), p. 8.

Report of the Time, Learning, and After School Task Force, A New Day for Learning 2007, available on web at http://www. edutopia.org/files/existing/pdfs/ANewDayforLearning.pdf September 9, 2009 Quotes from Cultural Wellness Center site, http://www. ppcwc.org/about_us , accessed February 2, 2008.

12

In the 2007 Civic Health Index, 23% of respondents to a nationally representative survey said that they had been “involved in a meeting (either face-to-face or online) to determine ideas and solutions for problems in your community.” About 20% of the whole sample had been in meetings that “included people with views different from my own.” Only 43% said they had “a place to go to talk about issues affecting your community.” Several recent studies argue that Americans are averse to controversy and tend to avoid voluntary opportunities to exchange ideas with people who are different from themselves [Eliasoph, Nina (1998). Avoiding Politics: How Americans Produce Apathy in Everyday Life. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.; Hibbing, John R. & Theiss-Morse, Elizabeth (2002). Stealth Democracy: Americans’ Beliefs About How Government Should

Endnotes

13

CIVIC INDICATORS WORKING GROUP JOHN BRIDGELAND, CEO, Civic Enterprises; Chairman,

KEI KAWASHIMA-GINSBERG, Lead Researcher, Center

Board of Advisors, National Conference on Citizenship; and former Assistant to the President of the United States & Director, Domestic Policy Council & USA Freedom Corps

for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University

NELDA BROWN, Executive Director, National Service-Learning

PETER LEVINE, Director, Center for Information and Research

Partnership at the Academy for Educational Development

on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University

KRISTEN CAMBELL, Program Director, National Conference on Citizenship

MARK HUGO LOPEZ, Associate Director of the Pew Hispanic

MAYA ENISTA, CEO, Mobilize.org

Center; Research Professor, University of Maryland’s School of Public Affairs

WILLIAM GALSTON, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; former Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States for Domestic Policy

STEPHEN GOLDSMITH, Daniel Paul Professor of Government,

SEAN PARKER, Co-Founder and Chairman of Causes on Facebook/MySpace; Founding President of Facebook

ROBERT PUTNAM, Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public

Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; Director, Innovations in American Government; Chairman, Corporation for National & Community Service; and former Mayor of Indianapolis

Policy, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; Founder, Saguaro Seminar; author of Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community

ROBERT GRIMM, JR., Director of Research and Policy

THOMAS SANDER, Executive Director, the Saguaro Seminar,

Development, Corporation for National and Community Service

Harvard University

LLOYD JOHNSTON, Research Professor and Distinguished

DAVID B. SMITH, Executive Director, National Conference on

Research Scientist at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research; and Principal Investigator of the Monitoring the Future Study

HEATHER SMITH, Executive Director, Rock the Vote

Citizenship; Founder and Chairman, Mobilize.org

MAX STIER, Executive Director, Partnership for Public Service MICHAEL WEISER, Chairman, National Conference on Citizenship

STATE PARTNERS CALIFORNIA: ZABRAE VALENTINE, California Forward and PETE PETERSON, Common Sense California. FLORIDA: DOUGLAS DOBSON, Florida Joint Center for Citizenship, Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government at University of Central Florida, and Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida

ILLINOIS: SHAWN HEALY, McCormick Freedom Project and BARBARA FERRARA, University of Illinois-Springfield MINNESOTA: HARRY BOYTE and NAN SKELTON, Center for Democracy and Citizenship, Augsburg College

NEW HAMPSHIRE: MICHELE DILLON and MICA STARK, Carsey Institute, University of New Hampshire OHIO: KATHLEEN KNIGHT ABOWITZ, CLYDE BROWN, and ANNIE MILLER, Miami University, Hamilton

JONATHAN ZAFF, Vice President for Research, America’s Promise Alliance

SPECIAL THANKS NCoC would like to thank the following funders for their support of America’s Civic Health Index over the past few years: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, McCormick Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Case Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, UPS Foundation, Home Depot Foundation, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Founded in 1946 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1953, the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) is a leader in promoting our nation’s civic life. We track, measure and promote civic participation and engagement in partnership with other organizations on a bipartisan, collaborative basis. We focus on ways to enhance history and civics education, encourage national and community service, and promote greater participation in the political process.

Many distinguished Americans have been involved with the growth and development of the NCoC over the years including Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower and Chief Justices Earl Warren and Warren Burger. The roster of board members, advisors and guest speakers at NCoC events represent a diverse spectrum of leaders from across government, industry, academia, community and nonprofit organizations and the media; people like Senators Robert Byrd and Lamar Alexander, Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Stephen Breyer, philanthropists Ray Chambers and Eugene Lang, authors David McCullough and Walter Isaacson, scholars Robert Putnam and Stephen Goldsmith, MTV’s Ian Rowe, ABC’s Cokie Roberts, AOL’s Jean Case, Facebook’s Sean Parker, former Clinton Administration advisor William Galston and former Bush Administration advisor John Bridgeland.

The NCoC’s accomplishments are many, ranging from fueling the civic energy of the Greatest Generation freshly home from WWII to leading the celebration of our nation’s Bicentennial in 1976. The NCoC helped establish the observance of Citizenship Day, every September 17, the week in which we were chartered to hold our annual conference focusing on building an active and engaged citizenry. Since 2006, the NCoC has produced America’s Civic Health Index, the nation’s leading measure of citizen actions and attitudes. In April 2009, the Civic Health Index was included in the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and named NCoC and the Corporation for National and Community Service to work with the U.S. Census Bureau to expand the reach and impact of the Civic Health Index in order to help communities harness the power of their citizens.

To advance our mission to better understand the broad dimensions of citizenship today and to encourage greater civic participation, the NCoC has developed and sustained a network of over 250 like-minded institutions that seek a more comprehensive and collaborative approach to strengthening our system of self-government.

For more information, please visit www.ncoc.net