civics :: essays research papers

What is Civnet?Civnet is a website of Civitas world-wideist for civic education practitioners (teachers, teacher trainers, curriculum designers), as well as scholars, policymakers, civic-minded journalists, and non- political organizations (NGOs) promoting civic education all over the world.ObjectiveAny healthy, richly functioning democracy requires a political goal composed of vigorous participants who understand what it means to be democratic citizens. Though in that respect whitethorn be free and fair elections in new and emerging democracies, there might not yet exist a democratic culture i.e., people may be unaccustomed to voting, running for elective office, soul how their political science works, seeking out different sources of information to make cognizant choices, forming advocacy and public-interest groups to influence political outcomes in a consensus-building, non-coercive political system, and creating self-imposed organizations to meet social needs not met b y government or the commercial sector. "Civil society" may be thought of as the third sector, and a foundation on which free, non-coercive, democratic polities must rest.Moreover, well-established democracies much witness increased apathy, atomization, and a dilution in citizen participation and civic behavior, as civic values argon not properly reinforced and are allowed to go stale.Therefore, civic education at the pre-collegiate and collegiate levels is vital both(prenominal) to newer and older democracies, to ensure that future generations of citizens understand the values, mechanisms, and skills necessary to develop and have got a democratic political system.Accordingly, an international coalition of concerned academics and representatives of non-governmental and governmental organizations formed Civitas International association and helped establish Civnet to address these needs by raising the profile of civic education, promoting civic education on the agendas of g overnment policymakers throughout the world, enriching the debate on breeding methodology, establishing teacher-training programs, creating and distributing civics lesson plans, syllabi, curricula, text books, and teaching materials, and alter civic education practitioners to network and share information, ideas, and resources.In addition to teachers, educators, and policymakers, umpteen believe that journalists also have a role to play in highlighting solutions and citizen success stories, rather than merely reporting on societal problems.While Civitas International has many activities to achieve these aims, Civnet is unique in that it provides an international electronic resource where teachers may instantly receive and download teaching resources, scholars may contemplate articles of thought and opinion, and use Civnets links to find a world of other civic Web resources, and civic educators may read what their colleagues are up to in Civnet news, network with their counterpar ts in other organizations, and deal about upcoming civic events on the Civnet calendar.