About the Demonstrations: Civic Business | Civic Education | Civic Non-Profit Civic Organizing Inc. | Renewing the Public Congregation Civic Education Governing Members: Linda Kemper, Community Education, Robbinsdale Area Schools; Richard Engler, Cretin-Derham Hall In a democracy, the core purpose of education is to cultivate the content and character needed to be a democratic people and govern wisely in accordance with its principles. The mission of the Civic Education demonstration of the Minnesota Active Citizenship Initiative is to demonstrate how educational institutions and systems would use a civic organizing approach to achieve this purpose. Developing the Capacity of Citizens to Govern In a democracy, citizens govern for the good of the whole in the tensions between democratic ideals. To do so, citizens need political competence to deliberate, problem solving, and make policies. Though all institutions carry the obligation to develop citizens, educational institutions are set apart in that obligation—developing the capacity of citizens is the primary purpose of education. Today, it is rare to find an educational institution with an intentional mission to develop civic capacity. Leaders within educational systems are rewarded for producing fragmented technical frameworks and programs unrelated to core democratic principles and practices. The outcome is cynicism, waste of resources, isolation, and an environment that promotes partisanship grounded in individual and special interests both within educational systems and with other sectors. Many educators are very successful at using political skills to work together, problem solve, and set rules for the good of the whole. Yet, their definition of “politics” is often limited to the electoral process and/or government. For educational systems to fulfill their roles in our democracy, leaders must embrace the original meaning of politics—“the work of the citizen.” This broadened definition of politics provides the basis to engage with like-minded leaders in a shared pursuit of democratic renewal. We believe there is currently a favorable climate for organizing educational professionals who share this analysis and are willing to test a civic organizing approach. Civic Education organizes these professionals as part of the Minnesota Active Citizenship Initiative base.

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