Can We Talk? HS Statewide Dialogue, Nov. 20

On Thurs, Nov. 20th, Pennsylvania high schoolers from different communities and backgrounds across the Commonwealth can come together for a moderated discussion on prompts, drawn from topics suggested by students, covering a range of political and cultural issues. This event is organized through Can We Talk?, Committee of Seventy's program to promote productive civil dialogue across difference.

The event will be held on Zoom from 12:30 to 2:30 pm. The forum is open to any students in grades 9-12 in public, religious, and private schools. Sign up your interested students here.  

Each breakout will have a list of discussion prompts covering a range of political and cultural issues. Prompts will be rigorously neutral, inviting multiple points of view. Each moderator will help his/her group choose topics and have deep, civil discussions on the ones they choose.

Students will follow the ground rules for productive civil dialogue. If you have any questions, please reply to this email.

Teaching Civics in a Polarized Political Environment

This semester, C70 and PA Civics have been working with Intermediate Unit 1 to design a training for school administrators and teachers around navigating the current political environment while successfully providing high-quality, nonpartisan civics education to their students.

Teachers and administrators in SWPA are invited to join us on Monday, Nov. 17th at 9 am at the IU-1 headquarters in Coal Center to gather information and tools that you can bring back to your buildings and implement right away. Register directly with IU-1. Topics will include information and media literacy, suggested methods for transparency to parents and your home community, how to build civic skills and dispositions by focusing locally instead of nationally, and several other topics. Those who attend will be eligible for Act 48 continuing education credit.

For those who can't attend on the 17th, we want to know if you would attend this type of training if it happened in your area. Please fill out this form to let us know your interest.

PA Civics Forum next Thurs

We are just a few days away from the PA Civics Forum at Marywood University, held in partnership with IU-19, the Marywood School of Education, and the National Liberty Museum. We still have a few spaces left. Check out the presentation lineup and schedule and then register (it's free!) to save your spot.

Food, Act 48 credit, and take-home resources will be provided to all attendees.

If you can't make it to Scranton this time, keep an eye out early next year for an announcement of PA Civics conferences in 2026!