Presidential Inaugural Addresses:

An Essay Contest from Can We Talk?

On January 20th, after Donald Trump takes the Oath of Office, he will give the 60th inaugural address in U.S. history.

Inaugurations are momentous occasions in American history, so Can We Talk?, C70's program for productive civil dialogue, is sponsoring an essay contest for students. They can respond to this prompt:

As a resident of this nation, what message would you like to hear from him? What words do you think would best meet this moment? Write out one paragraph (at most two) that you would very much like to hear President Trump say on Jan. 20.

The short (250 words max) essays can be submitted to Chris Satullo, CWT?'s co-founder, at csatullo@gmail.com. The submission deadline is Friday, Jan. 10 at 5 pm. A grand prize of $250 and two $100 runners-up will be awarded.

The contest is accompanied by online resources, which include famous passages from previous inaugurals, classroom discussion questions, and links for further reading.

Professional Development: How Philly Works

On January 3rd, the Committee of Seventy, PA Youth Vote, and Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts are partnering for a professional development day for teachers in the School District of Philadelphia. If you are an SDP teacher, we hope to see you there - please connect with Tom Quinn (taquinn@philasd.org) if you have questions or to make sure you have the information necessary to attend.

• Part 1: How Philly Works Resources and Lesson Plans: C70 has created a 24-page booklet called How Philly Works: A Guide to Our City Government. Join us for an introduction to the resources and lesson plans currently being developed. Each participating teacher will receive a class set of booklets, classroom posters, and digital access to the presentations and lesson plans.

• Part 2: 2025 Philadelphia Municipal & Judicial Elections: About 80% of our seniors will be eligible to vote in the May 20th Primary Election, but do they know who and what is on their ballot? Learn about the row offices of District Attorney, City Controller, as well as the judges and justices of the Pennsylvania Unified Court System. What do election officers do, and how can 18-year-olds run to be Judge or Inspector of Elections? Walk away with resources and lessons to prepare your students to become informed voters.