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2020 is a curveball for civics. How Chicago classrooms are responding

Cassie Walker Burke

November 04, 2020 |

Chalkbeat Chicago |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago-area high school teachers are approaching the mental-toll of election cycles on their students by rethinking curricula. Some teachers are approaching election anxiety by hosting empathetic dialogues by addressing students' anxieties and exploring their individual powers. Students also completed lessons that required them to have conversations with the adults in their lives regarding general voting information. Other educators are placing emphasis on exploring media literacy and understanding online propaganda with students.

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The cycle of punitive justice starts in schools. Eric Butler is showing kids and teachers how to break it.

Adam Hochschild

November 01, 2020 |

Mother Jones |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Selma, Alabama

Hundreds of schools nationwide use restorative justice to respond to student disciplinary problems differently. In place of police, arrests, and suspensions, restorative practices emphasize conflict mediation through dialogue, asking how to hold people accountable without necessarily punishing them. Such programs have helped reduce suspensions and referrals to criminal or juvenile courts markedly, and reduced racial disparities. This story follows one man, a formerly incarcerated murder victim's brother, as he takes on the difficult task of introducing restorative practices to punishment-minded schools.

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Minority US contact tracers build trust in diverse cities

Julie Watson

October 31, 2020 |

Associated Press |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Diego, California

A contact tracing program jointly launched by San Diego State University and San Diego County is helping to combat misinformation and dispel fears for immigrants, refugees, and minorities in San Diego by employing ethnically and racially diverse community members. The contact tracers help those who need to quarantine devise a plan to do so safely, while also acting as community health care workers to help those families get the necessities they need.

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Police de-escalation training gaining renewed clout as law enforcement seeks to reduce killings

Tom Jackman Dan Morse

October 27, 2020 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Louisville, Kentucky

A de-escalation training program from the Police Executive Research Forum, used by 85 police agencies already, was shown in Louisville to reduce police officers' use of force by 28%. The training resulted in 26% fewer injuries to residents, and an even larger drop in injured officers. The training focuses on incidents where the person is not armed with a gun but often is in a mental-health crisis. Contrary to traditional training that emphasizes command-and-control tactics with escalating shows of force, PERF's approach teaches officers to slow and calm the situation in ways that can avoid a shooting.

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Botswana's Radical Experiment in National Unity

Bastian Berbner

October 23, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Botswana

Botswanans have deprioritized deeply held tribal identities, created a national identity, and found societal stability by using the practice of randomly assigning civil servants to different parts of the country. Sending the over 120,000 civil servants to work away from friends and family, immersed in a new culture, has led to intercultural exchanges, new friendships, and even many marriages that resulted in children whose parents belong to different tribes. Increasing contact across tribal groups led to thousands of new personal relationships, which reduced prejudices and created a shared national culture.

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Black Grandmothers Feed their Communities, and Pass on Food Traditions—Online

Hannah Wallace

October 21, 2020 |

Civil Eats |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

A program called Grandma’s Hands has begun hosting virtual dinner parties as a means of connecting and engaging with Black grandmothers during the coronavirus pandemic. Funded by a grant from the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the program also helps connect participants with fresh produce from Black- and Indigenous-run farms in the Portland area.

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Could a Simple Intervention Fight a Suicide Crisis?

Sarah Weiser

October 21, 2020 |

PBS |

Broadcast TV Programs |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

In the 1960s, a psychologist and a team of researchers in San Francisco began sending “caring letters" as a means of suicide intervention, but the practice didn't continue outside of the research study, despite showing positive results. Today though, a clinical psychologist has begun to reintroduce the intervention, via text messages and emails, as a practice to specifically help U.S. service members and veterans.

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Citizens' Assemblies let everyday people make important city decisions. Let's bring them to Philly.

Jessica Blatt Press

October 19, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Citizens' assemblies, where a randomly selected representative sample of people work together to make decisions and find policy solutions to social issues, is an effective approach to decision-making that bridges polarization. It also minimizes the influence of special interests in decision making. America In One Room gathered 500 people in Texas to address topics such as immigration and healthcare, among others, and it showed that people tend to find common ground after deliberative discussions. Citizens’ assemblies have successfully informed policy decisions in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France.

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Firefighters work through PTSD with peer support, counseling

Sierra Poore

October 19, 2020 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Glendale, Arizona

A counseling program introduced at Glendale Fire Department has now spread to a handful of other departments across the state after reporting that a significant percentage of firefighters were using the counseling services and had used fewer sick hours. The program offers individual counseling, group support, and training on peer counseling.

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The Courage to Listen

Meg Daly

October 15, 2020 |

Jackson Hole Community Radio (KHOL) |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Jackson, Wyoming

Following a series of public controversies over sexual assault, Jackson's Community Safety Network convened a series of training seminars to foster a response that no amount of legislation or criminal prosecutions could offer: to cultivate culture change based on greater understanding and empathy about what survivors go through. The seminars capitalized on a surge in public interest, and misunderstandings, surrounding sexual assault allegations against a public official and other public officials' behavior. One survivor who was encouraged to go public praised the community effort.

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