Incorporating Politics and Civic Engagement Into the Classroom

R. Michael WalshAssociate Professor, Communication Arts Community College of Baltimore County

Baltimore, Maryland

Contact:443-840-3613

rwalsh@ccbcmd.edu

Communications 101

The four units: Principles of Communication

Interpersonal Communication Small Group Communication

Public Speaking Honors Program: 1) Promote active learning and critical thinking2) Further develop skills in verbal and written

communication3) Encourage independent discovery4) Foster analytical thinking and creativity

The Honors Projects

Rock the Vote2008 Presidential Campaign

Candidates Night Oral History of Bethlehem Steele Mill/Turner

Station WebsiteChanging Our Ways: A Student Lifestyle

Experiment

Rock the Vote

Received certification from the Baltimore County Board of Elections

Visited classrooms and gave a 5 minute speechCollected the registrations Organized a Rock the Vote event

250 people were registered to vote!

2008 Presidential CampaignResearched each of the candidatesGave presentations advocating for one of the

candidates Participated in a panel discussion Read Peggy Noonan’s On Speaking Well

Candidates’ Night Drafted the invitations Invited County Executive, Delegate,

Senate, County Council candidatesOrganized the eventDeveloped and asked the

questions to panelRead On Speaking Well

Oral History of Bethlehem Steel Mill/Turner Station Website

Interviewed past and present Steel Mill workersCompiled interviews into a videoCreated a website for Turner Station Organized an event Read Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Changing Our Ways: A Student Lifestyle Experiment

Assisted with Trash Olympics at local elementary schoolAssisted in the Green HouseGave up meat, television, water bottles for a weekOrganized eventRead Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man Gave presentations in class using themes from book

Additional Politically-Themed Assignment

Campaign SpeechBecome a fictional person giving factual

information Develop qualifications (work experience,

volunteer/education) appropriate for positionInvestigate the position and the issuesHighlight three important issues you would

address if elected

Campaign Speech Sample Scenarios

• You are a 23 year old college graduate with no political experience. You have the ability to be a successful delegate in the House of Delegates.

• You are running for a position on the Board of Education. You have been an advocate for children for 15 years, including serving as the countywide PTA chairperson for 5 years.

• You have been a pretty successful and popular member of the county delegation and were pulled over with a DUI. You paid your debt and apologized to the public. You are running for re-election and hope that the voters will forgive you.

Campaign Speech Sample Scenarios

• You are running for re-election on the County Council and have been recently accused of using tax payer money to finance your campaign. This is not true. Your opponent will say anything to win.

• You are running for States Attorney and have been an attorney for 15 years. Voters say that crime is their number one concern.

Additional Environmentally-Themed Assignments

Persuasive Speech Select a topicFollow the issue for several weeks Select three articles and write an article summary

using MLA format Students will use resource guide created by the

librarian Create a bibliographyArticles summaries will be used to develop

persuasive 7-8 minute presentation

Persuasive Speech TopicsSB236 Septics Bill (Why we should support the SB236 bill) Energy Production usage (Why we should use solar energy) International approach to sustainability (Select a country

and persuade us to follow their lead) International business (Select one business …like

WalMart…and persuade us to boycott their business because of environmentally unfriendly practices)

Presidential Campaign (Select a current candidate for president and support or oppose one of his/her environmental issues that will positively/negatively impact the world)

American consumerism (Why consumerism is hurting our environment)

Supplemental Materials

Mass Communications Course

Evaluate the impact of historical and emerging media as aesthetic art forms in the Humanities

Explore how the media reflect and inspire cultural, political, and ethical norms

Distinguish, discuss, and estimate the unique effectiveness of different media formats

Group Project

Work in groups of 4-5 studentsAppoint a project manager Select an organization or issue to supportCreate and implement an event designed to raise

awareness or fundsDevelop a promotional campaign using three forms

of mediaDevelop a budget Assess outcome of eventGive a final presentation

Issues/Organizations Juvenile Diabetes/ADA

Haiti

Earth Day/Sustainability Day

Maryland Zoo

Special Olympics

American Cancer Society

Bread and Cheese Cleanup

Toys for Tots

Henrietta Lacks Scholarship

Soles for Souls

World AIDS Day

Autism Speaks

Domestic Violence

Stiggy’s Dogs

Types of Events

Booths at the End-of-the Year PicnicTalent Show

Small Circus for KidsDemonstrations (self defense)

Community Events (parades, booths)Walks and Fundraisers

Performances (musical, dance)Creek Cleanups

Outcome

Total Raised:

$12,000

(and they learned a lot too!)

PartnershipsDundalk Chamber of CommerceDundalk Renaissance Corporation

Non-profit organizations Fleming Senior Center

Local businesses Elementary Schools

ChurchesBread and Cheese Creek Cleanup

CCBC Student Life Elmo!

Earth Week

Special Olympics

Maryland Zoo/Breast Cancer

Creek Cleanup/Toys For Tots

Earth Week/Speaker’s Bureau

Other Great Events!

What you need to do

Work with Student Life (budget, direction) Identify outside organizations willing to partner

(develop a mutually beneficial experience) Identify community events (easier to be a part of

then to plan from scratch)Determine unique aspects/issues in community

(historical, economic, lifestyle)Empower students but manage them (don’t

assume they are fine without you)Plan, Plan, Plan (must be very focused and

organized)

What Students LearnGovernment, Politics, Human Rights Local, National, and International IssuesWrite, Speak, Evaluate, Create, LeadGiving back to the communityCare for others and themselves!

Thank you!