Cabinet Resolution Kicks Off Push for Civics Education by League of Cities
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Resolution proclaims October 19-25, 2008, as Florida City Government Week
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2008
CONTACT: Sharon G. Berrian
(850) 222-9684
TALLAHASSEE – Warning of a “crisis of citizenship” afflicting Florida and the nation, the Florida League of Cities launched a new initiative for civics education today.
Wellington Vice Mayor and Florida League of Cities President Carmine Priore announced the initiative at a meeting of the Florida Cabinet, where he accepted a Florida Cabinet resolution proclaiming the week of October 20 as Florida City Government Week. As part of the civics education effort, student government members from R. Frank Nims Middle School in Tallahassee joined Priore at the Cabinet meeting.
“Our founding fathers believed that the study and understanding of our government should be at the core of every American’s education,” Priore said. “A better-informed citizenry would promote civility and ethics and government, and hold leaders accountable to produce better governance. As city leaders, it is our responsibility to support this effort.”
The students from Nims Middle School also participated Tuesday in a civics education event with Mayor Priore at the Florida League of Cities headquarters regarding the structure and duties of Florida’s municipal governments.
Priore described the League’s civics education effort as vitally needed to combat a lack of basic knowledge about this nation’s political values and history that threatens the democratic foundation of government. For example:
Recent polls show that 40 percent of Florida adults cannot explain the separation of powers or name the three branches of government, and 67 percent of Americans cannot name one of their U.S. senators.
In a survey of high school students by the Knight Foundation, half of students believed the government could censor the Internet, and more than a third think the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees.
“James Madison wrote that ‘Knowledge will forever govern ignorance,’ and that the American people must arm themselves with knowledge in order to act as their own governors,” Priore said. “As we educate all generations of Americans, we must ensure the preservation of our republic with that same fervor for knowledge that was passed down to us from the first generation of Americans.”
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The League of Cities’ education campaign will make civics resources and materials available to teachers, community leaders and civic groups; and it will help cities work with citizens to promote public engagement and civility, to improve ethics awareness and compliance among local officials, and to develop city-specific civics materials to share in local communities.
Examples of civics activities that will result from this initiative include:
City-sponsored open houses and tours of municipal facilities;
Online public resources for use in classrooms, civic clubs and other organizations;
Advisory boards that provide citizen input to city councils;
Citizen academies that educate about city government and services; and
Youth councils that engage young people and seek “youth voices” on city issues.
“City officials and employees must agree to be civics teachers in classrooms, in city halls and in our communities,” Priore said. “We will all benefit if more citizens understand what services cities provide, how we pay for those services, and how all citizens can make a difference in their city’s quality of life.”
The Florida League of Cities, Inc., is the official organization of the municipal governments (cities, towns, villages and chartered counties) in Florida, designed and established to meet and serve the needs of Florida’s municipal officials.
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