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Capitol Forum on America's Future
Co-sponsored with the Nebraska Secretary of State, Capitol Forum encourages high school students to better understand American democratic values and examine global issues facing the U.S. Students participate in discussions and deliberations with their peers from across the state and members of our elected congressional delegation.
Teachers statewide chosen for 11th Capitol Forum
Twenty-nine high school teachers from schools across the state have been selected to participate in the 11th annual Nebraska Capitol Forum on America’s Future. Through Capitol Forum the teachers and their students will engage in discussion of our nation’s future in a changing international environment.
A program of the Choices for the 21st Century Project of Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies, Capitol Forum seeks to develop a foundation for long-term civic engagement by giving students a voice in public consideration of current issues. Students study and discuss various positions on global concerns to better understand options and their consequences. Global issues to be discussed include terrorism, environment, nuclear weapons, immigration, and international trade.
Selected teachers represent rural, urban, public and private schools. Schools and teachers chosen for the 11th Capitol Forum are:
Nine of the teachers and six of the schools are new to the program this year.
Robin Kratina of Bellevue West and Dennis Fornander of North Platte will participate as lead teachers. Together they have 11 years of combined Capitol Forum experience.
In August, the selected teachers will gather at Bellevue West to discuss the curriculum and teaching strategies, and to learn more about international trade issues. Guest speaker Stan Garbacz, Nebraska’s Agricultural Trade Representative, will describe his role in international market development for Nebraska’s agricultural products.
When school begins this fall, students will study and discuss the Capitol Forum issues in preparation for a March 30 visit to the State Capitol, where class representatives will report on and deliberate the international concerns of their classmates and have the opportunity to discuss issues with elected officials.
The NHC presents Capitol Forum in collaboration with the office of Secretary of State John Gale and with funding support from the Cooper Foundation, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and private donations.
Humanities Council seeks teachers for Capitol Forum
Applications must be in by May 15 for Nebraska high school teachers who want to participate in the 11th annual Nebraska Capitol Forum on America’s Future.
Twenty-five teachers statewide will be selected to participate in the program. Capitol Forum is designed to engage high school students in a discussion of our nation’s future in a changing international environment. Each year, nearly 1,400 students from participating schools learn the complexity of world politics and their role as active, informed citizens in the political process. Among the timely issues to be discussed are immigration, nuclear weapon proliferation, terrorism, environmental concerns, and trade and the global economy.
Two one-day workshops help teachers integrate forum curriculum into their classrooms and prepare for Capitol Forum Day. Each features a guest speaker or program that focuses on one of the global issues. The first workshop in early August will focus on international trade. The second in early February will focus on another relevant and timely issue.
Each teacher will select up to four students to participate in the forum March 30 at the State Capitol. During the forum, student representatives will report and deliberate over the international concerns of their classmates. The day culminates in a dialogue among students and elected officials. During the recent 2008 forum, more than 90 students from throughout Nebraska gathered to discuss global issues among themselves and with U.S. Reps. Jeff Fortenberry, Lee Terry and Adrian Smith of Nebraska.
After the day-long forum, teachers and students lead their classmates through a two-day lesson plan to complete a Nebraska Student Ballot on America’s Future. Ballot results are distributed to participating Nebraska high schools, news media, and state and federal elected officials.
Participating teachers receive free curriculum units and other materials to engage their students in study and discussion. Funding is available for travel stipends and classroom substitutes.
The Nebraska Humanities Council presents Capitol Forum in collaboration with the office of Secretary of State John Gale and the Choices for the 21st Century Project, an outreach of Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies.
The 2008 Capitol Forum was funded in part by the Cooper Foundation, Milton and Miriam Waldbaum Family Foundation in memory of Miriam Waldbaum, Merrill Lynch, A to Z Printing, Anne Stuart Batchelder, funding appropriated by the Nebraska Legislature, and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.
Capitol Forum conforms to Nebraska social studies and reading/writing standards. To receive information on the alignment with state standards, or to apply to the program, write to: Nebraska Humanities Council, 215 Centennial Mall South, Suite 330, Lincoln, NE 68508.
A printable application form is available by clicking on the link in the left-hand column of this page. For more details, call Mary Yager at (402) 474-2131 ext. 103, fax (402) 474-4852, or e-mail mary@nebraskahumanities.org.
U.S. lawmakers participated in Capitol Forum
Three members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation participated in the 10th annual Nebraska Capitol Forum on America’s Future on March 31 at the State Capitol.
U.S. Reps. Jeff Fortenberry, Lee Terry and Adrian Smith participated via video conferencing from Washington, D.C.
More than 90 high school students and 22 teachers gathered at the daylong forum to discuss the U.S. role in today’s world. The forum is a collaboration of the Nebraska Humanities Council and Secretary of State John Gale. The students and teachers will represent 22 high schools in Lincoln, Omaha, Bellevue, Ashland, Cambridge, Chadron, Dodge, Genoa, Hampton, Hastings, Hemingford, Holdrege, Howells, North Platte, Springfield, Stella, Sterling, Sumner, and Wilcox.
Capitol Forum is a civic education initiative designed to give high school students a voice in public policy. For six months, students have studied and deliberated foreign policy issues in the classroom. On March 31, student representatives from each school engaged in discussion among themselves and with policymakers and other elected officials on such issues as immigration, nuclear weapon proliferation, terrorism, international trade, and the global environment. They will deliberate on four distinct options for the future of U.S. foreign policy, culminating in a conversation with members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation.
The day began at 8:30 a.m. with a welcome by Gov. Dave Heineman in the Warner Chamber. Deliberation on the four futures began at 1:40 p.m. The students’ conversation with Reps. Fortenberry, Terry and Smith was as 2:45 p.m.
After the March 31 forum, teachers and students returned home to share their experiences with classmates, broadening the impact of Capitol Forum to more than 1,200 students statewide. These classes will complete a ballot describing their view of America’s future role in the world. Results of the ballot will be compiled and distributed to elected officials, Nebraska schools and news media.
Capitol Forum is a Choices for the 21st Century project, an outreach educational program of Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies.
In Nebraska, Capitol Forum is funded in part by the Cooper Foundation, Milton and Miriam Waldbaum Family Foundation in memory of Miriam Waldbaum, Merrill Lynch, A to Z Printing, Anne Stuart Batchelder, and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.
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![2008 Capitol Forum participants gather in State Capitol rotunda. [Photo by Tom Ineck]](../images/ForumGroup08.jpg)
Phone 402-474-2131 or e-mail nhc@nebraskahumanities.org |
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