| Topics: Youth By the People:
Citizenship Training in AmeriCorps Manual Index Preface
Introduction: The Guide Format and the Goals of AmeriCorps
Chapter One: The Framework: Democracy, Citizenship, Politics and Service
Chapter Two: Encouraging (Civic) Responsibility
Chapter Three: Strengthening Community (Capacity)
Chapter Four: Getting Things Done
Chapter Five: Expanding Opportunity
Resources: Glossary, Bibliography, Other
Contents Chapter Two: Encouraging (Civic) Responsibility Chapter 2: Encouraging (Civic) Responsibility Through your work in AmeriCorps, you'll show the country that young people—and the young in spirit—know about their responsibilities in addition to their rights; that they're problem-solvers, not problems; and that they can become strong leaders, not just quiet followers. - AmeriCorps Member Handbook Before AmeriCorps members—or anyone of us—can start tackling the serious problems confronting our communities and our county, we have to see ourselves as part of the solution. Developing a strong sense of civic responsibility goes beyond a simple idea of duty or charity. It means understanding who you are, what you have to contribute, your relationship to others, and your stake around an issue. It goes to the heart of your self-interest, broadly conceived. Core Concepts: Self-Interest Uncovering Your Identity Who are you? What is important to you? Why did you choose to become an AmeriCorps member? Understanding who you are, what you want and how you are connected to others is called self-interest: You can't develop a deep sense of civic responsibility without it. You probably think this idea is counterintuitive. Most people think that self-interest is selfish and private—doing only what is good for you—which is the exact opposite of what you need to do to be a responsible citizen. Civic responsibility is associated with being selfless: doing something only for others. But what self-interest really means is doing what is good for you and for others, at the same time. In fact, the word "interest" comes from the Latin phrase meaning "to be among." Self-interest always has to do with what you're working for in a group of people. Making the distinction between self-interest and selfishness allows people to tie their specific interests to the needs of the larger community and to larger problems and issues. The work of citizenship, service, and the underlying ideal of civic responsibility involves each person working for what they care about with passion and intensity, in concert with others who also have their own "self-interest." But first, each person has to figure out what that is. Knowing who you are and what is important to you will take a lifetime of discovery. Self-interest, like a tree, grows, changes, and is constantly transformed by the outside world. Discovering who you are and how you relate to others can be exciting, joyful, painful, and difficult. We all have stories about ourselves that help to explain why we are who we are. Learning and telling your own story is a powerful way to understand what motivates you and what's most important to you. You enter public life based on what you care about—and learning your own story is a way to find out what you care about most. Civic Skill: Telling Your Story You may not think of yourself as a storyteller. You may think telling stories is only for children, and even if you wanted to tell one, you might not believe you have enough creativity or imagination, or you're too shy, or you lead an unexciting life. Unfortunately, movies and television reinforce these beliefs by showing us people whose stories are action-packed and well-rehearsed. On the other hand, storytelling may be an important, intrinsic part of your culture and history. In this case, telling your story is a way to continue to build upon a centuries old tradition. Storytelling will not only help you explain who you are, but is a part of who you are. Regardless of your personal history, you already tell important stories in your daily conversations. By storytelling, we mean describing scenes in your life that can give others clues as to who you are. The process of telling others about what you've done and what you know is critical because through your experience you come to understand yourself. Some people may have stories that are similar to yours in some ways: By listening to their stories you encounter images, memories, and experiences that can remind you about who you are. When you hear stories that are different from yours, you learn about different memories and different pasts, and come to understand yourself in part by knowing who you are not. In Chapter 3, we will discuss the importance of discovering other people's self-interest through their stories. Although you can and do tell stories every day, there are some skills that can make your personal stories more meaningful to other people. Here are some tips for telling stories in a group setting: Find a story. Coming up with a kernel—an idea for a story is the hardest part for people who feel that "nothing happens in my life." Often the beginning of a story is just a fragment or situation you remember. Listen to the stories of others—sometimes this reminds you of a story you have. It helps if the group selects a particular topic to tell stories about. Here are a few ideas for story topics: - the most frightening thing that ever happened to you
- the most unusual person you ever met
- your greatest learning experience
- the person you will never forgive
- the time you were most angry
- your first memory
- the most influential person in your life
Form the story. Shape the different parts of the story so they make sense. Give your story a beginning (give a little background), a middle (where you describe a kind of challenge or conflict), and an end (where you say how the challenge or conflict got handled). Fight Fear. Nervousness is good—it shows that what you're doing is important. But being too nervous to speak out is self-defeating. Concentrate on the story that wants to come out, not on yourself telling it. Remember that when you're drawing on your own life, there is no wrong answer, and there are no bad stories. Have People Listen: It's good for your story to have people listen to you tell it, not just once, but through a few versions. Listeners notice things that will help you communicate more through your story. Listen to Others: You can learn a lot about what makes a story interesting by listening to other people tell theirs. The infinite variety of stories you hear should reassure you that the richest stories are drawn from people's own experience. Exercise Worksheet: Your Timeline This exercise asks you: To create a framework in which to place your personal stories. A time line lets you put your experiences in a context that highlights the self-interest that makes you who you are. It helps to encourage civic responsibility because: Self-interest helps determine how we understand and experience public problems and motivates us to get involved in solving them. We must understand our self- interest before we can act on it. Instructions Mark important events in your life on a time line. Start anywhere you want to and use your own rules to decide what kinds of things to include. Time limit: 30 minutes. Questions About Your Timeline - How does knowing your family's history help you know yourself?
- Did you go back 20 years? 10? 2? How would your time line change if you changed how much time it covered?
- Is your time line empty or full? Explain why. Are there spaces you want filled in?
- Is there a place on the time line when private events cross into public experience?
- Was doing the time line useful? Did it show you anything new?
Follow Up When you have time, find out more about your identity by asking your parents, grandparents and longtime neighbors and friends for details about your past. What questions will you ask them? How have their lives influenced yours? Bring your time line and get them to help you fill in the blanks. Exercise Worksheet: A New Dictionary This exercise asks you: To think about what some important words mean to you, words that you might use to tell your story or explain your AmeriCorps work, based on your background and experience. Most dictionaries try to give words meanings that everyone can accept, without any personal interpretations. This is an exercise in putting self-interest back into the words you use. It helps to encourage civic responsibility because: You get clues as to what is important to you when you examine how your experience influences your understanding of certain words. Knowing this helps you see what problems you will be willing to work on and how you will define these problems. Instructions
Individually or in pairs: Without looking at a dictionary, define some or all of the words listed below. Also, think about how these words relate to your AmeriCorps work. Time limit: 15 minutes. As a group: Discuss your definitions. Time limit: 25 minutes. Words: Anger -Citizenship - Conflict - Community - Democracy - Diversity - Education - Family - Imagination - Judgment - Listening - Maturity - Negotiation - Politics - Problem - Public - Private - Racism - Self-Interest - Service - Sexism - Voluntarism - Wisdom - Work Are there other words you think need new definitions? See Resource A: Glossary for definitions to supplement your own. Civic Skill: Taking a Self-Inventory Knowing your history and its impact on you is the first step to figuring out just who you are. But to translate this understanding to your work requires that you glean the lessons from your stories, your time line, even your vocabulary. One way to do this is to take a self-inventory—a survey of your personal characteristics and abilities. Self-inventories give you the opportunity to tie your self- interests to your capacities. Knowing what you can do and what you have to contribute helps develop your sense of civic responsibility by increasing your feelings of efficacy. It changes the idea of civic responsibility from something you should do to something you can do. Sample Self-Inventory Questions - What values are most important to you?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- What kind of things do you enjoy doing? What things do you dislike?
- When have you felt most successful? most powerful?
- What did you enjoy the most about your favorite job? What did you learn from that job?
- What has been your greatest learning experience? What do you most want to learn?
- Do you work best alone, or with others? How do you interact with other people?
- How would other people describe you? What would others say you bring to a group?
Once you have a handle on the interests and capacities you bring to the work of citizenship and service, you are ready to look at what others bring to the work. Exercise Worksheet: Creating a Self-Inventory Matrix This exercise asks you to: Examine your interests and capacities in relation to your citizenship and service work. It helps to encourage civic responsibility because: Understanding your interests and abilities gives you a basis upon which to act. In addition, knowing your limitations—what you don't like or don't know—will give you clues as to what you need from your colleagues in order to accomplish your goals. Instructions
Fill in the following matrix on the following page in relation to your AmeriCorps work. Highlight the things you don't do well, but would like to, or need to learn to do better. Time limit: 15 minutes. As a group discuss what you've found. Do the matrices suggest new ways to work and learn together? Time limit: 20 minutes. *By listing the things you do well and enjoy; the things you do well but dislike; the things you don't do well but enjoy; and the things you don't do well and also dislike in the appropriate boxes. Manual Index Preface
Introduction: The Guide Format and the Goals of AmeriCorps
Chapter One: The Framework: Democracy, Citizenship, Politics and Service
Chapter Two: Encouraging (Civic) Responsibility
Chapter Three: Strengthening Community (Capacity)
Chapter Four: Getting Things Done
Chapter Five: Expanding Opportunity
Resources: Glossary, Bibliography, Other Back to Youth Index | 
