Welcome to Civitas
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Civitas is about reason and conscience. Our "mission" is to counter the ill-informed and apathetic citizen who answers the question about what is happening in the world with "I don't know and I don't care." Our preference is to try to "do the work" rather than worry about fancy mission statements.
Article I of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “All human beings are…endowed with reason and conscience…” and Civitas is committed to the premise that democracy operates best when citizens act “with reason and conscience.” Our programs encourage both adolescents and adults to engage in compassionate critical thinking. We hope to reduce the rhetoric and raise the level of dialogue; thereby engaging more people in a constructive path towards fulfilling the promise of democracy. We believe that for the condition of humankind to improve, it is important for students and others to be active and responsible citizens.
Lest we sound too esoteric (serious and intellectual), let’s acknowledge that our own selfish interests play a key role in what we do. We enjoy working with students and civic-minded adults. We like testing our ideas about education and societal change in the laboratory of our “universe of students.” We enjoy assessing and reassessing the approaches that we take to our own learning and that of others. Not to be forgotten is how we like to laugh – particularly at hypocrisy, both our own and that which exists in the world around us. Not a bad combination …. thinking, reflecting, acting, and laughing! We hope that you’ll join us in the process.
Latest News
Viewing Hotel Rwanda and Discussion with Eric Greitens
High School Discussion this Saturday ... at Clayton Community Center
Our high school discussion group this Saturday will be at The Clayton Community Center, #50 Mark Twain Drive (map) from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM. The reason for the change is because there is an entrance examination at Crossroads.
Discussion topics will be of your choice; we'll come with some "default questions" as always, but it's been a while since we have had "open season." We'll also spend fifteen or twenty minutes giving background information for the "Carefully Getting Out of Iraq" conference. You need not be a participant in that conference to come to the discussion group.Our next discussion group on Saturday, December 13 will be back at Crossroads (map).
Civitas Conference on
"Carefully Getting Out of Iraq"
- Further description of conference including list of roles to be played
- On-line registration form for conference
The hoopla of "Yes we Can," "Change You Can Believe In" is fading and now we're getting down to the nuts and bolts of what a Barack Obama administration will really be like. For well over a year, Barack Obama has been saying that the U.S. must “get out of Iraq as carefully as it was careless getting in.” Polls show that most Americans support this concept, but the details have not really been discussed and analyzed in the public arena.
Civitas will play an active role working with citizens to analyze, study, advocate, or take issue with proposals from this or any other government. We are starting with Barack Obama's proposal to extricate the United States from Iraq.
We are sponsoring a special simulation on Saturday, Jan. 17 to role-play what "carefully getting out of Iraq" might look like. We will ask students to play roles ranging from president and vice-president of the United States to Sunni Muslims to U.S. Secretaries of Defense and State to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Attorney General, head of CIA to head of the oil producing cartel (OPEC). We do not intend to take a position on whether it is advisable to "get out of Iraq" now; what we want to do is explore what such a move would look like if it was done carefully.
If you are interested in participating in the conference, click here for further description, click here to register. If you have questions, contact at info@civitas-stl.com or call us at (314) 367-6480.
Upcoming Events
- Next discussion group is Dec. 6 at the Clayton Community Center.
- Middle School Workshop Photos!
- High School Model U.N.Photos!
- Registration form for "Carefully Getting out of Iraq" conference
Related Information
- High School Resolutions
- 2008-2009 Participant Handbook
- Pictures from Eric Greitens
- This week's newsletter (with Iraq Conferece, Model U.N., High School Model UN & more)
- All Previous Newsletters
- Beacon Articles written by Civitas Students
- Reports on Addressing Health Issues in Haiti
