Y15 SESSION 5


Icebreaker: Your identity is your superpower! Check out this video to learn more - “You are what the world looks like.”

TODAY'S MISSION


Have you ever considered who makes official decisions in your local community? Elected officials together decide where money is spent, and what resources are invested in.

Civic infrastructure is made up of people, places, policies, programs and practices that enable us to connect with one another, address our shared challenges, build community and solve public problems. It also impacts the types of jobs available.

There are many assets in communities and today, you will explore the civic infrastructure of your city so you have a better sense of how you can get involved in it. Don’t forget, elected officials work for you!

EXPLORING CITIZENSHIP


GOALS


Today,you will:

  • Understand how civic infrastructure impacts workforce development.
  • Analyze how elected officials impact the health of your community and workforce opportunities.
  • Create a community asset guide in your home community or worksite community.


Portofolio Workbook Steps: Each step should take 1 hour.

PORTFOLIO STEP 1

First, visit the website of your local city council and/or other local governance structures in your city. While you’re doing this, remember that you have specific representatives depending on where you live. Plug in your home address to identify the people who represent you and your community. Record what you discover in your Workbook.

Next, Choose 1 of your elected representatives (city council, state senate, U.S. Senate) to read their voting record. While you’re doing this, consider: Where do they stand on the issues you care about? Do they hold any positions you oppose? Is there anything you wish you could change their mind about? How might their stance impact your community?

Record what you discover in your Workbook!

PORTFOLIO STEP 2

In Session 3 you began to engage in the Empathize phase of Design Thinking to identify the values of your community. To get more information on community priorities and begin the data collection process, design a community survey. To get started read this article on the 7 Steps to Create a Community Feedback Survey.

When you're ready, create your survey using your Workbook or use Google Forms. Check out this video to support your process.

You will have the opportunity to learn more about gathering user data through your workplace challenge.

PORTFOLIO STEP 3

Finally, create a community asset guide that identifies important locations in your local community. To do so, you might want to conduct interviews with community members or survey people. Check out pages 9-11 of the Asset Mapping Toolkit for tools to do this mapping. Use your Workbook to map your findings.

While you’re doing this, consider: what do you consider valuable in the community? What do other people find valuable? What resources are present? What would you want to see changed?

Nice work! You've completed Session 5!

Now, check-in with your host site for directions for sharing your digital portfolio items!

Click below to move to Session 6!