Entertainment. Most of us think of it in terms of television, smartphones, laptops and iPads. At least this is how many incorporate it into daily living. In fact, it would not take very long to look around and find toddlers, children and adolescents glued to electronic devices. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recent study findings warn that this habit can be detrimental to the development of young children having too much exposure to these devices. To help combat this, State of the Re:Union contributor John McKnight of Abundant Community offers some great and easy ideas on how we can “unplug” and get  back to the origins of entertainment. To read the original text in its entirety, click here.

It may be that most of us are not alarmed by “tube-nurtured” children because we think that what is happening is entertainment — innocent and pleasurable. Therefore, we don’t recognize the fact that the tube is replacing play and genuine entertainment created by children, families and communities. In fact, the word “entertainment” is derived from the Old French which meant “hold together.” Its essence is about relationships between people rather than people and “tubes.”

There is an interesting monograph first printed in 1928 titled “Baraboo 1850’s to 1860’s Pioneer Festivities.” It describes how people entertained themselves in the decade of the 1850’s in the small Wisconsin town of Baraboo. The monograph documents entertainments produced by the residents including (these are just a few in many depictions):

•    Fourth of July celebrations that went on all day and evening.
•    New Year’s day celebrated as a time of gift giving and calling on neighbors and friends.
•    Berrying parties and apple-bees where everyone joined together in forests and orchards.
•    Afternoon tea parties.
•    Public dances of every kind, with local musicians providing the music.
•    Village gatherings to watch the dancing of Native Americans who still lived in the area.
•    Pound parties where everyone attending brought a pound of food to be shared with a poor family.
•    Festivals throughout the community held frequently to raise money for good causes.
•    Park festivities where public gatherings of every kind took place in the village.

This is a history of entertainment, festivity and play that was produced by everyday people in so many ways that most days had at least one entertainment. People knew how to create activities that would be fun, inspiring, social and informative. In that sense they were capable of creating a community’s enjoyment.

In a “tube-focused” community, many people have lost the capacity to produce an enjoyable life. Instead they are consumers of commercial “entertainment.” And because so many of them have never engaged in creating and participating in entertainment, there’s no need for us to develop our talents. We pay to watch people with talent on a tube. And everyone knows that “tubing” has nothing to do with a festive life. Instead it is a sad retreat from the joy of using our abilities to celebrate each other by coming together in a thousand exciting, happy, supportive, friend-making, talent-displaying ways.

So, supposing your 2012 New Year’s resolutions included personal leadership in creating an enjoyable neighborhood. We can begin by recognizing that we still know how to celebrate weddings, birthdays, graduations and holidays with our relatives. The people of Baraboo in the 1850’s have created a community celebration menu for us to build upon. We can join together with our neighbors to have gardening, tea, quilting and book parties. We can open our houses of worship to all kinds of neighborhood celebrations. We can create opportunities to dance together, sing together, make music together and raise money together. We can join in enjoying the talents of our children and debates of public issues.

In all these ways, we can become a real community where we know everyone by name and experience their unique talents. Best of all, we can become real neighbors celebrating life together rather than living isolated lives in houses where electric tubes create a counterfeit life for us and our families.

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John McKnight is an expert on communities. An Ohio native who currently lives near Chicago, he has spent decades organizing communities and researching them, primarily in the Windy City itself. In the course of his career, he mobilized neighborhoods during the civil rights movement, wrote several books about community development, created a center for urban affairs at Northwestern University, and even taught the current President a thing or two about advocacy. (Yes, it’s true: way back when, a young and eager Barack Obama interned at McKnight’s training program for community organizers in southeast Chicago). If that’s not enough, he recently co-authored a book called “The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods.”

State of the Re:Union will be featuring pieces from John McKnight and Peter Block of Abundant Community every other Monday.

The Vito Marcantonio School in East Harlem, New York

This week’s School Spotlight is highlighting one school in East Harlem, New York, where students and staff, with the help of a City Year corp member, are serious about their commitment to and practice of “whole student” philosophy of learning and living.  In fact, to them, it’s just “Common Sense.” To read the original GOOD.is article in its entirety, click here.

In the recent past, the 330 students of the Vito Marcantionio School decided to participate in the Penny Harvest program — a service learning project run by City Year and the nonprofit Common Cents. City Year corp member Meg Malone was somewhat surprised at the tenacity and desire of these children. Of her students Malone says, “I often tell people that just because my students have a higher risk of dropping out of school, that doesn’t mean they don’t have a desire to be active citizens and make a difference in their community.”

In an effort to create more interest in the Penny Harvest program, some students took it upon themselves to hop on the campaign trail and get their peers more involved. Songs were created and sung over the P.A. system to help generate more awareness about the program; and when one fifth grader decided there were not enough signs providing information on Penny Harvest, she created one she thought would get the job done of getting the information out.

Their enthusiasm for gathering funds to help others in need was quite astounding, especially given that a great many of the students are from a low-income background. This just further proves the students have incredible social awareness by recognizing that others around them are in need of help. It also shows their capacity for becoming even more outstanding humanitarians and civic stewards.

After all of the funds for the program had been collected at the months end, a committee of students was needed to help with the allocating of funds. According to the article, “A team of fourth- through eighth-grade students was selected to be the voice of the student body. Throughout the year, they’ll learn more about various community issues and (with the vision of the student population in mind), they’ll choose an organization to donate the money.” Although this is a large and tedious project these students are taking on, they are up for the challenge.

This Penny Harvest project has brought about some teachable moments for staff and kids, alike. It has prompted them to look at the good others are doing in the country (and world). They are becoming more interested in what civic engagement means and how it enriches the community. They are seeing a change, and realizing, they are heroes for their community.

The biggest lesson they are learning: Students plus “Common Cents” equals great community. Making a change and helping others become more interested in the desire to partake in change need not be laborious, grueling or demanding. Most times it is the smallest ideas that produce impressive results. Have a similar story of teachable moments and making civic engagement fun? We love learning about the good growing in our country, so use the box below to share some of your stories.

Thirty years ago, the main vehicle for citizen participation—other than voting—was the public hearing. Public hearings are well and good, but they often serve as little more than a steam-valve for irate citizens to vent. In fact, the very term “public hearing” is considered by many civic experts to be something of a misnomer.

Dan Kemmis, a former Missoula mayor and speaker of the Montana House of Representatives, said it best in this book, Community and the Politics of Place: “Out of everything that happens at a public hearing, the emoting, the attempts to persuade the decision-maker, the presentation of facts, the one element that is almost totally lacking is anything that might be characterized as public hearing.”

More and more communities are discovering new and betters ways of talking about (and hearing about) public issues. In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for instance, an all-volunteer organization known as Portsmouth Listens conducts regular “study circles” on important local issues.

The study circles process works this way: The small group, consensus-based discussions of 8-12 people take place over a four-week period, meeting once a week. Then they produced a written report on their findings, which was published in the local paper, the Portsmouth Herald.

Portsmouth Listens began as a one-time effort to mobilize parents and students to deal with issues of bullying and violence in schools. Local attorney Jim Noucas and a group of citizens contacted the Study Circles Resource Center (now known as Everyday Democracy) to help put together a dialogue on the subject. More than 12 years later, the city is still using study circles for local dialogues, most recently, an extensive dialogue and report on the city’s budget challenges.

It was Portsmouth city manager John Bohenko’s idea to use the study circles process to review the city’s master plan, the document that guides policy on such issues as development, open space protection, affordable housing, transportation and infrastructure needs.

The master plan involved over 400 citizens over a period of two years. The process led to the development of a visioning statement and set of recommendations adopted by city government.

Portsmouth Listens has also held candidate forums using a dialogue-based roundtable to allow meaningful interaction between voters and candidates.

Portsmouth has a nine-member council with an average of 18 candidates running every two years. So the roundtables were divided into five groups of two or three and the voters into groups of 12-15. Each voter group was given 15 minutes to engage in a roundtable with the candidate groups. Each candidate was given three written questions and their answers are printed in the Herald. The questions were formulated by city officials, former council members and school board members.

Portsmouth Listens co-chair Jim Noucas says study circles have changed how the local government does business. The city is much more likely to consult the public on issues before evaluating the solutions, and the public is much more likely to support solutions that have been developed through deliberation. “It’s not just showing up and giving your opinion,” he says. “You have to be able to work with others, and people walk away with their opinions changed.”

The group is now working to organize a “New Hampshire Listens” to foster dialogue and deliberation on statewide issues and to get more communities in the state to conduct their own local study circles.

You can link here to read a longer article on Portsmouth Listens on the Everyday Democracy website.

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Mike McGrath is senior editor and chief information officer for the National Civic League. A former newspaper reporter and magazine writer, he is editor of the quarterly National Civic Review, which will be beginning its centennial year of publishing this spring.

Mike’s posts will appear every Thursday on the State of the Re:Union website.

Bayard Rustin

On this day of remembering the birth of a man who beget the Civil Rights’ Movement, State of the Re:Union would like to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the man who helped his “I Have a Dream” speech come to fruition.

It was Bayard Rustin who urged Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to use a peaceful and non-violent approach when disseminating messages of equality and freedom. That was what made the world-renowned speech so impactful — it made the rest of the United States take note. Today, we celebrate the day that freedom for all began its ascent into the culture of America, and just as the great Doctor King, Jr., we revere the notion of peace and recognize it as a necessity in overcoming adversity.

To find out more on the relationship between Bayard Rustin, MLK, and the Civil Right’s Movement, listen on the player below or click here to visit our episode page and find out how one man’s beliefs unfolded into freedom for all.

Bayard Rustin Episode

Our episode, originally produced in 2010, spans from early in life when he counseled MLK, Jr. on the non-violent resistance that would shape his movement to late in life when Rustin falls in love and champions a new cause.

When you have listened to your hearts content, use the box to tell us what this celebration means for you.

Woodrow Wilson High School in Los Angeles, California

Within the past few years, aided by the decline of the economy, there have been a growing number of food deserts across America. This has become a serious issue in the fight to provide adequate nutrition to many children and families.  School Spotlight salutes Woodrow Wilson High School in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, for its role in working to eliminate this food deficit in their community to help make a difference. (To read the original Los Angeles Times article in its entirety, click here.)

According to the CDC, “food deserts are areas that lack access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low fat milk, and other foods that make up the full range of a healthy diet.” After working with a nonprofit in doing a comparative study of El Sereno’s access to fresh foods versus other communities, one undeniable conclusion was found: they were in need of another community garden.

As an answer to these findings — and with the help of his class — Kevin Armenta, a teacher of Environmental and Urban Studies at Wilson, spearheaded a project to change this reality. They transformed a forsaken back entrance to the school that was sitting in disrepair and created a healthy food source option, the People’s Garden. According to the article, Armenta says of the garden “It’s a physical solution to a research topic about food deserts.”

They are also using it as a community-building tool. Different cultures representing the makeup of El Sereno are coming together to assist in the success of the People’s Garden, as it is aptly named. However, the physical labor — think planting, weeding, and watering — is done by the students and staff. The students began preparing the seeds last winter that are currently in the ground. They have a vested interest in this project, which is evidenced by their presence at workdays, where time is spent doing general maintenance. After all, the garden’s control ultimately lies in the hands of the few students, teachers and community members who are involved.

Because Wilson High School members want this project to blossom, they utilize the guidance of the Native Green Gardener Program, a group offering advice that teaches sustainable gardening and landscaping practices.

The members of the high school are focusing “on growing plants that reflect the communities of El Sereno.” Among other items, included in this garden menagerie are medicinal plants from China and the “three sisters” of Mesoamerica: corns, beans and squash.

The People’s Garden and Wilson High have endured a few setbacks due to vandals destroying the water delivery system — three garden hoses that snake down through the garden, lying in wait for someone to use — but they keep their eye on the prize. This garden is a living representation and physical manifestation of the will of a few to make lives of many better.

Food deserts are a hard fact to swallow, but it is a reality that many still live with. More and more people, organizations and groups are seeing the need and rallying to close the gap on a serious issue affecting too many in the United States. Schools, in particular, have been hit hard by this. A growing number of children and families are participating in free meal programs at their schools on a daily basis. Include in this the food deserts that are becoming more of a norm and it makes for a challenging future of a healthier America.

What these dedicated “urban gardeners” are doing to combat this issue deserves accolades. Thanks to the endeavors of Armenta, his students and community members, and Woodrow Wilson High School, what started out as a school research project for a few students has now become an invaluable lesson and tool for its community. Kudos!

Know of any plan(s) or organization(s) in your community or schools working toward a similar goal? Use the box below to tout the commendable efforts of those working to make a difference.

I’ve been working on revisions for a new version of the Civic Index, a tool created by the National Civic League to help communities assess their civic strengths and weaknesses. In the process, I’ve been looking back at some of the best examples I know of communities doing innovative things with civic engagement.

In general there are two approaches to local public engagement. One is to convene temporary deliberative processes to do strategic planning, issue-oriented dialogues, conflict resolution or problem solving initiatives. Another is to embed public participation processes in local government with permanent neighborhood councils or other structures.

In Sarasota County, Florida, local officials and philanthropic leaders found a third way. Concerned about the negative and unfocused nature of discussions over a controversial bridge project, they decided to form a nonprofit to handle the county’s public participation and dialogue strategies, SCOPE, Sarasota County Plans for Civic Excellence.

“Government tends to do certain things well,” noted Tim Dutton, SCOPE’s executive director, when I interviewed him in 2009. “Encouraging people to engage in rich dialogues has tended not to be one of those things. SCOPE can help out a little bit here because we’re not the government. We are being asked by government to convene around issues now, because we can create an invitation that has a different reaction than what happens when government makes the invitation.”

SCOPE has convened dialogues on such issues as traffic and congestion, aging, affordable housing, school dropout rates, mental health, family violence and community change. Last year, the group convened a summit on environmental action. Sometimes the organization produces short documentaries on topic areas as part of its “Stories Project.”

Interestingly, SCOPE studies and summits have led to the creation of nearly a dozen nonprofit spinoff groups to work in different issue areas, including a community housing trust to buy housing that can be preserved as affordable. A conversation/study on school attendance got the local school district to change the way its handles its dropout policies, and a group of mental health organizations launched a $9 million initiative focusing on children.

Additionally, the organization undertakes what it calls community report cards, looking at a number of indicators that reflect different facets of community life. In 2008, the report card led to the convening of a summit for Environmental Action.

SCOPE was one of the organizers of the Grassroots Leadership Initiative, an effort to identify and develop leaders from under-served communities. One graduate of the program joined the country housing authority board. Another became a PTO president. One became a program associate at a local foundation.

SCOPE has helped change the way citizens and activists think about community solutions, said Dutton. In the early years, recommendations from the conversations tended to produce documents that began with the words, “The County should do….” “We now talk in terms of what we have to do to grow active citizens,” he explained. “How can I have the capacity to make a difference in my own neighborhood? At best we are looking at government being an active partner.”

Today SCOPE receives funding from three area foundations, Sarasota County and (to a smaller extent) four municipalities, the United Way and various groups and individuals. It was one of the three projects the county listed when it was named a finalist in the 2008 All-America City Awards.

At the NCL, we think it is important for communities to convene citizens in large-scale efforts to do problem solving or planning, so people can be engaged in local issues year-round, not just on Election Day. Sometimes we help them do it themselves through our Community Success programs. Often we work with local government officials to kick start a project.

But these days city funds are tight and more and more communities may need to find new ways to finance and organize ambitious civic engagement projects. SCOPE could be an interesting model for other communities.

Counties, towns and cities throughout the United States are finding that more traditional ways of governing and garnering public participation are no longer as effective as they once were. We as an American public are growing more concerned — and, consequentially, more aware — about things going on in our communities. Therefore, there no longer resides an easy willingness to accept that which does not work anymore. That being the case, what are some of the ways your community is changing to make local government work for the good of the people. Use the box below to brag on your civic and civil growth.

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Mike McGrath is senior editor and chief information officer for the National Civic League. A former newspaper reporter and magazine writer, he is editor of the quarterly National Civic Review, which will be beginning its centennial year of publishing this spring.

Mike’s posts will appear every Thursday on the State of the Re:Union website.