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Civic Lab Fosters Engagement and Active Citizenship
As part of their interdisciplinary Civic Lab program, 11th grade students work together in small groups throughout the year to explore themes of marginalization as they play out in Chicago and are part of their U.S. History and American Literature curriculum.
The goal of this program is to promote active citizenship and civic engagement, providing space for building relationships and connections, transforming Parker’s mission into action, advocating for social justice and enriching our understanding of how systems of marginalization shape institutions and structures of privilege, advantage and disadvantage in our history and in our present-day society.
Each Civic Lab group has a unique focus, directed by the group’s faculty sponsor. For the 2018–19 academic year, 11th grade students have been participating in the following Civic Lab groups:
- Creating Alliances: This group is for everyone who is willing to step forward and help create a safe and supportive community for all members of the LGBTQ community at Parker and in Chicago, Illinois and the rest of America.
- Immigration Justice: To learn about all sides of the immigration debate, this group will meet with lawyers, judges, policy makers and activists and hear from immigrants about their life experiences. They will serve as court watchers in deportation hearings (crln.org), meet with officials and legislators (ice.gov) and participate in local alternatives to detention.
- PACTT (Parents Allied with Children and Teachers for Tomorrow): Students work one on one with PACTT students in the classroom, help during special events such as the PACTT field day (which Parker hosts annually), join students on trips to the park and the lakefront, accompany students during visits to Parker, offer assistance during meals and engage in other activities.
- SSDP (Students for Sensible Drug Policy): SSDP mobilizes and empowers students to participate in the political process, pushing for sensible policies to achieve a safer and more just future, while pushing back against counterproductive drug war policies, particularly those that directly harm youth.
- Women’s Issues in Chicagoland: This group is for students who wish to explore instances of oppression that women experience in the Chicago area. They will learn about sex slavery, domestic violence, women’s healthcare and the impact these issues have on all of us.
Throughout the year, students have been visiting institutions, meeting with community activists, viewing films and conducting research into the topic of their group.
Recently, local priest, social justice advocate and pastor of the St. Sabina parish Father Michael Pfleger visited with 11th grade students to speak about his life’s work as this year’s annual Henry David Thoreau speaker—a guest whose life experiences reflect the choices of the famous transcendentalist in his essay On the Duty of Civil Disobedience. Pfleger’s local work organizing youth and community as well as fighting the oppression of people of color exemplifies the curriculum we hope to engage students with as part of the Civic Lab program.
Click here for photos of Father Pfleger’s visit.
Francis W. Parker School educates students to think and act with empathy, courage and clarity as responsible citizens and leaders in a diverse democratic society and global community.