Effective Participation: Building Your Skills as a Citizen, Part 4
- Watch and listen to the 60-Second Civics video below. If you'd like, you can also read along using the script that appears below the quiz. Or you can turn on the video's subtitles and read while watching the video.
- Take the Daily Civics Quiz. If you get the question wrong, watch the video again or read the script and try again.
A fundamental aspect of citizenship is participating in the civic affairs of the community and the nation. However, participation alone is not enough. It's important to participate in an informed, thoughtful, and effective manner. How do you do this? Find out in this episode!
Effective Participation: Building Your Skills as a Citizen, Part 4
Effective Participation: Building Your Skills as a Citizen, Part 4
Welcome to 60-Second Civics from the Center for Civic Education. I’m Mark Gage.
One of the fundamental aspects of citizenship in a representative democracy is participating in the civic affairs of the community and the nation.
However, participation alone is not enough.
It's important to participate in an informed, thoughtful, and effective manner.
How do you do this?
Well, if you were voting or participating in a political debate, you would need to read up on the issues at stake.
Many states offer a free voter information guide that is mailed to registered voters or can be found online.
Local news sites often offer in-depth analyses of ballot issues in the weeks before an election.
And it's a good idea to check out nonpartisan voter resources.
For example, the League of Women Voters offers Vote411.org.
Keeping up with the news is a good idea for any citizen.
This helps you to increase your knowledge of the context surrounding the issues and develop informed opinions based on evidence.
But how do you find reliable news sources?
Check out Tom Rosenstiel's "Six Questions That Will Tell You What Media to Trust" from the American Press Institute.
The link is in the show notes on the YouTube version of this podcast.
This episode was made possible by the support of T-Mobile.
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