Youth Voices: A Student Town Hall on the 2020 Election

Youth Voices: A Student Town Hall on the 2020 Election

When:

Oct 20, 2020 3:00 PM -
Oct 20, 2020 4:00 PM

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With 2020 being an election year, there are many topics and questions on the minds of our social studies students as they engage in civic life. Moderated by NCSS President, Stefanie Wager and New York Times–bestselling author, Kenneth C. Davis, join NCSS in its first virtual Town Hall to hear directly from a panel of student on the subjects of citizenship, the election process, and civics.

Our moderators will introduce the Town Hall with brief student statements reflecting their broad concerns about democracy, social studies, and citizenship. From there, students on the panel (and via pre-recorded videos) will discuss two broad questions:

  • What issues matter most to you? 
  • What do they think it means to be a citizen?  

Breakout topics and questions will include:

  • Do you see yourself in the political process?
  • How well does our election process work for you, and how could it be improved?
  • What do you see as the future of democracy in America?
  • Does the electoral college still work?
  • Should we control campaign spending and the influence of money in politics?
  • Does America’s two-party political system work, or can it be changed? 
  • Is 18 the “right” voting age? 
  • Is democracy in peril in our current partisan environment?

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This program is generously sponsored by TCI. We thank them greatly for their contributions!

Moderators

author photo credit: Nina Subin

Kenneth C. Davis

Kenneth C. Davis is the New York Times–bestselling author of Don’t Know Much About® History, which gave rise to the “Don’t Know Much About®” series of books, and America’s Hidden HistoryIn the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents and Five Black Lives earned him a Notable Book of the American Library Association in 2017. His most recent book, More Deadly Than War about the 1918 Spanish flu was also named a Notable Trade Book for Young People by the Children’s Book Council and National Council for the Social Studies. His forthcoming book, Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy, will be published on October 6,2020. He lives in New York City and can be found on Twitter @kennethcdavis and at his website, dontknowmuch.com.

Stefanie Wager

NCSS President 2020-2021

Stefanie is the Social Studies Consultant for the Iowa Department of Education. In this role, she provides leadership and guidance at the state level for social studies education. Prior to this, she taught high school social studies for Des Moines Public Schools and Dallas Center-Grimes Schools and worked at Instituto Thomas Jefferson in Naucalpan, Mexico. In addition, she formerly served as the coordinator of a Teaching American History Grant. She received both a Bachelors and Masters degree from Drake University in Des Moines, IA. Stefanie has been involved in the Iowa Council for the Social Studies since 2010, first serving as co-chair for the Annual Conference, then Vice-President, and now President. She is also currently serving on the National Council for the Social Studies Board of Directors. In that capacity Stefanie has worked on the Strategic Plan Committee, Executive Director Search Committee and the Associated Group Ad-Hoc Committee, among others. She is also a member of CS4. In 2011, Stefanie was named an Emerging Leader in Education by ASCD. Stefanie lives in Grimes, IA with her husband Jake, who is also a social studies teacher, and their two children, Lincoln and Grace.