Truman Joins Largest Teach-In in U.S. History
On Jan. 30 and 31, Truman State University will participate in Focus the Nation, an unprecedented teach-in model on global warming solutions.
“Today’s college students are truly the greatest generation,” says Lewis & Clark professor of economics Eban Goodstein, author and project director for Focus the Nation. “No other generation has ever had to face this kind of civilizational challenge. And we as educators would be failing if we did not prepare them with the tools to meet this challenge.”
Focus the Nation has created a teach-in model centered on the three most essential pillars for today’s youth to embrace solutions to global warming: education, civic engagement and leadership.
“We are in a time where critical decisions need to be made on global warming, which means today’s leaders and the youth who will inherit the crisis need serious education on the issue,” said James “Gus” Speth, dean, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. “Focus the Nation is our country’s foremost model to create that level of education and interaction with law makers.”
The teach-in will kick off the night of Jan. 30, with the viewing of a new film; “Revolution Green: A True Story of Biodiesel in America.” This event will take place in the Student Union Building Georgian Room B. As part of the event, a discussion after the film will be lead by the Focus the Nation group.
The next day, Jan. 31, will include a range of global warming curricula presented by faculty and guest speakers before culminating with the Motivating Action round-table discussion between students and elected leaders on solutions to the crisis. Student Senate President Matt Szewczyk and Rep. Rebecca McClanahan will be present. Truman invites local, regional and national civic leaders to engage in the Motivating Action round-table.
The final piece of Focus the Nation’s teach-in model will be the Choose Your Future vote. All students, faculty and community participants will be encouraged to vote on what they think are the top five solutions from a list of 10 to 15 and are available at http://www.focusthenation.org. Vote results will be presented nationally in mid-February. All students who vote on the Choose Your Future ballot will be eligible to win a $10,000 leadership scholarship for a project to be completed by end of August 2008.
For more information on Truman Focus the Nation, log on to http://www.focusthenation.org, or e-mail Samantha Pounders at trumanfocusthenation@gmail.com.
“Today’s college students are truly the greatest generation,” says Lewis & Clark professor of economics Eban Goodstein, author and project director for Focus the Nation. “No other generation has ever had to face this kind of civilizational challenge. And we as educators would be failing if we did not prepare them with the tools to meet this challenge.”
Focus the Nation has created a teach-in model centered on the three most essential pillars for today’s youth to embrace solutions to global warming: education, civic engagement and leadership.
“We are in a time where critical decisions need to be made on global warming, which means today’s leaders and the youth who will inherit the crisis need serious education on the issue,” said James “Gus” Speth, dean, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. “Focus the Nation is our country’s foremost model to create that level of education and interaction with law makers.”
The teach-in will kick off the night of Jan. 30, with the viewing of a new film; “Revolution Green: A True Story of Biodiesel in America.” This event will take place in the Student Union Building Georgian Room B. As part of the event, a discussion after the film will be lead by the Focus the Nation group.
The next day, Jan. 31, will include a range of global warming curricula presented by faculty and guest speakers before culminating with the Motivating Action round-table discussion between students and elected leaders on solutions to the crisis. Student Senate President Matt Szewczyk and Rep. Rebecca McClanahan will be present. Truman invites local, regional and national civic leaders to engage in the Motivating Action round-table.
The final piece of Focus the Nation’s teach-in model will be the Choose Your Future vote. All students, faculty and community participants will be encouraged to vote on what they think are the top five solutions from a list of 10 to 15 and are available at http://www.focusthenation.org. Vote results will be presented nationally in mid-February. All students who vote on the Choose Your Future ballot will be eligible to win a $10,000 leadership scholarship for a project to be completed by end of August 2008.
For more information on Truman Focus the Nation, log on to http://www.focusthenation.org, or e-mail Samantha Pounders at trumanfocusthenation@gmail.com.
