-
Listen
-
Assess
-
Analyze
-
Take Action
"SHAPING AMERICA ONE VOICE AT A TIME"
Our game-changing civics initiative led by high school students nationwide, eager to forge America’s future.
The Program
High School Voices, National Dialogue
“The America I Want” initiative empowers high school students and their communities around the country to engage in discussions about their aspirations for America. In a time when our national identity and shared assumptions feel fragmented and unclear, this program encourages students to come together to explore and articulate their visions for the future. We are creating an entirely new way of teaching and experiencing civics.
Our program has sparked a national conversation rooted in our schools and communities about America. By gathering data and conducting interviews under the guidance of their civics teachers, students lay the groundwork for discussions and debates.
Our dedicated platform enables them to share their perspectives, categorized by school, state, and region, while analyzing these insights alongside national trends. Using Word Clouds as a primary visual tool, students gain an immediate understanding of the diverse visions for America held by their peers.
“The America I Want” challenges the notion that America is too vast to know itself. It encourages discussions and debates among students from diverse backgrounds, ultimately fostering a deeper understanding of what we share, how we differ, and what our collective vision for the future might be.
“What sets The America I Want program apart is that discussion topics originate from the students. They gather insights by interviewing and polling peers and community members, bringing these back to the classroom. The program is overseen by the civics teacher but driven by the students.”
How It Works
1
Speak Up:
Join the Conversation to Shape America’s Future
The program is introduced to the whole school as a collaborative effort. The stated mission is to capture the most accurate picture of what students and their community want for America. In the classroom, the civics teacher reviews the questionnaire, which will be the basis for interviews and data collection. Students collectively craft a script and learn how to conduct interviews, rehearsing with their classmates. Over the semester, students interview their peers and members of the community.
Listen:
Gather Aspirations for America
2
During the interviewing process, students invite their peers to express their visions for America, ensuring the anonymity of their responses. At the conclusion of each conversation, interviewees are asked to share two words that best capture their aspirations for the country. Additionally, student interviewers collect specific demographic information through a structured questionnaire. Using the Linley platform, students input the words and data, which are then compiled into a spreadsheet titled “The Sheet.”
3
Analyze:
Ignite Discussion in Classrooms
Under the guidance of their civic teacher, students review the data and words collected on “The Sheet.” They examine the meanings, underlying values, and intentions behind the words. Discussions spark insights and interpretations, words are edited and rationalized before being sent to a data bank for transformation into thought-provoking Word Clouds. The discussions promote critical thinking and an understanding of diverse viewpoints, emphasizing the importance of how to think rather than what to think.
Visualize:
Use Word Clouds to Illustrate Areas of Consensus and Divergence
4
Word clouds are powerful tools for visualizing Americans' aspirations for their country, captivating audiences with their immediate visual appeal. The size of each word correlates with its frequency, enabling viewers to quickly identify key themes and concepts. Additionally, word clouds provide simplicity and clarity, making it easier for teachers to initiate discussions and encourage students to explore the words and their meanings more deeply. Furthermore, they can effectively represent the qualitative data that students gather from their surveys and interviews.
Connect:
Unite Students and Communities
5
The program’s first phase culminates in a student-led meeting where students, community members, and local representatives come together to discuss the findings of the students’ research. Using the Word Clouds as a catalyst for discussion, participants explore similarities and differences at the school, community, state, and national levels. This engagement fosters a lively dialogue between generations, encouraging the sharing of diverse perspectives while defining actionable steps that can lead to change.
6
Expand:
Engage Students Across the Country in a Conversation About America
If America is too vast to know itself, as someone once said, our platform will bridge that gap by fostering immensely rich discussions between students across the country. From Florida to Alaska and Maine to Hawaii, students can analyze the similarities and differences expressed in their Word Clouds—whether from affluent areas, poorer communities, urban centers, or Native American reservations. Through in-person or Zoom discussions, these students will get to know each other, engaging deeply with the representations and nuances within their word clouds. Thus, a national conversation about America has begun.
The Word Cloud
From Micro to Macro
The Word Clouds are proprietary tools designed for use among schools. Schools have the option to share their Word Clouds with other schools or to keep them private. The Word Clouds you see here are part of our program's beta test and will give you an idea of how the Word Clouds will appear.
The collection process is both simple and logical. It starts with each school and its community. The platform compiles the resulting Word Clouds into their respective state Word Cloud, which ultimately contributes to the national Word Cloud. Our platform offers schools great versatility in comparing their performance with other schools, as well as across states and the national level.
Local
School & Community
(The Schools word Clouds are private. This is a generic representation.)
State
Vermont
Vermont is our pilot state
National
America's Word Cloud
How People React to the Program
The Teacher's View
Chris Sheehan
Social Studies Teacher at Twinfield Union School - VT
The Student's View
Olive Estrin
Student at Twinfield Union School - VT
Hazel O'Brien
Student at Twinfield Union School - VT
The View from Vermont's Secretary of State
The View from the Press
By Ken Picard
INFLUENTIAL VOICES:
LISTENING AND DISCUSSING
In a democracy people have the freedom to express themselves. Yet many in our country, especially young people and those from underserved communities, feel unheard. Our program unites leaders who are eager to listen. We ask them to discuss the pressing issues raised by students and their communities. We also ask them to share what they admire about their states, the unique contributions they offer, and how America might benefit from embodying these qualities.
Video Submissions from
Around the Country
At the conclusion of each interview with peers and community members, students will invite participants to record a brief video, if they choose to do so. Participants will be asked to complete the sentence, "The America I want is…". Recordings will be showcased during classroom discussions and at school and community meetings, where insights from the Word Cloud research will be collectively examined. The following videos are part of a previous initiative in which we invited Americans from across the country to share their visions for America.
CHALLENGING TOPICS
Many feel the American Dream has left our shores. How do we bring opportunity back home?
Diversity defines America. How do we get all Americans to embrace diversity?
Our Constitution never aspired to universal equality. How can it fulfill its promise to all?
Are you ready to make your Students' voices heard?
Join us in this important national conversation! We invite you and your school to participate in a dynamic program designed to engage students and civic teachers alike. Together, we’ll explore meaningful topics, share diverse perspectives, and collaborate on solutions that work.
Our team will guide you through each step of the program, providing you with a comprehensive manual filled with insights and best practices from schools across the country. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be part of an American conversation—let’s get started today!
Chris Sheehan- Author/ Editor
For teachers by teachers
Your contribution will supercharge thousands of students in high schools, equipping them with the tools to voice their vision, reach out to their communities, and dive into America’s noisy democracy. You might also want to sponsor your local high school. Discover the hopes and aspirations of young Americans in your community for their country's future.