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"SHAPING AMERICA ONE VOICE AT A TIME"
Empowering Young Change-Makers to Build the America We All Want.
“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 dedicated platform enables students 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 the groundwork for discussion and debate, which can ultimately lead them to explore new possibilities and take action.
Our program will spark 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 discussion and debate, which can ultimately lead them to explore new possibilities and take action.
“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.
Olive Estrin
Student at Twinfield Union School - VT
Hazel O'Brien
Student at Twinfield Union School - VT
America’s First Youth-Powered Word Cloud
This is just the beginning—a Word Cloud capturing in our beta test what one school and its community in Central Vermont envision for America. Now we’re excited to invite schools and communities nationwide to join in! So what might these words signify? Do they reflect a hopeful vision for America? Are they a testament to a socially conscious generation eager to build a more equitable and compassionate future? Or are they merely aspiration slogans? These are the vital questions that will be fueling civics classes across the country.
How the Program Works: Micro to Macro
SCHOOL
Community
School
State
National
Vermont is our pilot state
Our proprietary Word Clouds are designed for schools, offering them the flexibility to share them with other institutions or keep them private.The collection process is straightforward and logical, beginning at each school and its community. The platform aggregates these Word Clouds into state-level versions, ultimately contributing to a national Word Cloud. This versatility allows schools to compare their performance not only with peers but also across states and at the national level.
Fueling Education, Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders
By Ken Picard
"The America I Want program truly stands out because it's all about the students.They dive into engaging discussions by interviewing and polling their peers and community members, and then they bring those valuable insights right back to the classroom. While the civics teacher provides guidance, it's the students who are at the helm, driving the excitement and learning!"
Secretary of State - Sarah Copeland Hanzas
The Process
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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
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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.”
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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
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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.
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Connect:
Unite Students and Communities
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.
Expand:
Engage Students Across the Country in a Conversation About America
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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.
Are you ready to make your Students' voices heard?
Join us in this trailblazing 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!
For Teachers by Teachers
Chris Sheehan- Author/ Editor
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?
Colette Kulig
Our Constitution never aspired to universal equality. How can it fulfill its promise to all?
General Anthony Zinni
Diversity defines America. How do we get all Americans to embrace diversity?
Loretta Ross
High-Impact ROI
This program is the result of over three years of development, planning, and testing. Its launch is proving to be a remarkable success with both teachers and students. Your investment will help scale up this national civics initiative, enabling us to reach schools across the country. It will empower thousands of young people to lead, innovate, and drive meaningful change within their communities. By engaging in discussions about the future of our country, students will develop critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding of their civic responsibilities. This program focuses on nurturing their voices and passions, equipping them to become advocates for positive change. By supporting this initiative, you are helping to cultivate a generation ready to tackle the complex challenges our nation faces, ensuring that their ideas and actions will shape our future. Together, we can empower students to make a lasting impact in their communities and beyond.