After seeing numerous thought out, and informative presentations the past two days, I have learned a lot more about exactly what civic engagement is. At the beginning of this class I hadn’t ever heard the words “civic engagement” together, so I had little (if any) knowledge on what exactly they meant. The presentations I have seen so far have changed that entirely. I can confidently say that I have a strong understanding on what civic engagement is, and how it can be achieved.
The presentations I have witnessed have taught me that civic engagement is not only for a community or for people around you, but it’s also for yourself. Civic engagement builds you as a person and citizen. When partaking in a civic engagement activity you are giving your time to help someone or something. It builds you as a person and teaches you that even the smallest part of community service can help you.
Civic Engagement can be looked at in many different ways. Whether you are joining an organization that will help your community, buying something that will donate money to a cause, or even just helping someone better their lives you are participating in civic engagement and after hearing some of the presentations, I have learned that there are many different ways to get involved and give back to your community.
Lastly, I think that Civic Engagement is very important to our society because if we didn’t have it, we would not be progressing. People would be selfish and wouldn’t know anything else to do except think about themselves and only themselves. Civic engagement gives us a chance to better our community and our surroundings, it gives us the chance to grow and change as people for the better.
In conclusion, with the presentations I have seen so far, it is very apparent to me that getting involved is not hard whatsoever. We walk around everyday and see flyers, posters, and emails talking about ways to get involved, you just have to want the drive and motivation to be involved.
Like Evan said, I really like that you pointed out just how easy it is for people to get involved and after hearing the speeches, I feel that our classmates feel the same way. Civic engagement is a win-win situation where you’re not only helping a cause bigger than yourself but you feel a sense of purpose after giving of your service and time. Nice reflection!
This made me think that I never heard the words civic and engagement used together either, civic duty but not engagement. I’ve definitely learned that civic engagement is about making progress, but the way that progress is made can take many different forms such as helping others or improving yourself. You make a great point that it’s not hard to participate in a civic engagement activity. I think sometimes people, including myself, fall into the trap of assuming it takes a lot of work to get involved when that’s clearly not the case.