Samantha

     Throughout the weeks that our class has participated in Project Citizen, I have taken many things from it.  From working with my classmates about public policy, I learned that public policies are laws that the government are willing to improve to better our communities, state or nation.  While developing our portfolio as a class we learned that, these public policies need to be improved on and that is where we come in.  We learned that as a class a difference can be made despite our age. The skills I improved on by working on this project was my collaboration skills, and my problem-solving skills.  I think the whole class improved upon their collaboration skills as well, along with research skills.  By working with a team, it is much easier to get things done quicker.  Also working with a team allowed everyone to learn more about each other. The disadvantages of working with a team are that not everyone agrees.  Each member of a group may have different opinions on how to handle everything which can delay the project.

    To improve my skills in collaboration, problem-solving, research, writing and public speaking I need more practice in each category.  To improve upon my collaboration, I can work in groups, to improve my public speaking I can present projects to my class, and same for the other topics.  The class can improve their skills in collaboration by learning to listen to what other people have to say and take it into consideration.  To improve our problem-solving skills, we need to come up with more realistic solutions.  With research, we need to learn to look at only sites we can trust.  To improve our writing, we need to take into effect the audience we are writing to, and lastly to help our public speaking skills we need to speak up more for our voices to be heard.

    If we were to develop another Project Citizen portfolio we would choose a more unique topic to differentiate us from other groups.  In conclusion, this project helped me learn that no matter what age or gender I am, that I can make a difference to improve my community.

 

 

Sebastien

     From working with my classmates, I learned that anybody can make a difference in improving our public policies. As a class, we learned together that by working together to get things done faster. An important skill I improved on with this project was working hard to get things done, and an important skill that the class improved on by working on this project is working together in a group. Some advantages of working as a team is being able to get help from other members and being able to get more things done simultaneously, but the disadvantages of working as a team is getting easily distracted and that the group might not cooperate well with each other. I can improve my skills in collaboration, problem-solving, researching and public speaking by just simply practicing and the class can improve its skills in collaboration, problem-solving, researching and public speaking by just simply practicing. If we were to develop another Project Citizen portfolio, we would follow stricter deadlines and make sure the whole class is actively participating and staying on task. All in all, working together on this project showed me that citizens have a very important role in our community to help improve our government.

 

 

Marissa

     From working with my classmates on Project Citizen, I learned about how a policy is written; and that policies are cohesive, quick to the point, and not very long. As a class, we learned that public policies can be brought up by citizens and that we ourselves can make a change in our community. Through petitioning for new public policies, we get a say in the government. By working on this project, I improved on my skills of working in groups, finding valid sources, writing letters, listening to others’ thoughts, and analyzing information and researching information. As a whole, I think the class improved on researching, writing argumentative pieces, and working as a large group. The advantages of working on a team are that someone always has your back, you don’t have to do everything, and it makes the workload a lot lighter than if we were all working individually. In addition, different people have different perspectives/bring new things to the group which makes for a more well-rounded project. The disadvantages of working as a team are that you don’t always get a say in what we choose to do, people sometimes don’t get along well with each other, and we sometimes waste time arguing. 

I can improve my skills in collaboration, problem-solving, research, writing and public speaking by reminding myself to not try to take over the group, trying to stay rational even when a problem arises, making sure I use creditable sources, making sure I edit and revise my writing before I hand it in, and rehearsing speeches several times before giving them. The class can improve their skills in collaboration, problem-solving, research, writing and public speaking by remembering to include everyone in the group, working together instead of taking over when a problem comes up, using different sources then everyone else, trying to remember to stay focused on the topic to be written about, and trying to be less shy when presenting new ideas. If we were to develop another Project Citizen portfolio, we might want to choose a different topic, not one that two other classes were doing as well. We might also want to think more carefully about how to carry out the plan instead of just rushing through it, as well as putting more effort into the letters so that they don’t need as much editing and could be sent out faster. Working together on this project changed my attitude about what a citizen or group of citizens can do to change their community because I always thought that although people told me I could change the town, I never truly believed that until this project. Now that we actually have a plan that could make a change, I know that I have a voice in the government even if I can’t vote yet.

 

 

        Lillian

     Project Citizen was a very interacting and fun project to work on. From working with my classmates, I personally learned that public policies are a great way to state a rule or law that doesn’t sound too demanding, but makes sense to everyone. As a class, we learned that public policies are important because they help enforce rules to a town or city to keep them safe and functioning. By working on this project, I improved my skills on how to writing formal documents and letters and I learned more about how to help keep New Jersey safe. Skills the class improved on by doing this project was how to work together without fighting as much, and we learned why it’s so important to have rules and policies.  

    Advantages of working as a team are gaining friendships, being able to hear and work with different ideas, and using everyone’s different strengths to make a great project. A disadvantage of working together as a team are getting into arguments about having a different opinion on something. I can improve my skills in collaboration by listening better to other people’s opinions. I can improve my problem-solving skills by not overthinking things so much. For research, I can learn to become more patient to find the best answer. To improve my writing, I can use more emotion in my pieces, and for public speaking I can find ways to not be as nervous when presenting. To improve these skills in class we argue less, communicate to solve problems, become more patient, take more time when writing, and calm our nerves when publicly speaking. 

    If we create another portfolio, a smart thing to do would be to research more past issues dealing with school safety. Working on this project changed my attitude about what a citizen or group can do to improve their community by showing me that working together can get things done much faster and a better solution can be found when using more than one perspective on an issue. I am very grateful that I was able to work on this project with my classmates. I feel working hand on with current issues was a great way to teach us what civics is really about

 

 

 Lauren

    Project Citizen has been a great learning experience this year. It will be something that I will never forget. I personally learned that there is a lot of work that goes into a public policy. I also learned that everyone needs to understand the public policy so that the class benefits. As a class, we learned how much hard work and dedication goes into a public policy by developing our portfolio. We have been working on Project Citizen for a couple of months now. We have worked extremely hard to get all of work done, and for it to be done perfectly. 

        Working together on this project has changed my attitude on what citizens can do to improve their community. Before, I thought that no one would listen to me because I’m just a kid. Now I know that people actually value my opinions, and that I can make a huge difference. I also learned that anyone can do something to improve their community, all you have to do is be focused and determined. 

 

 

        Jason

     I learned that when making public policy, individual ideas are important, but in the grand scheme of things, compromise is the most significant. This is because different people contribute different things and they are all valuable, but we must find a systematic way to incorporate them together. We learned that the basic principles of our laws at all levels begin with the citizens trying to make their voices heard. Additionally, all major laws start with research and a public policy. As well as my classmates, I improved upon listening and compromising skills. Some advantages of working as a team are that people contribute many ideas, and the different personalities and perspectives of people provide arguments that help make our policy stronger. 

     The disadvantages of working as a team are that the many opinionated people are sometimes difficult to compromise with, and that everyone wants things done their own way. As well as my classmates, I can improve my skills in collaboration, problem-solving, research, writing and public speaking by just taking a step back and focusing on the task at hand or goal to be achieved. By doing this topic, I learned that the citizens do indeed have a voice in their communities and government.