A Clinton School student partnered with the Clinton Presidential Library to develop a guidebook to teach high school students about the Clinton Administration’s role in the 1997 conflict in Kosovo.
Clinton School student Kate Cawvey worked with Kathleen Pate, who serves as an education specialist for the library, and Clinton School graduate Malcolm Glover to create a new field trip option on the Kosovo conflict for high-school-age youth at the Clinton Library.
The project was spawned from a partnership between the Clinton Library and the Kettering Foundation. The project follows the model of the National Issues Forum Institute, which promotes public deliberation on critical public issues. Cawvey’s work serves as her final Capstone project in the Clinton School’s Master of Public Service degree program.
The Clinton Library has worked with the National Issues Forum Institute to develop a Historic Issue Guide based on the National Issues Forum Democratic Deliberation model, which promotes critical thinking and acts as a public mechanism for understanding situations, making collective decision and judging the outcomes of civic efforts.
Glover and Cawvey collaborated on the development of The Crisis in Kosovo, a Historic Issue Guide focusing on the Clinton Administration’s role in the conflict. The guide enables youth to think critically about U.S. foreign policy while dialoging with their peers, Cawvey said.
“Through the deliberative structure youth are exposed to diverse perspectives and encouraged to hone their analysis and decision-making skills while learning about the legacy of President Clinton,” Cawvey said.
To date, nearly 200 youth have participated in discussions using the guide. Student participants have found the historic deliberation thought provoking and empowering.
“I liked to hear the other students’ thoughts,” one student participant said. “They helped me see the many sides to the situation.”
The Clinton Presidential Library plans to include The Crisis in Kosovo as a regular field trip option in its education program guide for the 2012-2013 school year.
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