Hi. This is Milan Ververe and this is Kim Azarelli. We are co authors of the book Fast Forward, How Women Can Achieve Power and Purpose. And you're listening to Seneca Women Conversations on Power and Purpose, brought to you by the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio. I was the first woman chosen to be a justice on the United States Supreme Court. It took a hundred and ninety one years for that to happen from the
start of our effective constitution. That's a long time to wait, but thank goodness, the barrier was broken and a very great honor. But it was quite a responsibility because if I didn't do the job well enough, it might take more about a hundred and ninety one years to get the next woman on the Court. Welcome to Seneca Women Conversations on Power and Purpose. I'm Kim Azarelli and we just heard audio from the incredible Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Justice O'Connor is so important to me for so many reasons. She has been an incredible inspiration for so many women in the law and for me personally. She was really instrumental in helping me with a center for women in Justice at Cornell. Of course, she was the first woman on the Supreme Court. She had an incredible legal career at a time when few women did, and she forever
carries this legacy, and she carries it so well. But now all that to say that Justice O'Connor considers one of her greatest legacies the invention of a video game. So joining me today is executive director of is Civics, Louise Dubai. Welcome, Louise Kim. It's great to be here. Thank you for me. So let me start with a very basic question. What is isibics. Isidics is the largest civic education site in the country. We teach students all the way from fourth grade to twelfth grade about how
our government works. So what we do. Primarily we are known for our games. We have twenty games in which students can play and either win or lose. And all the games are around some principles of our constitution. Is the judiciary, for example, or um our electional system, or the presidency or so on and so forth. Why are the games so captivating and what do they do? The games essentially replicate the way that our government works in a way that you couldn't do in the classroom without them.
So kids usually work together on a game. They range from running your own election to being the president of the United States, so all uh different kinds of processes that may seem really foreign to students, but actually when you put them in the center of that process, it
actually starts to take on a meeting. Do you also learn about civic discourse and how to have positive conversations because we're living in this world which where politics can become so divisive, and so I think this tool that you have a civics is a powerful way to teach bridge building and compromise. How does that work? So the game is is uh an experience. Uh it's enjoyable and you'll learn a lot of skills, but the beauty is in managing a conversation after with the students. So a
lot of issues get talked about in the game. The students will talk about those issues, and they will be talking about things that happen in the real world, and they will bring in these controversial issues. And so that process of coming to understand how somebody else another students thinks a different way very important. And so obviously we're in the beginning of a big, big election year. So what is ISIFICS doing this year? In particular, we've come out with a brand new win the White House. It
is in Spanish now. Uh, the influence of Justice Sono Mayora, who is now on our board, and the Justice really wanted us to make a commitment to say that all students need to have access to this information. It is has a whole new set of issues. Issues have been reviewed by a bipartisan panel of experts and so that we can ensure balance and by partsanship in the way we present the issues. We have also come out with
a whole new game, revised Cast Your Vote Now. It has a whole story about a mayoral election and what the process is that a citizen of our country should go to select a candidate. Uh. We're really really excited about all of the materials that we have for the election this year. I remember when I had first heard about is Civics. I was trying to put it all together and I asked Justice O'Connor, well, why a video game?
And I remember her clearly saying that they had they had hosted an entire summit around civic participation and how she could after stepping down from the Supreme Court, continued to support our democracy in ways that she felt was meaningful. And at the end of sort of all these very influential folks coming together, they realized that what really needed to happen was kids need to understand the basics of
civic participation. And what better way to reach them, she said, was to meet them where they were, which was in front of video games. And so this idea that you know, an eighty something year old retired Supreme Court justice would spend her post court years designing video games for me was unbelievable, and I very much remember the day that I went with her actually when she chaired the Games for Change conference in the Village in New York City.
You know, so you have this incredible, you know, icon Supreme Court justice showing up to this kind of video game conference, UM, and it was powerful. I wanted to teach young poth in America how they can be part of the governmental structure and help decide what problems to
tackle and how to solve them. And so I started this network of UM, the idea of for me in every state, an isivics program to teach young people UH the concept of being involved in helping government reach decisions and how to be involved how to make that happen was my effort and the schools are using it. We teach primarily by having games on there that young people play, and in the process they learn what we're hoping to have them learn, which is how to be a citizen
who makes things happen. And it's been very successful. It's working, and she wanted it to reach all fifty states ultimately, and I know you've been working hard at that. How many states are you in now? All fifty states? And asking me that originally and then uh, we are now we look like a map of education system in America. We are overly represented in low income schools, Title one schools and in rural districts that don't have access to other forms of simulations, which has been proven to help
students understand how our systems work better. So do you find that children are excited about learning about civics or is it a chore that you then convert them to be excited about? Oh? I think now, particularly now in the last a few years where current events is uh all over UH, there's an incredible interest in demand on the part of UM of teachers and students, and it is really framed around these current events and they're trying
to understand how it works. The point is that it is now relevant to the students lives, and that is how you get students excited. They have to understand why this matters. I mean, there's never really been a moment in history, I would think where you have current events so infused in the daily life of children. Um, I think perhaps I Civics is even more important than ever for them to make sense of the world around them
and what's going on. Absolutely, we need to make sure that young people are trained and understand how it works, and that we have a process, and then they can take it up only if we as adults take up our responsibility to teach them and to prepare them for a civic engagement. I recall when Justice O'Connor first told me about this, and when I first learned about IS
Civics back in two thousand and nine. She had said that she was dismayed that children could name all of the judges on American IDOL but could not name the justices on the Supreme Court, and that civic education really just understanding the three branches of government was not something that was required anymore. Can you tell us about the
state of civic education in this country. What's happened is that over decades, during the common Core era, where we focus on basic literacy UH in math and language, we've seen a decrease in social studies and the time allocated in the classroom. And in an era of accountability, when there's very little accountability for social studies, civics and social studies have been UH put to the wayside. What's at risk?
Why does this matter? A couple of things. UH. One is that the situation is now so bleak that our students are proficient only about twenty three. What is important is for students to know how to solve problems for our country. They have to actually understand how it works. They have to have the skills to be able to participates. They have to have the disposition to agree to disagree or define compromise, and then they have to be motivated for service. We need to teach young people that they're
going to grow up and be in charge. They're going to be making these decisions as adults in what we do as a nation. What we do is the city. What we do as a county. They are going to be doing that, and you have to learn how to be involved and what works and what doesn't work, and get them interested as youngsters. They'll follow up as adults. So I want to go back to what life was like for you with Justice O'Connor. So she wrote it not bed in the Wall Street Journal into fifteen, where
she says, civic education cannot be an afterthought. Citizenship is a skill that must be taught over time, with the same devotion we give to reading math in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. We believe that it should be taught alongside and integrated with these subjects. So for our listeners, can you describe her passion for civics. Oh, it had knew no bounds. Um, the devotion that she had to
service to our country. That's where it comes from, right, this idea that you must be of service, you must help make things better, that is all for a purpose. And that purpose was really this idea that you could advance this country by get being of service. If you came into this with that mentality, you would get more done. And I do think that that is what she was trying to convey to our students. In our country, this idea of balance, this idea of compromise, and this idea
of purpose beyond yourself enough service. So Justice O'Connor was devoted to that idea and and that is the legacy we try to fulfill every day. You also have another personal connection with women. Judges tell us about your mom. My mother was the second woman on the Supreme Court of Canada, and I felt, and I've continued to feel, I have an obligation to serve those women and uh to pay back what they've done for us. It people often do not understand the level of sacrifice that that
has meant. None of them speak about the personal sacrifice that it took. And I think we have to recognize that there is a legacy and that we have to celebrate our forebears so true, they broke so many bearers for women, and we really have to celebrate that the United States has taken great strides in opening opportunities and doors for women. And it, of course is my hope that the same thing is happening in every nation around
the world. It is and has in many nations already, and on others it's been a little slower to come, but over time, I think we can expect every nation to welcome working women and women in all fields of endeavor. It's very important that we do that. After all, about half the population happened to be mail, so we need
to take care of that half too, don't we. Well, Louise, in two thousand and fifteen, you and I had the chance to sort of, I feel, be part of witnessing history in some way, and we came together to pay tribute to Justice O'Connor and really the legacy of O'Connor. But a big emphasis that day was on a civics and really what that legacy could look like, uh, for
children and for our future Americans. But what was amazing to me was to see all four women who had sat on the Supreme Court come together, which they very rarely do, to really pay tribute to this incredible woman's life. So for me, it was really an inspiring moment. The fact that they were willing to take time and be with us for so long. Uh, it really speaks to
how much Justice O'Connor inspired each one of them. It was such a special day, and really, like you say, this is a moment in history, it's a this idea which I think is one that you have a personal connection to, but that women inspire other women. Uh and that we owe women pay forward, as you say, was
in display in that day. It was amazing to see Justice Ginsburg represent uh and and and that's how it was presented to us that she would be representing um the ideas of both the justice side Mayor and Justice Kagan Um. And when she took the podium, you know, obviously there was just complete stillness in the room to see her go up there and pay such a heartfelt
tribute to Justice O'Connor. But the relationship between the women on the Supreme Court was in full display that day, and I just get goose bumps just thinking about it. And that connection is kind of the fundamental base on which we all sort of stand and for women in the law, it was a resounding site and something I
probably won't forget. I think what was great about that event is both the focus on her early year, the focus of her legal career, and then the focus after in the through line, And that through line was about service, and that through line was about connections and when women helping each other and all of that came together, and I would only hope that young girls would would find a message for them in that story of how your own personal experience connects to your own work, but also
to that purpose that's beyond you. I think that's what gives meaning to a life. And certainly Justice O'Connor has a beautiful life and a beautiful legacy as a result. And isaetics is really the embodiment of that. Well, that to me really summarizes Justice O'Connor. And the level of service that she wanted to devote her life too was
pretty remarkable. And I guess it was somewhat recently that she decided to go public with the fact that she had developed dementia, possibly Alzheimer's, And I found that such a beautiful and so Justice O'Connor thing to do. Right, she takes her platform and even in that hardest moment um where most people would want to retreat, she comes forward and uses, you know, her own illness as service to the country and to put a spotlight on what's going on. And it's just to me so profound and
just so totally in line with who she is. To her core, everything about her is about service. So I think that's incredible. Yeah, And and I think it speaks a little bit to that generation of women and the fact that they are always striving to do more because that's what it took to get to where they went. Uh. And I found that with just As O'Connor also same idea, Louise, how can we do more? How can we get more kids? How could we touch every single student in the country.
And we know that just O'Connor is not afraid of hard work, but there was something different about the kind of just do more, to do more that we see in today's world. I feel like they are instilled with something different. Um And obviously is Civics is the incredible testament to that. So tell our listeners what we can do to better support is civics. Is civics is a
completely free platform and we serve million millions of students. Obviously, Uh, what we need we need financial support and that is very important. If you care about our democracy and the health and an investment in generation after generation, please go to is civics dot org and help us out. And whether you're an individual who wants to make you know, a small contribution, every contribution counts, or whether you're an organization that wants to bring your company or your foundation
to partner with is civics. Please do reach out and you can go to a civics dot org or you can come to us at senec women dot com and we'll be happy to introduce you to Louise. Thank you, Louise, Thank you so much. Kim. I hope that is civics will be a standard part of the education program for
young people in all fifty states. It's so effective and it matters because what works on is teaching young people how they can be in charge of what they're going to learn about it and they can help make it effective. And so there couldn't be anything that we care more about than educating our young people. Stay tuned for our takeaways after this break. I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Louise Dubai and it is always so incredible to hear the voice of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. For more
information about is civics, visit is civics dot org. My top takeaways. First, as Justice O'Connor reminds us, civic participation is more important than ever and it starts with young people teaching children about civic discourse and how to have positive conversations sets up the next generation with the tools they need to succeed. Second, Justice O'Connor's life reminds us
of the power of being first. As the first woman on the U. S. Supreme Court, Justice O'Connor broke barriers for women in the law, for women in the judiciary, and frankly, for women around the world. Lastly, Justice O'Connor is an incredible example of using your power for purpose. Her impact extends well beyond the law, across boundaries and generations, as is evidenced by is Civics for us at Seneca Women, Justice O'Connor is a beautiful, powerful example of living a
life of service and purpose. You're listening to Seneca Women Conversations on Power and Purpose, brought to you by the Seneca Women podcast Network and I Heart Radio with support from founding partner PNG. Listen to Seneca Women Conversations on Power and Purpose on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and please support this
podcast by telling your friends, subscribing and rating us. For more information on Seneca Women, follow us on social media, visit our website Seneca Women dot com, and check out the Seneca Women app free in the app Store. Have a great day, M