School of Statesmanship, Service and Stewardship offers free classes

A class entitled "Awakening Democracy: What is it, Who's part of it, How we shape it" was offered on June 17 by School of Statesmanship, Service and Stewardship, a Longmont non-profit created by community members Michael Butler, Carol Beth Engel-Enright, Charlene Santala Gearing, Stephanie G. Rossi, William H. Shirley, Chris D. Treharne, and Wein-Pin Yeh in June, 2022.

According to its Articles of Incorporation, the specific purpose of the organization is "creating a learning environment which advances society by: educating, promoting and encouraging active citizenship within a democracy; fostering civility, thoughtful discourse, and empathetic listening; valuing experiential wisdom; and embracing stewardship principles to enhance local, state, national and global governance." The non-profit offers classes to the community with the goal of creating positive change through civil discourse while growing leaders from the ground up.

The non-profit was founded as a response to an editorial that Butler wrote in 2021 on the qualities of statesmanship. He invited people to reach out with ideas about how to grow a school of statesmanship. And they did. The School of Statesmanship Service and Stewardship (SOSSAS) was the result.

Dr. Engel-Enright has a PhD in Education and is the co-founder and President of the Board of SOSSAS. Butler has a BS in Behavioral Science, with 41 years of experience in law enforcement. He was the Chief Public Safety Officer who oversaw the Police, Fire and Emergency Management in Longmont from 2008 until his retirement in 2020.

The summer courses are free and meet at the St. Vrain Innovation Center on 33 Quail Road in Longmont every Monday night from 6-7:30 p.m. until July 1. Classes are open to the public. The organization only asks that you sign up on their website at //http:sossas.org.

The first two sessions that began on June 3 addressed "Democracy: The Real and the Ideal," and on June 10, "The Role of Governments in Democracy."

The June 17 class addressed "The Role of Citizens in Democracy," asking, "What is the status of citizenship now?" The focus was not about what others should do but about what class members can do, asking, "How can we become more active in our country or community?"

The class started with projected slides that gave basic civics information about how citizenship works in a democracy and then asked how class members thought citizenship should work in a country "by the people, of the people and for the people," and what students' personal role could and should be as a result of this understanding.

What ensued was a time of lively discussion among a range of age groups with idea-sharing through active listening and understanding. It was described as an invigorating and life-affirming exercise.

In inviting students' ideas, conversations and potential problem-solving, leaders Butler and Engel-Enright gained an enhanced view of their own topic with motivation to grow the excitement and motivational ideas for potential action and increased local involvement. They stated they are looking to reach out to 22,000 additional communities to share their expertise and see whether they could help jumpstart more grassroots involvement in other local communities as well.