Making a Better World:
What is Your Responsibility to the Community?

Student Handout

PROGRAM GUESTS CRAIG 0. McCAW is the founder of McCaw Cellular Communications, the largest cellular phone company in America. A graduate of Stanford, he spent 10 years expanding the cable television company started by his late father. McCaw saw cellular as an extension of his tiny radio paging business and began acquiring dozens of licenses. With vision and managerial brilliance, he spent vast sums on properties some thought worthless. This architect of a communications revolution created a billion-dollar empire and emerged as the leader of one of the fastest-growing and most lucrative industries in America. In 1994, AT&T paid $11.5 billion for McCaw Cellular. McCaw, age 47, has decided to create a celestial counterpart to the Internet. He hopes to achieve this by creating a constellation of 840 satellites that will gird the planet at low altitude, transmitting signals from any point on the planet to any other with the speed and capacity of fiber-optic cable. McCaw calls the venture Teledesic. ELIE WIESEL is a Professor of Humanities at Boston University. A writer, educator, philosopher and the spiritual archivist of the Holocaust, he is a native of Romania. He and his family were deported by the Nazis to the Auschwitz concentration camp when he was 15 years old. His mother and younger sister perished there and later, he and his father were transported to Buchenwald. After World War II, he studied in Paris and became a journalist, yet remained silent about what he had endured as an inmate in the death camps. He was persuaded to end that silence and subsequently wrote Night, a memoir of his battle for survival, and of his battle with God for a way to understand the wanton cruelty he witnessed. The book was heralded as a masterpiece of Holocaust literature. This messenger to all humanity is the recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal and the Nobel Prize for Peace. LARRY KING is a member of the Broadcasters' Hall of Fame and host of CNN's Larry King Live. He is one of the most respected and honored personalities in the television industry. His father died of a heart attack and his mother found work in Manhattan's garment district. He was traumatized by his father's death and neglected his studies, but dreamed about becoming a broadcaster. At age 23, he took a bus to Miami with the hope of starting a radio career, but only got a job sweeping floors at a station. His first break came when a disc jockey suddenly quit, and he was asked to replace him. King soon attracted the attention of larger radio stations and in 1978, made his debut with The Larry King Show, where his unique and often controversial style quickly attracted a large, faithful following of millions. In 1985, he agreed to a similar program for CNN that is now the only live worldwide phone-in television talk show. WILLIE L. BROWN, JR., Mayor of San Francisco, is one of the most powerful African-American politicians in the nation. The son of a railroad porter, he grew up in a poor rural Texas town. In summers, he harvested crops and labored at a black-eyed pea processing shed. After graduating from a small segregated high school, he moved to San Francisco and worked his way through college as a doorman, janitor and shoe salesman. He earned his law degree as president of his class and in 1964, won election to the California State Assembly, a seat he held for more than three decades. Using his oratory skills, wit and intellect, he became the longest serving Speaker in the history of California. This flamboyant advocate for America's cities and towering figure in state politics was elected in a landslide vote as Mayor of San Francisco.

BACKGROUND

In this video, civic leaders from all walks of life discuss the concept of "making a difference" with students across the United States. Panelists discuss issues such as economic opportunity and access to higher technology. Further, they explore how one person can have an impact on an entire community or even the nation.

Focus Questions

On the basis of the video you have just viewed, answer the following questions:

1. How do the ideas discussed in the video "Making a Better World: What is Your Responsibility to the Community?" apply to you?
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2. In what ways can you make your community a better place to live?
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3. Why do you think the people were chosen for the panel on the video? What traits do all of these people share? How are they different?
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4. If you were to select members of your community to serve on a similar panel, who would you select and why?
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Career Corner

Identify an interesting career associated with public or community service. Research your selected career as a possible occupation. Include educational requirements, estimated salary and location requirements. Identify intrinsic benefits and possible drawbacks of pursuing such a career. A list of possible careers is given below.

• city planner
• community service representative
• county health services
• job service employee
• mayor/city council person
• medical professional
• park and recreation director
• police officer
• probation officer
• public defender
• public health nurse
• public works engineer
• veterinarian

Surfing the Net

Many opportunities for community service exist in your community and across the nation. Using an Internet search tool and the key words "community service" or "volunteerism," identify the voluntary community service organizations in your community. (This should result in a list of 25 or more sites related to your search.)

Identify several of the groups found in your search which are available to you. Identify the missions of these groups as well as the contributions they have made to your community. Describe ways in which you or your class can become more involved in your community.

Some organizations you may find in your community include:

• American Cancer Society
• Big Brothers and Sisters
• Boy and Girl Scouts of America
• Candy Striper
• Goodwill Industries
• Greenpeace
• Habitat for Humanity
• Make-A-Wish Foundation
• March of Dimes
• Meals on Wheels
• Points of Light Foundation
• Rainbow House
• Red Cross
• Salvation Army
• UNICEF
• United Way
• VISTA
• Volunteers of America
• Welcome Wagon
• World Relief
• YMCA

Media Link

Many individuals have made immeasurable contributions to society through their efforts. Some are very positive in nature while others have been extremely negative. Some affect only a local community; others affect the entire world. Select an individual whose individual efforts and ideals have had a major impact on their world. Read a biography or view a video about their lives. Report on the person you chose. Include in your report the selected person's ideals, what they contributed to their world, and how it affected those around them. Some people to research might include:

• Mother Teresa
• Ghandi
• Cesar Chavez
• Virginia Durr
• Rev. Mother C. Waddles
• Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Gloria Steinem
• Susan B. Anthony
• Jeannette Rankin

The teacher's guide and student's guide were created by graduate students at the School of Education at the University of Montana: Darcy Hover, Denise Pfau, Katie Rasmussen, and Terry Souhrada.