Testimonials

Over the years, students who have participated in The Civic Mirror have been saying the same two things over and over:

• When I watch the news now, I get it!
• I finally understand how everything fits together

The Civic Mirror transcends the boundaries of traditional learning. By challenging students to provide for their own family (individually) and to manage and operate their own country (collectively), they learn how the branches of government, economies and environments, and personal success and failure all work and interrelate with one another.

FEATURED TESTIMONIALS from STUDENTS

The Civic Mirror is an amazing tool for college students. Through the simulation, our class has not only learned more about our political system, but also about ourselves as students and citizens.  It's brought our class together and got us talking about important issues in our country and in our world and what we can do to change them.  I would recommend this program to colleges everywhere.
- Megan Claire, student, College of San Mateo, San Mateo, CA

The Civic Mirror was the BEST educational experience I had in high school.
- Aaron Maharaj, high school student, Queen Elizabeth Secondary, Vancouver, BC

The Civic Mirror simulation was quite possibly the most interesting educational activity that I've ever participated in. The trading, the real-life situations, the things that we accomplished, the arguments that we had and the conflicts we resolved. I feel this simulation really mirrors the world.
- Danielle Haynes, high school student, The Woodlands School, Toronto, ON

The Civic Mirror provided me with an incredible experience that years in school cannot teach about politics and economics. A straight-A student may have lots of knowledge, but I have the head start in the real world.
- Tetsuya Kobayashi, high school student, Seoul International School, South Korea

I really learned a lot this term working with The Civic Mirror. I really liked how you had to learn to come together as a community and try to keep everyone alive. The trials and law making parts were a lot of fun too. This made learning fun and I learned more in this class than in any of my other classes this year.
- Michyla Blackman, senior student at Chemawa Indian School, Salem, OR

FEATURED TESTIMONIALS from EDUCATORS

The Civic Mirror is the answer!  My students are learning more as a class than ever before. They are learning faster and they are getting it and they are enjoying themselves!  I have always felt that we learn best by doing.  I finally found my solution: The Civic Mirror!
- Erin L. Scholnick, Asst. Professor of Political Science, College of San Mateo, San Mateo, CA.

The Civic Mirror is almost magical in the way it weaves drama and intrigue with core curricula elements to generate excitement and anticipation in the classroom – for both teachers and students! It also challenges educators to rethink their roles and to reconceive normative classroom structures.
- Lizanne Foster (M.A.), High School Teacher, Queen Elizabeth Secondary, Vancouver, BC

I have never seen a classroom come so alive. It amazed me to see how much the allowance of freedom empowered my students ...  For the first time in my teaching career I witnessed students really questioning the world around them instead of blindly accepting what we had told them.  Not only is The Civic Mirror a positive experience for students, but a necessary one.
- Kelly Devenish (M.Ed).  High School Teacher, The Woodlands School, Toronto, Ontario.

My students are living out what they think a good government would be and seeing the problems that happen.  I have parents calling me up telling me how much their kids are talking about what they are learning and how much fun they are having learning.
- Lee Kaiser, Teacher from Chemawa Indian School, Salem, OR

THE REST OF THE TESTIMONIALS
The Civic Mirror is one of the most amazing and educational experiences I've ever had. It feels so real with all the issues you have to endure through. The game is so riveting. I would recommend it to all ages.
- Sidra S. Gr.10 Civics Student, Toronto, ON (2007)

Because both of my Gr. 10 SS classes were loaded with resistant earners - correction: resistant workers – I was left with just under two weeks to run The Civic Mirror (less time than I had hoped for). However, in those two weeks, the kids literally ran the class and learned more about themselves and how government and economics work than I would have believed possible. And what a fun and enriching way to end the semester!
- Wendy Charters, Pilot Teacher, Pender Harbour, BC. (2008)

This game challenged me to speak up more and challenged to think beyond what was is normally spoon fed to me
- Cecilia T. Gr.10 Civics Student, Toronto, ON (2007)

I really enjoyed playing The Civic Mirror. It teaches you real-life lessons and gives you a taste of sometimes the bitter, and yet mind-blowing realities of the real world. If you're one of those students who thinks school doesn't really teach you anything important, try The Civic Mirror… you'll see how you can implement the things you've learned into real-life situations.
- Eric Lee, Seoul International School, (2006)

It reflected a lot of the things we learned in the curriculum and it was stressful, but I think that added to the overall enjoyment of the game
- Nicholas Z. Gr.10 Civics Student, Toronto, ON (2007)

This game is not only educational, it's great fun! (in an insane way)  It's a thrilling experience… not for the faint of heart!
- Jessica Z. Gr.10 Civics Student, Toronto, ON (2007)

It's a great way to learn civics. It taught me to manage my money, how to budget and it made me realize what my parents go through.
- Cindy W. Gr.10 Civics Student, Toronto, ON (2007)

The Civic Mirror was totally a novel experience for me. In the midst of bland classes, Gov/Econ was actually a very fun class because of the simulation. It's very much like a game, but I got more than enjoyment out of it. I remember first-handedly experiencing Gov/Econ concepts such as shortage, monopoly, socialism, and even anarchy. Also, I experienced and learned how the gap between the rich and poor affects society. I've learned so many more valuable lessons that I possibly cannot learn from a textbook.
- Denai Koh, Seoul International School, (2006)

The Civic Mirror reflected our real world. In the game we experienced a lot of bargaining, advertising and debating. Thank you for creating this game!
- Emily L. Gr.10 Civics Student, Toronto, ON (2007)

The game allowed me to talk to all the different people I never thought I would've. I also realized how important it is to have something to live off of so that I won't become bankrupt.  Money is very important.
- LingLing Z. Gr.10 Civics Student, Toronto, ON (2007)

I liked The Civic Mirror because it helped us to understand the fundamentals of government and the economy easily. Honestly, the terms which can look rather boring and dull came to life by performing them in a simulated society.
- Katherine Bang, Seoul International School (2007)