You Might Also Like: Civic Parenting

**Julie Silverbrook** (0:00)
From the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, this is Civic Parenting. I'm Julie Silverbrook, Chief Content and Learning Officer.
One of the greatest privileges of my work at the Center is listening to stories from families across the country who are raising the next generation of informed and engaged citizens. Every story is a little different, but each reminds me that our national story continues in the conversations, traditions, and values that families cultivate every day. Earlier this year, the Center invited families to participate in a time capsule challenge as part of our celebration for the nation's 250th anniversary. We selected five families to bring items that tell their story to be placed in a time capsule in Signers' Hall at the Center. These time capsules are on display there for the next decade when we'll gather the families again to open them in 2037 at the 250th anniversary of the Constitution.
Today, I'm delighted to be joined by one of the families to explore what they placed in their time capsule. Adam, Kelsey, Dominic, welcome to Civic Parenting.

**Dominic Varahachaikol** (1:02)
Hi. Thanks for having us. Yeah.

**Julie Silverbrook** (1:04)
It's so nice to have you here. For our listeners, they can't see that Kelsey is really living a Civic Parenting moment because she is recording this podcast from her car in the middle of her work day. I love that. Adam and Dominic are together with Civic Quest in the background. We're going to get all into what Civic Quest is during this podcast episode.
I want to start by talking about how Civic Learning often begins long before anyone enters a classroom. This is certainly true for me. It often begins around dinner tables, on family vacations, in the stories that our grandparents tell us, and the values that our parents choose to pass from one generation to the next. Does that resonate with your family and what does Civic Parenting look like in your home now that I have declared that you guys are for sure Civic Parents? Many people are and they don't even realize the term, but you guys fully embody, I think, the philosophy of Civic Parenting and want to talk to you about, one, how that term resonates and also how the concept both resonates with you and manifests in your life.

**Adam Varahachaikol** (2:09)
I love the phrase Civic Parenting, honestly, because before talking with you, I don't think I would have used those words to describe what we do. I would have just said, we're just trying to raise Dom to be a good kid. But looking back, I feel like Civic Parenting isn't sitting Dominic down and saying, today we're going to learn about government, or here are the rights and responsibilities as American citizens. But I feel like it's talking about what it is to be a model citizen, to quote a Lilo and Stitch reference with Dom. But we phrase him to be kind and respectful and to help people however he can. I help coach Dom's Little League Baseball team, and we have the conversation about what it means to be a good teammate. As you know, Dom squabbles can happen with different personalities, and backgrounds, and helping him and of course his teammates to compromise and hear each other out, I think is really important part of that.
Little known fact, I personally love learning history. So when we go to places like Philadelphia, or our state capitol in Nevada, Carson City, or travel to Washington DC for work often, I've had the opportunity to bring Kelsey and Dom out. We love going to museums like the National Constitution Center, landmarks to understand and experience the places that really shaped our country's history.
And also in recent years, we've watched things like Schoolhouse Rock together. Obviously, a timeless visual learning tool about civics, like I'm just a bill, Shahard Around the World, which I think that's your favorite too, right Dom?

**Dominic Varahachaikol** (3:47)
Yes. I really like Shahard Around the World because it was catchy and was the same as what they were in Civic Quest.

**Julie Silverbrook** (3:56)
I love that. I love that. My kids are two and five and we listen to Schoolhouse Rock as well. And we had Schoolhouse Rock performances. I hope you saw them while you were at the National Constitution Center on July 4th. And we'll have a Civic Parenting podcast episode coming out soon with some of the folks who were involved in the creation of Schoolhouse Rock.

**Adam Varahachaikol** (4:15)
Yeah, I love that. Again, it's timeless. I really think that it's something that should continue to be passed down to multiple generations.

**Kelsey Varahachaikol** (4:23)
Yeah, we're constantly thinking and have been thinking since Dom was born, that it's our job to align him to make him a contributing member of society, and give him all the skills and things that he can learn, or that he can develop as he gets older to eventually continue on the legacy, and then when he has his own children, have something to go off of.