With the onset of the Corona virus pandemic, thousands of people around the country have begun to organize or join mutual aid networks. These types of self-organized networks have a long history in the US. They are popping up now as digital neighborhood list serves, Google docs and social media groups to foster support between… Read more »
Ben Franklin Circles are small conversation clubs inspired by Ben Franklin’s “junto” or “club for mutual improvement.” Circles meet regularly to explore the idea of civic virtue – using discussion topics like justice, order, generosity and empathy as windows into improving our individual lives and the world. Although Ben Franklin Circles were originally designed… Read more »
Nicola Brown is a member of the first online Ben Franklin Circle, started by Kim Crowley in 2019. After completing Franklin’s 13 virtues, they decided to continue meeting and are now discussing the new list of virtues. In February 2020, we asked Nicola what it was like to be part of an online Circle. … Read more »
Ben Franklin Circles as Lifelong Learning Diane Senerth Diane Hosts a Ben Franklin Circle at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Delaware. Although Ben Franklin was a young man of 21 when he started the Junto, he may have been ahead of his time. It is a bit unusual for young… Read more »
BFC Around the Holidays Part 2: Connecting themes of the season to Circle discussions As 2019 comes to a close, we reflect on some relevant end-of-year themes. In November, we held a conversation with BFC hosts in which we gathered and shared topics and conversation prompts that could be folded into Ben Franklin… Read more »
One of our Ben Franklin Circle hosts recently mentioned she’d love to know what other hosts are reading…so we asked the BFC community for some recommendations. Here are some of the titles they shared: The Yes Brain: How to Cultivate Courage, Curiosity, and Resilience in Your Child by Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson “Recommended… Read more »