There is no better site for political or democratic action than the school itself and the students' own community, according to educational philosopher John Dewey (1859-1952). Learning about local government provides students with authentic examples of democratic processes and institutions that shape their daily lives. Getting involved in local…

Describes a number of projects through which elementary school students in Massachusetts learned about their local and state community and gained skills needed for active citizenship. (PRA)

Discusses a school district's plan to introduce into the curriculum civic writing activities directly linked to local history and community issues. Suggests that writing can stimulate students' civic responsibility through the academic skills of research and critical thinking. Addresses planning, implementation, assessment, and recommendations.…

Asserts that students have little knowledge about the operation of local government. Discusses a three-day interdisciplinary lesson about water management and local government for the elementary grades. Includes descriptions of laboratory exercises, homework assignments, and class discussions. (CFR)

Presents low cost ways that elementary teachers can develop classroom and school museums. Using objects and documents to record and display community events and traditions can help foster commitments to civic institutions and positive social values. Recommends creating wall murals, life ropes (personal event chronology), wall newspapers, and…

Outlines approaches for student evaluation in service learning projects. Maintains that most service learning project participants' goals fall into three broad areas: civic development, academic achievement, and personal or social development. Assessment in these areas can be accomplished through tabulation of service hours, student journals, and…

Briefly describes a service-learning grant program and provides examples of elementary, middle, and high school projects awarded grants in 1996. Projects included efforts to educate the community about river pollution, multicultural murals, and a school activities news show. Includes application form and general guidelines and suggestions. (MJP)

Presents four brief essays expressing the importance of combining service learning and citizenship education. Authors Benjamin Barber, Joan Schine, Harry C. Boyte, and James C. Kielsmeier stress the advantages of learning democratic concepts and principles, as well as understanding civic government, through student participation. (MJP)

Provides 11 guideposts for teachers and students planning constructive community action projects. These include avoid overanalysis at the beginning, write your original idea down before you modify it, ignore negativity, do your homework, build a core group, and recruit community allies. (MJP)

Describes a seventh-grade class project in which students researched a specific social problem, proposed an action plan, and took steps to implement the plan. Students who chose problems closer to home (the elderly, literacy, dropouts) were able to develop more effective action plans. (MJP)

Describes a middle school curriculum that integrates service learning and civic responsibility skills into the core academic program. The "CityYouth" curriculum consists of 32 multidisciplinary lessons divided into four units of eight lessons each. Examines how schools have incorporated the units into community activities. (MJP)

Examines the controversies and consequences involved in drawing proper districts for federal and state representatives. Discusses the Supreme Court's role in deciding these questions. Provides definitions and related court cases concerning gerrymandering and malapportionment, the two most common abuses of the districting process. (MJP)

Recommends that undergraduate journalism and communications majors receive more thorough training in local and public affairs education. Changes in communications technology have raised the importance and accessibility of local news for national candidates, often without a corresponding rise in sophistication of coverage. (MJP)

Evaluates three participatory civic education learning programs developed by the Citizenship Education Clearing House: the Election Program, Missouri State Government Program, and the Metropolitan Issues Program. Evaluation consisted of questionnaires, observation, and interviews. Discovers that the programs are both popular and effective. (MJP)

Analyzes the political arguments and special interests surrounding the recent referendum regarding the separation of Quebec from Canada. Characterizes the separatists' campaign as defined by lies, evasion, and demagoguery. Discusses the political reconfiguring occurring among the profederalists. (MJP)