Dialogue, listening, and compromise are essential elements of living in a democracy. In a highly partisan time, is it possible to reestablish common ground when it comes to how best to educate our children in and for democracy? Authors Brendan Sheran, Ashley Carey, Jack Schneider, Rebecca Woodland, and Kathryn McDermott, who are affiliated with…

Voter turnout for school board elections is historically low, with tiny percentages deciding who governs schools. Columnist Jonathan E. Collins proposes a new federal holiday, School Board Election Day, to increase voter turnout and public involvement and interest in public schools. School board elections would be held on the same day nationally,…

A paramount duty of education is to prepare young people for their role as citizens in a democratic society. Voting is one of the important responsibilities of a citizen but statistics indicate that young people often don't vote and don't believe they have a stake in the outcome of the presidential election. Storypath is a teaching strategy that…

A multiple-issue ballot allows voters to vote on specific educational programs and their respective costs rather than forcing a yes/no choice for the entire program. (Author/IRT)

Identifies the organizational and public contact strategies used successfully by school supporters in three school funding elections in the Clayton (Missouri) School District between 1975 and 1980. Notes the types of voters contacted by block workers prior to the 1980 election and analyzes their subsequent voting behavior. (PGD)

The people say they favor reduction in the property tax -- an inequitable and disastrously inflexible source of funds for schools in a period of inflation. Voters have recently turned down proposals that would have reduced reliance on the property tax in five States. Tells why. (Editor)

Discusses a recent Supreme Court case that upheld State supermajority requirements for such items as bond elections and levies. (JF)

Describes how one district mounted a successful campaign to get its budget passed after the same budget was defeated three months earlier. (IRT)

Project 18 is a course developed to encourage student involvement in the political system. It attempts to teach the importance of an active, concerned citizenry for the democratic process. (Author)

Reports a Federally financed countywide project to identify the causes of public neglect of the schools and to list remedies. (Author)

Assesses the National Educational Association's (NEA) influence and power to effect political change. Concludes that the NEA is neither very powerful nor very weak and that its potential is considerable if Reagan's conservative program falters. (WD)

Youth Vote 2004 encouraged students to text message their questions to party leaders and to use their Nokia handsets to vote. Teachers were presented with a rather pitiful set of suggested classroom activities, all of which (naturally) involved text messaging. A statement from a Nokia representative established both the company's selfless…

A shortened version of a commencement address delivered at Saint Louis University, May 31, 1969