Meet Gen-Z at the corner of Politics and Education.
Ever since 2008, I’ve been going into schools to give presentations about our Democratic Party. It’s a delightful opportunity to carry our values and message to young people. Wanna join?
I encourage other Democrats to do the same sort of presentations, and I am developing modules to make it easy. Right now, I’m working on Oregon, but I’d love for it to get cloned.
Have you done school presentations like this? How was that experience?
Are you aware of any program like the one I am developing? (I don’t want to reinvent the sledge; so let me know!) (Note that Oregon only recently mandated Civics education, and full implementation is 2025.
What are your thoughts? (The League of Women Voters does mock elections and other civic education. These are invaluable, and non-partisan).
Most of all: will you join us? Educators, media experts, organizers, and recent high school graduates are especially encouraged, but all are welcome.
Send me a message, here on Daily Kos. I welcome your expertise and wisdom. Most of all, I want to accomplish something of lasting significance.
An Executive Summary is below. Below that, there are a few bits of content from the rest of the package. With your help, we will develop more.
Executive Summary
We need to grow the Democratic Party, particularly among youth. Young people are deeply concerned about climate change, school safety, economic insecurity, personal liberty, and democracy. Yet young people are not fully engaged in the political process. At the same time, schools in Oregon and elsewhere do not always teach adequately about politics. And surveys show a declining commitment to democracy itself, particularly among youth.
Despite all this, youth in the most recent election (Nov 8, 2022) provided a decisive edge for Democrats and progressive ballot measures across the nation. Had youth been even more activated, more Democrats would have won (e.g., in races like Oregon’s CD-5, Jamie McLeod-Skinner). The first Gen-Z member of Congress was elected from Florida (Maxwell Alejandro Frost, age 25); about half of Gen-Z have already graduated high school; we gotta act fast!
I have developed a module of instruction, that I have presented in various forms over the years, for high school and community college classes, intended to educate students about the Democratic Party, and to motivate students to engage actively with our party, to register and vote Democratic, and to run for office, themselves. These presentations have been well received; I do not know whether they have been effective. The literature on efficacy of civics education is thin and discouraging. If we do an outcomes study, I think we ought to keep the results in-house, and not share with other parties or in academic journals.
I ask support of the Education Caucus of the Democratic Party of Oregon, and the Young Democrats of Oregon Caucus. If someone in one Caucus wants to take over the project, I’d be happy to surrender it to anyone with the educational and political chops to do it! Ideally, it would be turned over to a group of experienced teachers who have a long-term commitment to party development. I’d further like the outlines of this program to be offered to other state parties for use as they wish.
Please examine the rest of this document. Consider it a first draft.
I want this project to have a long life, with multiple iterations and improvements. I’d like to have multiple modules for more in-depth teaching, and to have modules suitable for college classes and middle schools. Similarly, we can develop modules for presentations in the community (for example, to the local Grange, or to new citizens).
Please consider joining, for the long haul. Contact me with questions, ideas, critiques, and to join or even to take over the operation. Usurpers welcome.
Joe
Sample Invitation
Dear Democratic leaders and educators,
You are invited to participate in an exciting project to build the Democratic Party in your neighborhood, county, and state.
I invite you to read the executive summary regarding this project, and the accompanying materials. If you wish to participate, I encourage you to make contact with your local school to offer them a presentation regarding entitled policy, parties, and politics, which is intended to present the Democratic Party to students in history, social studies, and civics classes.
You know your community best. You and your party members know teachers and administrators. And, of course, the school information is public. There are teacher interest groups in each county; shop teachers together, for example, and history/civics/social studies teachers together. Once you contact one teacher, you can get additional contact information. In addition, colleges will often have Democratic clubs you can contact, and access educators there.
Please reach out and make the offer! And if you need help from us, contact Joe by email
Sample Solicitation notes:
I seek to present to social studies, history, government and other appropriate classes the same sort of session I've delivered to your classes. In the past, when I've offered presentations to other schools, I've not garnered a lot of interest. I hope to kindle more interest in the future. Would you be willing to share with other educators in XXX County (or, heck, anywhere, any time) my offer to conduct such presentations?
Here is a suggested draft that you might modify and use:
Would you like a presentation to your class, regarding Policy, Parties, and Politics?
The Democratic Party of XXX County offers classroom presentations year-round. The classes are designed as 55-minute blocks, but they are readily expansible, and students often are eager for more time. The instructors seek to engage the students, to have the students identify their own values and interests, and to determine how these may align or conflict with those of the major parties; and then to activate students toward voting, self-education, and lifelong political involvement.
The presenters' focus is on listening, and in answering questions. Their declared focus is on Democratic values, but they strive for an even-handed approach; generally, instructors have invited the local Republican Party for a separate session.
Current presenters include XXX, who ran for Congress, XXX, who ran for Oregon House, and various officers of the Democratic Party of XXX County.
If you'd like to schedule an appearance, emailXXX. If you don't get an email response in 48 hours, call him at XXX. He is delighted to teach, and eager to learn from you and your students.
Presentation instructions
The goal is to engage students, to learn from them what is important to them, and to allow them to understand that the Democratic Party supports their values and interests; that the Democratic Party exists to serve them; that they have agency over their own futures and that they exercise that agency partly through the political process; that the Democratic Party is the best vehicle for that agency.
Please: Always listen. Don’t tell the students that the Democratic Party listens. Show them. Don’t tell; show.
Preparation:
- secure the invitation; confirm it.
- enlist a co-presenter or two, in case someone needs to bail. We are reliable.
- try to get a presenter/co-presenter who is young or relatable to the young
- prepare your handouts, slides and evaluation forms (sample handouts and slides follow; modify at will; but keep the evaluation forms the same, as they are used in program evaluation)
- rehearse! and rehearse again. With your slides or white board, props, etc.
- have a conversation or two with the classroom teacher; you are so excited and happy to learn from the students, you can hardly wait. And, oh, by the way: what do the students already know and believe? What textbook do they use, and what is the current topic?
- ask the classroom teacher to put a bit of information into the students hands (“Next Wednesday, we are going to hear from the local Democratic Party. What do you already know about the upcoming elections? About our elected officials? What issues are important to you? Climate change? School safety? The economy, jobs, and housing? Maybe it’s something else. What? Think about all those things, and bring your ideas and questions on Wednesday.” Or: “What would you like our mayor or our senator to do about an important problem? Write a short letter to the mayor or senator, and bring the letter to class.”)
- send an electronic copy of your handout and evaluation form to the teacher in plenty of time; the teacher will need to generate paper copies, and may want to send e-copy to students in advance.
- gather Democratic swag: buttons, brochures, signs. And some non-partisan allies’ stuff: “In Our America” and so on
Presentation:
- Put your butterflies to sleep. You are going to have fun, and you are doing important work!
- Arrive early. Lay out swag and handouts. Ask the teacher which students need to be drawn out, or maybe have their sails trimmed a bit. Meet a couple of the students, remember their names.
- Introduce yourself and your co-presenters. Distribute the handouts and evaluation tools.
- Explain (and write on the board) your goals: to listen to the students regarding their values and interests, to inform them about policy, politics and parties, and to discover what matters to them and what they are going to do about it.
- “Before we begin, just so we share a common language, let’s review: Why do we have government? What do we mean by policy, politics, and party?”—and the review the information on these on the sample handout
- “OK now! What’s important to you? And what are you going to do about it?
- Offer a word cloud of values and interests. Ask them to identify what they value or think applies to them: compassion, generosity, community, safety, health, education, housing, fires, water, abortion, bodily autonomy, the right to marry, guns, bullying, climate change, and so on (we will offer more as we get feedback in this program
- Ask the students how their highest values and interests relate to what they believe about each of the parties (“If you believe in compassion, which party is for you?” etc)
- Ask for examples, and maybe guide gently; if fairness is an issue, what about progressive tax rates. If it’s compassion, what about not starving Granny to death? etc.
- Tell them that the Democratic Party responds to people’s needs, and wants to respond to theirs.
- Invite the students come to our meetings and social events; tell them when the next meeting is, when the next picnic, food drive, demonstration in favor of bodily autonomy, etc. They are welcome and we want them there
- Ask them what they will do now. Will they attend school board meetings, run for school board soon? Do they want to write letters to their mayor, County Commissioners, state or Federal officials? Ask each to commit to just one action; make them articulate it.
- Hold up In Our America sign, and SAY: if you believe in compassion, community, climate, diversity, and democracy, and so on, then you are already a Democrat. Remember: if you are not at the table, you are on the menu. Get active.
- Ask them what questions they have.
- Ask them to fill out the evaluation form. Ask the teacher to fill out teacher evaluation form. Fill out yours.
- Commit to the teacher and the class that you are available; assure that they have contact info.
- Send the evaluation forms to Joe XXX or whoever takes over this project. Sent him you notes, too: what went well, what didn’t, and what did the students tell you?
Follow-up:
- Email teacher thanks and offer for any support they need.
- Chat with Joe XXX regarding evaluation forms and about improving the program. And send him any handouts and slides you developed.
- Contact more teachers, and do it all over again, better every time
Presentation Evaluation
Student evaluation form (sheet to be developed and formatted)
What values and interests mean the most to you? List, open-ended
5-point Likert scales:
- Democrats listened to my class
- Democrats listened to me
- I felt respected
- I learned about the values of the Democratic Party
- Democratic Party values are similar to mine
- I plan to vote
- I plan to register as a Democrat
- I plan to register as a different party (write-in)
- I plan to register to vote, but not register as any party (non-affiliated voter)
- I plan to be active in politics at some level—local, regional, or nationally
- I would recommend this class to other students
—Hey! Tell the presenters what you thought, and what we can do to help you.
Classroom teacher evaluation form
What did you think about this presentation? What was good, and what was not?
5-point Likert scales:
- The presenters prepared for this class
- The presenters listened to my class
- Presenters respected the class
- Presenters engaged students and encouraged participation
- I would recommend to other teachers that they invite this program into their classrooms
—Hey! pass our contact info on to them! And give us their contact info, if you can!
Presenter evaluation form
How did it go? Bad stuff, good stuff, heartwarming stories, disasters
5-point Likert scales:
- The lesson plan and handouts were useful
- The classroom teacher was prepared
- The students were prepared
- The students articulated their values and interests
- The students were able to identify their values and interests that tend to be Democratic values
- Students plan some political action as a result of this class (registering, voting, marching, writing letters, etc.)
Hey! Shoot us all the comments and suggestions you want. (Joe (email))
Program Evaluation
- post-presentation surveys of students, the teacher(s) and presenter(s); send copies to Joe XXX or program manager
- additional reports of presenters; did this work for you, the students, the teacher?
- party registration and voter turnout (pre- and post- intervention, and comparison between counties and school districts where intervention did/did not occur. (I need smart number-cruncher at DPO for this!)
- Annual review: suggest in late November, with report to Education Caucus early December
(Further note on program evaluation: I seek to be able to automate the Likert scale readings. More importantly, I would like to be able to drill down to the school district level and even the specific high school catchment area, with details on party registration, voter turn out and Elections outcomes.)
Sample Handout
“…that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men.”
Policy, Politics, and Party: What is important to you?
Mini-seminar xxx November 2022
We human beings secure our rights through government. Without government, we are Somalia. With bad government, we are Lord of the Flies. With good government, we find our liberties and our lives secure, and we are able to pursue happiness. Who would not want that?
I’m asking you to evaluate what political parties have done to “secure these rights” as our Declaration of Independence says. You will hear a lot of assertions about who has done what, for, and to, whom. Find out for yourself.
Please keep in mind:
Policy is the wonky, geeky detail about whether and how government acts to protect our interests. (Who should get taxed? How much? How do we make sure people can vote? Should we help farmers get water and electricity? Should people be able to drink clean water? Breathe clean air?)
Politics is the clash of people and ideas over policy.
Parties are groups of people who share certain policy preferences—and clash over these preferences!
Outcomes are measurable, quantifiable, and verifiable—and critically important to you.
“If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re probably on the menu.”
--Elizabeth Warren (articulating a Washington, DC wisdom.)
“The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master -- that's all.”
Lewis Carroll (Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), Through the Looking Glass.
What values are important to you? Think about: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; think about: Autonomy, authoritarianism, community, families, inclusion, caring, health, sharing, and prosperity. What does it mean to be a liberal? A conservative?
What values do you think are most important to Democrats? To Republicans? What party best represents and gets results for those values? What party best represents your values? (Remember: a party is a coalition. It’s likely even a party that mostly reflects your values will not be a perfect fit.)
For more information: https://www.democrats.org ; http://dpo.org ; xxxlink to local party
For economic data: https://fred.stlouisfed.org ; https://research.stlouisfed.org ; xxx other links
We want to hear from you! All of the following are affected by government policy. Think about their importance to you. Put a “1” by the most important (to you), and so on. (They are listed alphabetically; no priority intended by me!)
|
Economic growth
Education
Environment /Climate Change
Family supports
Guns
|
Health care
Housing
Individual Rights
Job growth
National debt and deficits
|
National security
Racism
Sexism
Wage growth
Others (please write in)
|
If you care about your future, the future of your community, and the future of the world: get involved! Register to vote, and then vote. You can even register on-line: https://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Pages/registration.aspx?lang=en (XXXyour state) You are welcome to visit our party HQ, and to come to our meetings
Questions? Ideas? Feel free to contact me. Mr. (Teacher XXX) has my contact information.
---JoeXXX, etc
Slides, slide deck: under development. Often, though, white board is best.
References? I got a ton, but not fully organized. Will share with correspondents. That’s you, right? Message me.
