(From Princeton, NJ) The Dallas Morning News’ Laura Isensee talked to me and several experts on civic engagement about whether all those young people who voted at high rates in 2008 will remain involved between elections. One of the best things about her article is her recognition that it’s not all about what young people feel or think; it also matters whether the political system is structured to permit their participation. The story was picked up by the AP and ran in quite a few other papers.
Monthly Archives: April 2009
controversy in the classroom
University of Wisconsin Professor Diana Hess has published Controversy in the Classroom: The Democratic Power of Discussion (Routledge, 2009). The longitudinal study of high school students that is a major source of data for this book was partly funded by CIRCLE. Hess argues that planned, moderated discussions of controversial issues teach essential democratic skills. She provides research-based advice about how to define “controversial issues” and handle them in classrooms.
According to my blurb on the back cover:
- Controversy in the Classroom is a model of scholarship. Diana Hess combines her personal experience as a teacher with rigorous qualitative and quantitative data and philosophical argumentation to conclude that students must learn to be citizens by discussing controversial issues. This is an important and neglected finding that should influence parents, teachers, and policymakers.