I had a chance to meet today with a state social studies supervisor,

which was an interesting opportunity to find out more about the complex

interplay among state standards, high-stakes tests, curriculum design

at various levels, and the textbook market. If I write a civics textbook,

I’ll have to navigate these treacherous waters.

Later, with our high school class, we spent quite a bit of time talking

about why they should (or should not) vote. I tried to move the conversation

to a related topic: How do we find out enough about candidates that we

can make a choice? It seems to me that the need for that kind of knowledge

is the biggest obstacle to voting.