Hello Ryan,
  I agree with you that the classroom is a good venue for covering elections and other issues.  I've had a lot of positive experience using the National Issues Forums model (www.nifi.org) by Kettering Foundation.  I learned about "deliberative democracy" which is quite different from the "competitive, debate" model many people are used to in this country.  I first learned how to be a co-moderator, and then a moderator in many "town hall" type educational venues, first in community colleges and then universities and then out in the public.  I like the "issues booklets" that NIF has created over the past 26 years.  However, I have created my own "issues booklets" in the classroom to fit whatever issues or topic I want to cover.  I like the format for it facillitates learning and gives everyone a chance to speak and others to listen to a variety of perspectives in a safe environment.  
   
  I highly recommend checking out NIF.  Sometimes they have scholarships to learn about deliberative democracy.  I recommend downloading information on moderating, and receiving some of the reports, and issues books that are free in order to learn about this...in my opinion, superior way of introducing and facilitating learning from a variety of perspectives.
   
  Best of luck with your future endeavors.
  ~Jo Ann
  Jo Ann Bamdas, Ed.S.
  Ph.D. Candidate
  Educational Leadership, Adult & Community Education
  Florida Atlantic University
  Boca Raton, FL 33431
  

Ryan Hall <ryanryanc at yahoo.com> wrote:
            I think the adult literacy classroom is as good a venu for covering election material as any other. Furthermore, I think that literacy programs that put a big emphasis on voting have a responsibility to educate their students so that, when they do go vote, they know who they are voting for...and what that person actually stands for etc. 
   
  To do this, election material would have to be presented in a fair, objective manner so that the students learn about candidates from all parties and are taught critical thinking skills that will allow them to make their own choice about who to vote for based on all the facts they have learned. I don't think this type of instruction could take place in a day or two unit, but would probably have to be the content around which a course is taught. 
   
  Although we have not gotten very far with specific plans, there has been some discussion about including a course like this in either the summer or fall quarter. Has anyone had any experiences teaching a class like this? If so, how did it go?
   
  Ryan
   
  
--- On Fri, 2/1/08, Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net> wrote:

  From: Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net>
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 1574] Re: Information about Candidates
To: "The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy Discussion List" <povertyracewomen at nifl.gov>
Date: Friday, February 1, 2008, 3:53 PM


#1--Of course it does;  how can people participate in their own futures   unless they have this information?    #2--I would love to hear any anecdotes, experiences, about this issue.    Got any?    Andrea :)      On Feb 1, 2008, at 3:38 PM, Daphne Greenberg wrote:    > A big thank you to Katherine and Harriet for letting us know about   > resources to learn about the candidates' positions on key issues. I am    > wondering if anyone has any thoughts about the two other questions   > that I raised:  >  > 1. Does coverage of election material belong in the adult literacy   > classroom?  >  > 2. How do we counter rumors and misinformation with groups of people   > who have difficulty reading?  >  >  >  > Daphne  >  >  > ----------------------------------------------------  > National Institute for Literacy  > Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list  > PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov  > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to   >
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