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Civic Participation & Citizenship Collection
Students Shape Voting Lesson and Individual Projects
Denise Reddington, Dover Adult Learning Center, Dover, NH
Program
Description
The Dover Adult Learning Center (DALC) is headquartered in a small, renovated
church in Dover, New Hampshire. Though we are lucky enough to have a "headquarters"
or program center, one of the difficulties we face is that our students
come to us from more than fifteen different towns, some large and others
very rural. For those who can't make it to the Center we have begun outreach
classes that are held in local churches, libraries and community buildings,
making it easier to attend. We also have a tutorial program for those
who are still unable to attend classes or prefer tutoring.
One of our goals at DALC is to work together as a "community"
of adult learners and teachers. Though we come from and work in different
towns and often have different concerns and issues, we strive to communicate,
share ideas, and support each other. It is our common goal to create an
environment where students and staff can have a voice and become involved
in both their school and local communities. I teach an ABE class at DALC
four mornings a week. I also work with students in a multi-level class
(ABE / GED) in the afternoon.
Barriers and Strategies
I'm trying to overcome obstacles to student civic participation that some
rural teachers encounter. For me these include: small and diverse groups
of students from different towns, a lack of common issues and concerns,
isolated students working independently in class or with a tutor, and
student apathy. I've tried to do this by bringing small groups together
to work on general topics and then support individuals as they splinter
to areas they are most interested in. As many opportunities as possible
are provided for students to share information and voice their opinions.
Students are motivated to become involved and take action, and we celebrate
small steps toward civic participation. Students also have the support
of the Center and other students which seems to make a difference in the
way they view civic participation.
Voting Lessons
Registering to vote and actually voting is a big step toward civic participation.
Voting is something a student can do on his or her own. They can go on
to encourage and influence friends and family. Once this is accomplished,
a student may feel empowered to influence others though speaking and writing
about candidates or issues. Discussing issues is an easy way to discover
what is important to your students and a point where students may develop
individual projects or interests. An important thing to remember when
working with ABE students, in small groups or individually, is that civic
participation begins slowly and develops with support and positive experiences.
It becomes easier when civic participation activities and discussions
are not something "extra," but part of the program.
In the past when I've tried to encourage students to vote, I often ended
up frustrated by student apathy. Lessons became more successful when I
approached the subject from a motivating and positive perspective. The
New Hampshire 2000 presidential primary season was in full swing when
I began this project and provided a good opportunity for participation.
The power to vote is a privilege we all share and a good common topic
for a lesson. The
Civic Participation and Community Action Sourcebook was helpful.
I used three handouts:
• The Rights and Responsibilities of
Citizenship (p.51)
• What If the Government Said you Couldn't
Vote? (p. 53)
• Voter Turnout Graphs (p. 56).
The Webliography at the back turned out to be most valuable. For the first
time I used the Internet to find information about the candidates as well
as the voting process. I easily located "How To Vote" information
written at a lower literacy level. Several students used the Internet,
a site such as www.selectsmart.com,
for the first time and matched their views on the issues with candidates'.
I also referred to Pick Your Candidate* by Debbie Tasker for ideas.
I primarily worked with a group of five diverse students from different
towns with different goals - three were basic skills students and two
had already passed parts of the GED. Sometimes we worked in a small group
and sometimes students worked independently. Only one was registered to
vote. Once students showed an interest in voting it was time to explore
why they hadn't voted in the past. We brainstormed the following list.
WHY I DON'T VOTE
1. I don't know where or how to register.
2. The candidates all seem alike.
3. I don't understand words like democrat,
republican, and primary.
4. I won't be able to read or understand
the ballot.
5. Fears… What's myth, what's fact?
• People who vote are called for Jury
duty.
• Once you register you have to vote.
• I'll vote for the "wrong"
person.
• I need to know everything to make
the right decision.
• I have to give too much personal
information
6. I'm not sure about the issues.
Once students identified why they didn't vote it became clearer how to
proceed with these particular students. We then brainstormed an Action
Plan.
ACTION PLAN
1. Students and teachers call different town offices to find out how and
where to register to vote. Compile a list and share with other students
(tutorial, ESL, outreach, GED). Collect and compile sample registration
forms.
2. Students and teachers collect information about major candidates, include a lot of pictures. Visit campaign headquarters. Post information in Center and share information with other students.
3. Students complete Voting Vocabulary Activities.
4. Collect sample ballots to read and practice filling out. Hold a mock election. (Our state director organized this, which was very helpful.)
5. Address and record student's fears and create a Voting Facts and Myths sheet.
6. Help students identify what issues are most important to them and what candidates support their veiws. Complete Issues Sheet.
7. Register and vote.
As individual students considered what issues were important to them they began to splinter off in different directions. It became important, at this point, to discover at what level of government - local, state, or national - the decisions about their concerns are made. (The Right Question Project has published a very helpful booklet that aids individual students or small groups to formulate questions about how decisions are made. See contact information in the Sourcebook.)
One student made a difference on a local level. He was concerned about water damage in the library of his son's elementary school. He joined the PTA and spoke to school board members and the principal about the problem. He wrote a letter to the local newspaper. He has been assured the problem will be fixed this summer but he's keeping an eye on it. He was already registered to vote and encouraged other students to do the same.
One woman focused on the issue of abused women on a state and local level. She researched state laws on the Internet and completed an intense 50-hour training at a local shelter for abused woman. She hopes to volunteer there as soon as she can arrange childcare. She has also become an advocate for the welfare-to-work program and has publicly spoken to different groups. She was interviewed by a local newspaper. She had not registered to vote by the New Hampshire presidential primary but had plans to do so.
The other woman in the group had decided to find better day care for her children and register to vote so she could support the candidates who supported early childhood programs and education. She ended up leaving school abruptly for a full time job. The youngest member of the group, who had just turned 18, registered to vote. The oldest member of the group, at 55, registered to vote and voted for the first time. His story follows.
Civic participation begins with small steps. Some students have begun to volunteer their time at the Learning Center and advocate for adult education. Others are not ready to participate at all. Students often begin projects and quickly lose interest. As long as civic participation is part of a program, supported and addressed often and in different ways, students will respond.
*Pick Your Candidate is adapted on page 68 of the Civic
Participation and Community Action Sourcebook. The entire text
is available from the Dover Adult Learning Center, (603) 742-1030.
ED'S STORY
My teacher talked about this election, the presidential primary 2000.
I felt good, I wanted to get into to it to start to vote. We went to visit
Gore's campaign headquarters in Dover. I asked the representative for
Gore, he wasn't there himself, a question. The question I asked was about
the gun laws. I think he is using his support for the gun laws to get
his foot in the door and then take all guns away. I am a hunter and don't
use my gun for anything else and would be angry if my right to hunt was
taken away.
I wanted to vote, to be able to say I had voted. So I went to City Hall
in Rochester to the office of the Registrar. I went in and I asked the
woman if I could have the form I needed to register to vote. She did not
know that my teacher had asked me to pick up some to bring in for the
other students to practice with. She said the form could not leave that
office so I asked her if she would help me fill it out and she said, "NO."
Then I blew up and said "well, I guess I don't vote." Then I
left the building, mad and feeling cheated.
The following Tuesday I came back to school and my teacher, got a sample
of the form from the Dover City Hall. I practiced filling it out and after
I got done and school was over I went to the Rochester City Hall and asked
for the form to register. Then I apologized for the day I came and left
mad. I filled it out, she checked it over for me and told me I was in
ward five and registered to vote. I am proud to be a registered voter!
By E.C.
Ed shared his story with an ESL class. He voted for the first time, at age 55, in the New Hampshire 2000 presidential primary.
ISSUES
Issues are problems to be talked about, questioned, decided upon and acted
on. Taxes and gun control are examples of issues.
1. List as many issues as you can that you think are important
to Americans:
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. What three issues are most important to you? Write a sentence
about each issue.
1) ___________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2) ___________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3) ___________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. What candidates support your issues?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
4. What can you do on a local, state, or national level to support
your views?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
New
England Literacy Resource Center
World Education
Boston, MA
(617) 482-9485
