Research plan in the making . . .

I'm still unclear about what exactly I want to learn/ discover, so of course it follows that it's rather hard to design a research strategy. I'm developing a curriculum for a high school program and needless to say it would be a great boon to my efforts to implement it if I had some precise, concrete data to prove my assertions about why it's so fabulous and indispensable!! I'm going to post more details soon, but here's the basic plot taken from a working draft of my proposal document; essentially, the argument for the program. I'm looking forward to reactions after I roll out the rest of it!

"Proposal and Design Plan for a New High School Program

The Challenge: The concepts of public service and informed participation are essential to a democracy.

Yet, study after study indicates that young people in the United States today lack a fundamental understanding of their own history and, consequently, their role in a democratic society. This ignorance of the workings of democracy translates into apathy and low voter turn out. The transformative events of September 11 in particular underscore the need for informed young men and women to be involved in civic life. The next generation of leaders needs to understand how their voices can influence the public debate, and to understand the power of a democracy. Beyond understanding, young people must also acquire the skills to express how they feel about issues that concern them so that they may intelligently and effectively engage in the public debate.

That there is an alarming problem is not at issue, nor is the general consensus that failure to address the problem aggressively holds potentially dire consequences for our nation. Some part of the problem must be ascribed to the manner in which history and the social studies are generally taught.

To that end, we propose a new kind of school program. One that will reinvigorate the teaching of, and interest in, American history and its institutions, and inspire lifelong public service and participation."