Call for lesson plans for Debate, Decide 2012: The US Presidential Election Project

The International Debate Education Association (IDEA) is seeking high school lesson plans for its program, Debate, Decide 2012: The US Presidential Election Project. Selected lesson plans will be published on IDEA’s website, idebate.org, in a special section established in companion with the book The IDEA Guide to the 2012 US Presidential Debates, currently in publication. This book will provide students and teachers with a historical overview of the electoral process and the role of the presidential debates, as well as approximately 15 articles, each with an analysis of key issues in this year’s election. The issues covered by these articles are: Afghanistan, austerity and tax cuts vs. stimulus and increased taxes, campaign finance, China, crime and criminal justice, education, environment, executive power in foreign policy, foreign aid and development, gay rights, healthcare, immigration, Iran, national debt, Russia, unemployment, and unions and public workers. More information about the Guide can be found at http://idebate.org/news-articles/special-idebate-magazine-issue-presidential-debates.

The goal of the lesson plans is to help classrooms best use these materials in student-centered classroom activities in order to fruitfully engage the 2012 US presidential election, treating issues of policy and democracy in a more intellectually rigorous and educational manner than those issues are often treated by the election media and the candidates themselves.

We are seeking an author to submit a set of ten lesson plans for pay. If you are a teacher or educational professional interested in submitting, please contact Jesse Towsen (jtowsen@idebate.org) by July 10 with a brief proposal (a few sentences in length) for one lesson idea. Include your name, institutional affiliation (if applicable), email address, and this brief description.

Please note that we will provide you with manuscripts in mid-July, and that the lesson plans will be due by August 10. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jesse before submitting.

IDEA works with young people from all over the world in communities with little or no history of debate or informed public discussion. We teach critical thinking, advocacy, conflict resolution, public speaking skills and the desire and capacity to look respectfully and rationally at other people’s points of view.

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