Democracy Class

Democracy Class
Powered by: Rock the Vote

Background
Our country is in the midst of a civic renewal and we have an unprecedented opportunity to further citizen engagement in our democracy.  After years of declining participation, young Americans have increased their political participation at the polls and in their communities for three major election cycles in a row.

During the 2008 elections, Rock the Vote (RTV) helped to fuel this increased civic engagement by running the largest nonpartisan youth voter registration drive in history, generating 2.25 million registrations.  We built a mobile activist list of more than 250,000 cell phone users and personally engaged volunteer Street Teams and voters across the country through registration drives, the Road Trip ’08 bus tour, and a robust election protection program.   

This year and beyond, RTV will be at the forefront of reinvigorating democracy and redefining citizenship for a generation, building relationships with and activating a growing and diverse base of young Americans.

Specifically, we know that basic understanding of the political process – registering to vote and casting a ballot – remains the biggest barrier to youth voting and civic engagement.  In 2010, RTV will continue to simplify the electoral process and provide young people with opportunities to get involved online and on-the-ground in voter registration and get out the vote efforts.  In addition, we will begin to reach potential voters before they turn 18, teaching them about the power and process of participation through a new high school civics education program—Democracy Class.

Democracy Class
Over the past 30 years, civics education has been systematically cut from public schools.  Opportunities to learn about politics and government are rare, and programs to register newly eligible high school students are not widespread.  This is the next frontier to further youth civic engagement.  Democracy Class targets 16-18 year olds in high schools across the country bringing them into the political process and encouraging their  involvement at an early age, with a particular focus on high schools in disadvantaged areas.

Program Components:

• Interactive lesson plan that uses music and popular culture as a means to teach students about civics and the voting process.
• Resources for teachers about “elections and voting” that are simple and easy to integrate into their current lesson plans.
• An online hub (www.democracyclass.com) allowing students to connect and communicate with each other about civic engagement opportunities in their communities.
• Videos, music and personal appearances from Rock the Vote artists sharing their thoughts on issues most important to them and encouraging students to take action by participating in politics.
• Registration of eligible students.