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Youth Leadership Initiative
 www.youthleadership.net
Throughout the nation's history, political leaders have looked to our schools and to our young people as a source of inspiration for the continued success and health of our nation. That is where the University of Virginia Center for Politics has turned in creating a program to renew citizen interest and participation in the electoral process.
Unlike other forms of government where perpetuity of the system is institutionalized, the survival of America's representative democracy is uniquely dependent upon the active participation of our citizens. Despite this, throughout much of the latter part of the 20th century, the nation has witnessed a steady decline in voter participation. During the 1998 mid-term Congressional elections, voter turnout was the lowest it had been since 1942.
Given this continued erosion in participation, the University of Virginia Center for Politics has undertaken a bold new project known as the Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI) to combat the rising tide of apathy and cynicism that is so pervasive in American society.
YLI involves public and private schools from across the country in technology-based civics education projects and resources located on the YLI website at www.youthleadership.net. Over a million students have participated since its inception as a pilot project in 1999.
The Youth Leadership Initiative combines academic excellence with civic participation and community service to assist primary and secondary teachers in creating an engaged classroom environment where students not only learn, but also experience - first-hand - the responsibilities of living in a representative democracy.
Citizenship Curriculum
At a time when public school teachers and the public education system are increasingly burdened with mandates from both the state and federal level, YLI forges a new partnership between higher education and our primary and secondary schools.
YLI serves as a respected resource for schoolteachers and administrators as every course unit is specifically linked to the individual academic standards of each State.
Teachers and educators with many years of classroom experience developed the comprehensive YLI citizenship curriculum. The result is a very content specific resource to which social studies teachers may refer for a new approach in meeting the academic requirements of today classroom.
But academic excellence - particularly when studying the public policy arena - is an ongoing exercise. Accordingly, the YLI curriculum is revised and updated throughout the year.
In addition to a citizenship curriculum linked to each state's academic standards, the Center has developed large-scale citizenship activities to enhance the attractiveness and excitement of the program for every student.
Largest Internet Mock Election in the Nation
Each fall, students vote on-line for real candidates and elections using state-of-the-art cyber-ballots that are specifically tailored to each student's individual voting precinct. Students will examine their civic responsibilities and learn how these responsibilities relate to voting. Teachers can access lesson plans on political ideology, campaigns, and voting history in the virtual YLI "Classroom," and YLI conducts the YLI Internet Mock Election on-line and posts local and national results on the YLI website.
"A More Perfect Union" Political Campaign Adventure CD-ROM"
Students manage a U.S. Senate campaign in the fictitious state of "Franklin" and try to beat the challenger in strategic media, polling, scheduling and issues tactics that culminate on an Election Day. "A More Perfect Union" CD Rom is a simulation that can be used in middle and high school classrooms to bring political campaigns and elections to life. The CD Rom is free of charge to teachers who complete the on-line registration with YLI and also contains a liberal/conservative political ideology test, a campaign commercial tutorial, and thousands of trivia questions.
E-Congress On-line Legislative Policy-Making Exercise
YLI's e-Congress allows students to simulate the role of a congressional representative in the United States Congress by researching and drafting original legislation, debating its merit in legislative committees and casting a final vote, along with thousands of students on-line at the YLI website. YLI connects schools from across the country to create this large-scale learning project.
Beyond the gridlock and contention of the modern political arena, there still exist boundless horizons and infinite potential for America's system of self-government. The national Youth Leadership Initiative is a first step in that all-important journey.
If you are a parent, teacher, student, elected official, or citizen, find out how you can implement YLI in your local schools by contacting us directly (434) 243-3538, toll free 1-866-514-8389, or at ylihelp@virginia.edu.
Youth Leadership Initiative website
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Copyright © 2005 U.Va. Center for Politics. All rights reserved.
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