Project-based primaries: The DOP and North Korea I have two kids at South Shore Charter School, currently located in Hull, Massachusetts. One of the reasons I like the school is that project-based learning is integral to the educational program. I'm a big fan of project based learning, especially when it's "integrated with real world issues and practices". As Philip Greenspun says about the learning process, "Why not make it all concrete?"
So, what I'm thinking is this, Why not project-based primaries for Presidential candidates? A project-based primary, for instance, could take a Bill in Congress and allow the candidates and registered voters to work together applying its practices to real world issues.
For example, HR 1673 (Introduced in House) is to establish a Department of Peace. It's easy to read and understand. It defines powers and responsibilities, and it includes both domestic and international activities. The scope of HR 1673 is comprehensive enough to provide a sufficient number of scenarios for candidate/voter conversations. We could apply the intention of the Bill to a real world issue like North Korea: What next? If we were to make a query like "What do North Koreans Need?" as the driving question during the project-based primaries, not only would we get to look at our candidates' "whole package", but we might also get a platform that provides something more than building a better world's police force.
Just my opinion, of course..
Source URLs:
http://www.sscs-ma.org/projects.htm
http://www.town.hull.ma.us/
http://pblmm.k12.ca.us/PBLGuide/WhyPBL.html
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2003/05/16
http://www.dopcampaign.org/read_bill.htm
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