Schools and elections don't mix.
So we've reinvented civic education.
Student government... with 3 key changes
Lotteries
Replacing elections with lotteries gives all students an equal opportunity to meaningfully participate
Real Issues
Empowering students to address real issues in their schools and their communities provides a more meaningful experience
Rotation
Rotating responsibilities and shortening terms allows more students to develop civic and leadership skills
Unlocking the potential of overlooked students
And challenging backward ideas about leadership
So why not reinvent civic education in your school?
Are you a student? Teacher? Principal? Parent? Here are some resources to get you started!
Are you a student? Teacher? Principal? Parent?
Here are some resources to get you started!
Or in your college or university?
These practices don’t just apply to high school. An awesome student union in the UK holds ‘Better Forums‘, in which panels of regular students selected by lottery approve and reject policy. This is real participation and representation.
Lotteries can make universities spaces of democratic innovation. What are you waiting for?
And why not re-imagine leadership more broadly?
Our work is part of a global rise in the use of lotteries to sidestep the many failures of elections, and empower representative groups of everyday people. A democratic practice rooted in ancient Greece.
Most of this is happening outside of schools, in the form of Citizens’ Panels and Citizens’ Assemblies. One of our founders is working to build a movement in the US, starting with a Citizens’ Panel on Covid-19. And we’re part of Democracy R&D, a global network of practitioners working to get us beyond elections.
