Wisdom From the Kids
November 14th, 2008 . by economistmom
As noted today on the PBS Engage blog, PBS Kids online has launched a really cool “Speak Out” site where kids can contribute to a virtual, evolving “open letter” to President(-elect for now) Obama on their best policy ideas. From the “about” page:
SPEAK OUT encourages civic engagement among 6 to 12 year olds by prompting them to submit ideas to address prominent citizens’ issues as they most relate to kids’ lives. Community discussion and the democratic process are modeled by allowing kids to choose which ideas they like best. The ideas with the most votes are featured on pbskids.org/speakout in the form of a message to our President. This active, digital message will reflect the youth’s changing concerns and proposed solutions over time.
The categories are “The Earth,” “Our Schools,” and “Being Healthy”–i.e., environmental, education, and health policy. This is one “blog” I really hope the Obama team pays close attention to. With so many worthwhile, very forward-looking ideas these kids seem to have, I hope we’ll come out of the current economic crisis with enough left to be able to put some decent money where our kids’ mouths are.
