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COMMUNICATOR UPDATE: January 2003
Welcome to The Dirksen Congressional Center's "Communicator" – a web-based e-newsletter providing educators with news and ideas to enhance civic education and improve the understanding of Congress
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NEWS FROM THE DIRKSEN CENTER
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FINAL REMINDER -- Congressional Research Awards Announcement
DEADLINE: Proposals must be postmarked no later than February 1,
2003
The Dirksen Congressional Center invites applications for grants totaling $35,000 in 2003 to fund research on congressional leadership and the U.S. Congress. The competition is open to individuals with a serious interest in studying Congress. Political scientists, historians, biographers, scholars of public administration or American studies, journalists, and research teams of two or more individuals are among those eligible. The Center encourages graduate students to apply and awards a significant portion of the funds for dissertation research. Undergraduate or pre-Ph.D. study and organizations are not eligible.
There is no standard application form. Applicants are responsible for showing the relationship between their work and the awards program guidelines. All application materials must be postmarked on or before February 1, 2003. Awards will be announced in March 2003. Complete information about eligibility and application procedures may be found at The Center’s Web site: http://www.dirksencenter.org/grantcongresearchaward.htm Frank Mackaman is the program officer mailto:fmackaman@dirksencenter.org
Congress for Kids News!
Congress for Kids – http://www.congressforkids.net – has been selected for inclusion in the American Library Association’s Great Web Sites for Kids – http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites/amazing.html Great Web Sites for Kids are those considered the best Web sites for ages birth to 14, outstanding in both content and conception. As applied to Web sites for young people, "great" should be thought to includes sites of especially commendable quality; sites that reflect and encourage young people’s interests in exemplary ways. The selection criteria can be found at:
http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites/criteria.html
Communicator is Contagious!
Communicator – http://www.webcommunicator.org – surpassed 9,000 subscribers in December 2002. Thank you for your interest.
"Ev and Jerry" Shows Make a Comeback
The Dirksen Center provided C-SPAN with copies of the audio tapes of the "Ev and Charlie" and "Ev and Jerry" shows, as they were popularly called. Senator Dirksen earned his reputation as a master of the media by his performances in the press conferences that followed meetings of the Republican congressional leadership in 1960s.
The audio tapes began playing in early December 2002 on "American Political Archive," C-SPAN Radio – 90.1 in the D.C. area and also via satellite radio.
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CONGRESS: The 108th Congress
The 108th Congress convened on January 7. Visit The Dirksen Center’s Web suite – http://www.dirksencongressionalcenter.org – to help your students learn more about the new 108th Congress.
Search The Dirksen Center’s Congressional Information Center to find your U.S. Representative and Senators, learn tips about contacting them, track legislation, stay current with committee and floor schedules, follow campaigns, and much more. Find this comprehensive, daily-updated guide to Congress at: http://www.congresslink.org/informationcenter.html
Our CongressLink featured lesson plan this month will acquaint students with their senators and representatives and the positions they hold in Congress by using a variety of Web sites. Find "Communicating with Your Members of Congress" at: http://www.congresslink.org/lessonplans/communicating.html
Every Friday, you can read a news article from Congressional Quarterly and watch a web-exclusive interview with a CQ reporter previewing the next week’s Congressional action or legislation. Also, following key Congressional votes or actions, you can read an exclusive follow-up story and view a vote tally. AboutGovernment includes this weekly feature from C-Span and Congressional Quarterly. Find "Capitol Spotlight" at: http://www.aboutgovernment.org/legislativebranch.htm
A new Congress often means new leaders. In CongressLink’s featured WebQuest, "Congressional Leadership," students are asked to identify the traits that make success in congressional leadership positions most likely. Their analysis will provide a guide to members of Congress as they evaluate their colleagues who seek leadership positions. Find this WebQuest at: http://www.congresslink.org/WebQuests/TraxlerLeadership.htm
By the way, the leadership roster for the 108th Congress is posted on CongressLink. Find "Congressional Leadership, 108th Congress, (2003-2004)" at: http://www.congresslink.org/leadershiproster.htm
Some of you may recall the press conferences which followed meetings of the Republican congressional leadership in the 1960s. They are the "Ev and Charlie" and "Ev and Jerry" shows. This feature includes nearly 300 press releases issued at the beginning of these press conferences, providing a succinct look at the Republican Party’s position on issues during the 1960s. Find "Joint Senate-House Republican Leadership Press Statements" at: http://www.dirksencenter.org/republicanleadership.htm
Featured Project
Our featured project this month is a $3,000 Michel Civic Education Grant awarded to Yvonne Powell of Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Dorchester, Massachusetts entitled "Congressional Firsts." This project is designed to create an Internet-based teaching unit. About, for example, the first woman to serve in Congress, or the first Hispanic to be elected to the House. Learn more about this project and others at: http://www.dirksencenter.org/grantmichelciviced.htm#Michelwinners
If you want to sound like a political insider, you have to learn the lingo. Find "Congressional Lingo" at: http://www.congressforkids.net/games/houseofrep/2_legislativebranch.htm
Congress, Congress, Congress
- True or False: Congress pays a chaplain to pray before everyday sessions?
- At the time of George W. Bush’s election as President, who was the senior member of the Senate (who had been there the longest) and who was the senior member of the House of Representatives (who had been there the longest)?
- The House and Senate Majority and Minority Whips’ main task is to garner support for their own party’s priority legislation. This is called what?
Answers to December's issue of "Fun, Facts, and Trivia" link here: http://www.webcommunicator.org/funfactstrivia1202ans.htm
Happy New Year! Encourage your colleagues to subscribe to the Communicator. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, contact Cindy Koeppel. Your feedback makes a difference!
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