Welcome to The Dirksen Congressional Center's Communicator - a web-based e-newsletter providing educators with news and ideas to improve the understanding of Congress -- http://www.webcommunicator.org.

1. The Case for Representative Democracy
2. Speaking Up for Congress
3. What is Representative Government?
4. Scholarships for the Study of American Government
5. Democracy and Government Vocabulary Quiz
6. Postscript Information

1. THE CASE FOR REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

A must-read for concerned Americans to understand the true value of America's legislative process uncolored by today's sense of cynicism and mistrust. These excerpts from the publication of the Conference of State Legislatures take a candid look at criticisms of the legislative process and effectively counters them by offering a more positive and accurate perspective on American democracy.

Find The Case for Representative Democracy: What Americans Ought to Know About Their Legislatures at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_expert_casefordemo.htm.

Are you trustful about representative democracy, or are you more cynical? Score yourself on the following test to see how much trust you have in the U.S. Congress: http://www.congresslink.org/print_expert_casefordemo_test.php.

2. SPEAKING UP FOR CONGRESS

In accepting the 2005 Freedom Award from the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, Lee Hamilton, President and Director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University, explains how Congress defends freedom by representing the people, remaining accessible, retaining its status as a co-equal independent branch of government, and maintaining a fair and deliberative legislative process.

Find Speaking Up For Congress: How Does Congress Defend Freedom? at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_expert_hamiltonCapHistSociety.htm.

3. WHAT IS REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT?

Hilary Conklin, formerly a teacher at Horace Mann Middle School in Franklin, MA, found her students struggling to understand how our government has evolved. In April 2001, she applied for a Dirksen Center grant. "Students will examine a broad range of primary sources to help them gain a first-hand understanding of the history of representative government," she explained in her proposal.

The grant selection committee awarded her $3,000. By September, Hilary had produced 15 lesson plans. They showed how ideas for representative government have changed, how our current Congress functions, and how today's citizens can take part. Two of the lesson titles suggest the range of her work. "What Can You Learn about Congress from Pictures?" has students examine different images of the Senate and House chambers to draw conclusions about Congress. Her class also conducted a Socratic seminar to discuss and defend the importance of being an engaged citizen in "Does It Matter If We Participate in Representative Government?" Teachers everywhere can use Hilary's lesson plans.

Find What is Representative Government? at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_conklin.htm.

4. RAY LAHOOD SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THE STUDY OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

** ELIGIBLE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES: Bradley University, Eureka College, Illinois University, Knox College, Lincoln Christian College, MacMurray College, Millikin University, or Quincy University **

The Ray LaHood Scholarships for the Study of American Government is a new program and will provide financial support for tuition, fees, and books to college and university juniors who are majoring in a discipline related to the study of the federal government. The Center sponsors the LaHood Scholarships to promote the study of politics and governance as practiced by the distinguished public servants who have represented Illinois's 18th district in Congress, a list which includes Abraham Lincoln, Everett Dirksen, Robert H. Michel and, currently, Congressman Ray LaHood. Eligibility requirements are stated on the application form.

DEADLINE: June 1, 2006

Find more information about The Ray LaHood Scholarships for the Study of American Government at: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_scholarships_lahood.htm.

5. DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNMENT VOCABULARY QUIZ

The United States has had the same type of government for more than 200 years. It’s called a representative democracy: http://www.congressforkids.net/Independence_democracy.htm. Click Show What You Know next to the red star to complete the democracy and government vocabulary quiz online crossword puzzle: http://www.congressforkids.net/games/Democracy/1_democracyvocab.htm.

6. NOTICE REGARDING E-MAIL ADDRESSES: Communicator's mailing list has over 25,000 names and is still growing. Please follow the instructions below to help us with list editing:

SUBSCRIBE: To join the Communicator mailing list, please visit the Web site -- http://www.webcommunicator.org -- and enter your e- mail address in the text box provided located on the bottom left of your screen. You can also send an e- mail to Cindy Koeppel with the phrase - Subscribe Communicator -- in the body of the message.

UNSUBSCRIBE: Dirksen Congressional Center uses SafeUnsubscribe which guarantees the permanent removal of your e-mail address from the mailing list. For instant removal, click Safe Unsubscribe located at the bottom of this newsletter.

UPDATE PROFILE OR E-MAIL ADDRESS: To update your profile, change your e-mail address, or edit your interest categories, click Update Profile/Email Address located at the bottom of this newsletter.

FORWARD E-MAIL: To forward The Dirksen Congressional Center's Communicator to a friend, click Forward Email located at the bottom of this newsletter and complete the form.

If you experience any problems, send an e-mail to Cindy Koeppel.