The Law Lab: AN OVERVIEW
The Problem
The Approach
The Problem
The C3 Inquiry Model ends with a call to take informed action - but most civics classes fail to achieve this. Students have civic knowledge - but no understanding of how to turn their ideas into actions. Despite the impact of state and local politics on our daily lives, most civics classes take a passive, not active approach, focusing on federal-level content while ignoring local issues.
The Class
The Approach
The Problem
The Law Lab is a civics elective where students are asked to find a problem in their communities they want to address then identify root causes and research possible solutions. Students receive regular feedback from community leaders. The class ends with a "Civics Day" where their ideas are presented to the general public as well as local and state politicians.
The Approach
The Approach
The Approach
The Law Lab uses the principles of action civics and participatory action research. We have written our own unique curriculum but have also partnered with Generation Citizen for curricular support. The Law Lab is student-centered and project-based. Local and state politicians are brought directly into the class, to interact and give advice to students as they develop theior projects
Theoretical Framework
Jurgen Habermas is known for his theories of deliberative democracy and communicative action. Communicatve action takes place between equals, with consensus reached by adopting the best solution to a problem. Instrumental action implies a hierarchy of power. With instrumental action, rationality is not required. The person with the power gets their way.
Ideally, people take their lifeworlds out into the public sphere where they deliberate (talk) to other people with other beliefs. Consensus is reached and/or compromises are formed and those conclusions are communicated to legislators who use then to make law (this is exactly what happens at the start of “I’m Just a Bill”).
Beware - it can go the other way. Corporate and political elites communicate their beliefs, values, priorities through mass media consumed by people in the public sphere who use it to form their lifeworlds. Habermas called this "the colonization of the lifeworld".
Theoretical Framework
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