Welcome to Exercise Democracy (ED). We are an all-volunteer national nonpartisan group dedicated to civic virtue and reasoned participation in public life. ED was established in Tucson in 1987 by community leaders, educators, and legal scholars, supported by author Norman Cousins, actor Chevy Chase and others convinced that a new approach to citizenship education was needed. We have developed a set of programs to revive and refine, in a modern context, the basic ideals and values of American Democracy. ED is unique, because it teaches young people how to personalize democratic concepts in day-to-day life. ED's educational programs graphically illustrate how one person's dreams, character, and actions have a far reaching impact in the world.
Ideals and Values of DemocracyFor most of us, it is difficult to take facts and ideas from textbooks and apply them to our daily lives. ED's programs start with the students' concerns about their everyday experience and links those ideas with a dialogue about the large concepts of democracy. Exercise Democracy programs combine the study of democratic ideals, ethics, and community service in interactive, experiential educational materials that provide an opportunity to 1) acquire thinking skills; and 2) personalize the concepts of democracy. The core of Exercise Democracy's educational effort is Scheuren's One Plus One Theory of Change which asserts the essential value of the power of principled personal action (1987).
Education For Citizenship in the 21st CenturyExercise Democracy recognizes that the students of today are the citizens of tomorrow, and its educational projects are developed to promote civic responsibility among young people. The primary target is high school government and social studies programs, reached by a discussion and study guides coordinated with teachers, parents, and adult educators.