Lesson 22: Local Politics
Attention
This is an image of the Town of Skowhegan...if you visit the town website you can research the various political structures there
Click on the "Government" to view the various local offices and committees
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:
- Identify political players and processes within their own communities
- Reflect upon the experience of the political process at a local level
Teaching
Most of the news that we hear is about national and state level politics, yet there is quite a lot that happens on the very local town or municipality level.
The policies that are decided upon at this level are often the ones that impact us in the most immediate way. We also interact with these offices more regularly than we would state or national offices.
Consider the following ways in which we interact with local offices:
- Code Enforcement
- Transfer Station
- Car Registration
- Dog Licenses
- Zoning Regulations
- Schools
- Vital Records
- Deeds
One goal of this class is for you to explore engaging with this level of local politics. The assessment activity below focuses on that goal.
Assessment
Possible Class Discussion
Explore some aspect of your local town government and describe it. Reflect on how important your personal understanding of, and particiation in, local government is.