Gerald R. Ford Leadership Forum

Essays

What Grounds Engaged Citizens? A Shared Understanding of Our Democratic Values

by Don Cooper, Director of Civic Initiatives, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Civics education is often taught to students as if being a good citizen is like following a recipe. Take certain steps—be courteous to your neighbors, read the news, pay attention to the debates, listen to both sides, vote once you turn 18, show …

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The Hidden Costs of Ridicule: Chevy Chase and SNL

by Richard Gunderman, IUPUI For about a decade beginning in 1965, NBC late night weekend programming consisted of Best of Carson reruns.  Then in 1974, Johnny Carson announced that he wished to stop using The Tonight Show on weekends, instead airing them on weeknights and allowing him to take more time off.  Network executive Dick …

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The First Week Back: Where Engaged Citizens are Shaped

By Don Cooper, Director of Civic Initiatives, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Tuesday marks the first day of school in our home city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Schools in other cities will soon follow, with our home state’s 1.5 million kindergarten through 12th grade students all being back in the classroom shortly after Labor Day. …

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The Civic Purpose of Public Education

by Don Cooper, Director of Civic Initiatives, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation One of the challenges of public education is that the people and stakeholders involved in it—parents, students, teachers, business and industry, colleges and universities, taxpayers, elected officials, and others—cannot reach an agreement on its purpose. Broad-stroke consensus exists on public education’s importance: Education …

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The U.S. Constitution and Gerald R. Ford’s Virtues

Dr. John C. Pinheiro, Director of Research, Acton Institute One of the best presidential ranking polls is conducted from time to time by the Wall Street Journal, which strategically interviews a relatively small but ideologically balanced group of scholars.  Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Franklin Roosevelt always appear in the top five.  The bottom five …

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