A. Government

     Take any branch of local government and write a public service piece on how a department or an agency within that branch functions.

1. Executive: mayor's office; city manager; departments and bureaus. You might pick the head of a department and show the work done, the pressures on the executive, the rewards and frustrations. You may select a midlevel person from among the civil servants whose activities keep city government functioning.
2. Legislative: city council or city commission. You can focus on the body as a whole or on an individual. If the former, you might examine its changing functions through the years, its accomplishments and failures. If you select an individual, you might follow a particular piece of legislation under consideration by the council and watch the person reach a decision on the matter.
3. Judicial: court system, judges, prosecutors, legal aid. Is the system functioning well? If so, describe the people who make it work. If not, why not, and what will have to be done? If you focus on the individual, show that person at work.

B. Statistics

     Consult the appropriate references to find out the following about your state and nearby states and see whether your state ranks high or low in these categories. Find out why your state ranks where it does by interviewing authorities. Write 350 words.

1. Physicians, dentists and nurses.
2. Motor vehicle deaths.
3. Average salary of public elementary and secondary school teachers.
4. Years of school completed, by race.
5. Median family income.
6. Life insurance in force.
7. Infant mortality rate.
8. Crime rate: homicide, robbery.
9. Suicide.
10. Infectious diseases: tuberculosis, syphilis, measles, mumps.

C. Requirements

     A national panel recommended better science education in the schools in response to studies that showed American students consistently score below European and Asian students. The panel suggested science education begin in the elementary grades. It stated, for example, that fourth-graders should know that the sun appears to make the same trek every day but that its path gradually changes during the four seasons. Similar findings and recommendations have been made about the study of mathematics.
     Most high schools require only two years of science and two years of mathematics for graduation. Among those that require three years of each for all students are Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana and Pennsylvania. To graduate with academic honors, students in Indiana and Florida are required to take four years of science and mathematics.
     What is the situation in your city's high schools? Are grade and high schools emphasizing science and math? Does the state have any requirements in these study areas?