Adding to the Public Knowledge Stock

My doctoral public finance course is pretty standard in design, but has a small tweak I think should become more commonplace in a doctoral level field course:

Opinion Letter/Media Communication: It is important that we, as academics specializing in complicated and technical material, find a way to convey our knowledge to the public. At some point before this class ends, you must write a opinion piece based on class discussion that is relevant to the course topic. This essay should be between 300 and 500 words single-spaced, and written at the high school level. You should submit it to me with a suggestion of an appropriate media outlet for publication (ex: Forbes Magazine, Indianapolis Star, Indiana Business Journal, etc.).

I think the syllabus sharing that has occurred this semester is another way in which blogs have improved the discipline. Much more interesting syllabi can be found here, here, and here.