The Silent Revolution

Book excerpt: This edition of The Silent Majority: The Problem of Apathy and the Student Council is a 2004 reprint of the original classic that was shared at student council workshops in 1969 and published in 1971 by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Kent Keith was 20, a junior at Harvard, when he wrote the book as a companion to his first book, The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council. Keith says: "The Silent Majority is written for high school student council leaders who want to give the student council its noblest meaning and purpose: people helping people." Keith argues that no one is completely apathetic-- everyone is interested in something. It's up to student leaders to find out what their fellow students are interested in, and then offer activities that respond to those interests. In the process, student leaders will learn more about themselves, and discover the richness of life that is available to those who become "people people.”