Federal File: Getting real; Departmental pep rally

The federal budget deficit wasn't mentioned as a "core subject'' when the national education goals were drafted, but one Washington-based advocacy group hopes to put the issue on teachers' agendas.

Lead ... Or Leave, a year-old organization of twenty- and thirtysomethings seeking to rally young people to demand action on the nation's fiscal troubles, last month unveiled what they characterized as a deficit-reduction curriculum for high school students.

"What's missing is the political constituency to force [deficit reduction] to happen, and that's where young people come in,'' said Jon Cowan, a Lead...