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The teaching of law and education for a law abiding behavior have without doubt been neglected in the German educational system. If schools have the task to teach students that they should become involved in a democratic society, that it is worth the effort to get involved in a democracy, then schools must teach their students the concepts and values that are fundamental to a democratic constitutional state. Of course, democracy and the rule of law are subjects that are talked about in class, but very often teachers only mention the institutions and explain the functioning of the different powers without reference to experiences the students might have had or the world in which they live. To list the various elements of the rule of law and government by the people without any link to the students' experience or to current political affairs is not very useful from an educational point of view. The common way to improve the situation in schools is to collect information and texts and make them available through government agencies. Perhaps new information and communication technologies like the Internet offer better opportunities. More and more teachers use the Internet for the preparation of lessons or for investigations into problems. The German state of Northrhine-Westphalia's "Learn-line" is one education platform with an interesting and helpful structure which is a promising instrument for schools. A fictitious case ("State governed by the rule of law") illustrates the instructional procedure. (Contains a diagram of Learn-line and a 3-item bibliography.) (BT)