Volume 9, #2
October 2004

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Using Election Season in Your Classroom

by David Benson, Educational Technology Consultant ()

One of my favorite comedy albums when I was growing up was a Kennedy spoof called "The First Family." They had some great sketches about John and Jackie Kennedy along with other members of the Kennedy family, but my favorite was a parody of an old public service announcement about voting. The short sketch featured a very newsy-type of announcer, like Walter Cronkite, who says, "Tomorrow is Election Day. Go to the polls and vote. Vote for the Kennedy of your choice, but vote."

Unless you've been living in a cave somewhere, you know we're in an election year. And unless you have absolutely no contact at all with the outside world, you know this campaign is heating up hotter than any election in recent history. Some people believe they will be settling for the lesser of two evils while others remain passionate about the candidates. However good or bad, I still love an election year. An election is an exciting event that provides great opportunities. And that's how I view education -- a chance to take advantage of the opportunities presented. But it's more than just the social studies teacher who says, "Let's talk about the responsibility of voting." It's the history teacher who says, "Think this is a negative and dirty campaign? Let's take a look at the presidential campaigns of a hundred years ago"; the math teacher who introduces students to the statistics of polling; and the language arts teacher who has his or her students analyze the messages of the candidates or the questions in a poll. I think it's great when education can take advantage of an event like an election and get a few students to think along the way.

So that's MY stump speech. I hope I've had the effect of giving you a little extra charge, at least enough to get you through Nov. 2. Remember, it doesn't have to be an election year to take advantage of an opportunity to excite and teach students. There are opportunities all around us. I just happen to like the politics, in case you didn't notice.