During the week of Iowa Assessments, the middle school students took a “break” from regular course content and classes to study the 2012 Presidential Election and the election process in general. The students were divided up into three new classes with students from every grade level in each group. Each teacher presented a different aspect of the election process in his or her classes.
In Miss Veenstra’s math classes, the students looked at how the Electoral College works. This started by playing a game in which the political parties (boys vs. girls) chose which states they would win the electoral votes from. The parties took turns choosing their states and quickly learned which states had the most votes. We discussed the pros and cons of electing the President using this voting system. We also discussed what makes Iowa a swing state.
Polling was also analyzed in math class. We learned a little about the history of the famous Gallup Polls and how Mr. Gallup was able to predict the winner of the 1936 election, polling only 50,000 people compared to the Literary Digest poll of 2.4 million people. We discussed how a sample needs to represent the entire population. The students also analyzed polling questions to determine bias and discussed integrity in presenting both questions for polls and the results of collected data.
In grammar classes, the students learned how to write a political platform. They each wrote their own political platforms describing their qualifications for class president, vice-president or secretary and the ideas they would support or change if elected to office at Heritage.
In Mr. Tweedt’s classes, students started the week by studying the evolution of presidential campaigns throughout American history. They then moved onto an examination of television ads used from the 1950s and after. Studying the persuasive techniques of these ads put them in position to watch and analyze the Presidential Debate of Oct 3. Students were able to spot the strengths and weaknesses of both apparent and hidden arguments meant to persuade voters toward one candidate or the other. Finally, the students took a look at several sources that helped them fact check the statistics and advertisements of each candidate so that they can become informed future voters!
In Mr. Foresto’s classes, students studied the Biblical truths related to government, authority and elected leaders. They read from the Word regarding the Kingship of God and studied the prevalent Biblical theme of the Kingdom of God. The students then took these truths and applied them to modern-day government and politics. They answered the questions, “What does it mean to be a Christian in regards to being a Democrat or Republican? Given the beliefs of each party, which party more closely aligns with your beliefs? What are the views of the current Presidential candidates regarding the authority of Scripture and Scriptural positions on moral issues? And finally, what political party is God (if any)?”
At the end of the week, we invited both the Johnson County Democrats and Republicans to share about their political platforms, Presidential candidates and campaigning processes. The Johnson County Democrats sent a University of Iowa student to share his platform with us. He spoke about his view of the purpose of government and where President Obama stands in regards to many current issues. He also shared with the students his personal experiences of running for student government positions and encouraged the students with their own campaigns. The Johnson County Republicans welcomed us to their headquarters in Coralville where many of the Republican Party’s phone calls are made. Several people who work for Governor Romney’s campaign shared the Republican stance on current issues as well as their own testimonies about why they feel so passionate about supporting Governor Romney’s campaign. After both presentations, the students discussed the differences in beliefs about the role of government, the size of government and also discussed how one’s faith affects all areas of life. Both presentations suggested that one’s faith would have nothing, or little, to do with how one would lead a country. This was disappointing as it was our goal in this unit and in all of our studies, that our students learn that one’s faith should impact all areas of life.
The HCS Middle School campaign week took place the following week. The sixth, seventh and eighth grade students who were approved to run for the positions of secretary, vice-president and president campaigned throughout the week. They displayed posters in the halls, made video advertisements and even tried to win the hearts of voters through their stomachs by supplying them with candies and cookies!
The campaign week culminated with presidential and vice presidential candidates debating each other in front of their peers. The candidates were asked questions pooled from the teacher moderators and an assortment of pre-selected questions from their peers. Questions ranged from explanations of the candidates’ platforms to the general, “Why should we vote for you?” Immediately after the debate, students waited in line to register to vote, received their ballots and voted for their chosen representatives. After the votes were tallied, the loudspeakers announced that students had chosen Jenna Weih as President and Marika Perlmutter as Vice President. The following Monday, Jenna and Marika chose Tyler Montgomery as their Secretary and all three took the oath of office in front of their peers with their left hands on the Bible and right hands raised as a promise to follow their responsibilities with the help of God.
Overall, the two-week unit was an incredible learning experience and will continue to provide students with a voice in the middle-school.