By Dana Klosner-Wehner
The classes, like many in the Sewanhaka Central High School District, have been studying the polls and making predictions.
“We see how [the candidates] have to go to each state and try to win,” said Shekina Rousseau, a student in Doupe’s class, which has been analyzing polling data and following the debates since the summer, Doupe explained. The students are learning which states are solidly supporting Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain, which are leaning one way or the other and which are toss-ups.
“What did you notice about the changes?” Doupe asked his class last week. “There’s a lot of going back and forth. This is not a done deal. There’s a tremendous amount of people that are undecided.”
The teachers see the election as a way of bringing social studies classes to life.
At Carey, the senior A.P. government classes have been debating and discussing the issues and the candidates. “We’ve been looking at opinion polls and the differences between the political parties,” said Carey-Hill. “We’ve been looking at the extreme right and the extreme left, and students are figuring out which side of the spectrum they stand on. We’ve been looking at issues like taxes, welfare, abortion and gun control. I don’t think any student stands completely on [one side or the other]. Most of them stand on one side for one or two issues and stand on the other for one or two issues.”
The classes try to do something dealing with the election every day, according to Messinger. “We’re trying to relate any topic we’re talking about to some aspect of government,” he said.
And the focus on politics has gotten the students thinking. “We’ve been analyzing different polls, and we have a report due on Obama and McCain and their politics,” said Mohammed Gachij, a student in Carey-Hill’s class. The students have thought about the issues, they say, and know whom they would vote for if they could. “I would vote for Obama,” Gachij said. “He’s more well-rounded and has a better temperament than McCain.”
The students have devoted lots of class time to discussions of the issues. “This year we’ve been doing a lot more current events than last year,” said Chris Osowiecki, a student in Messinger’s class. “We’ve been focusing on candidates’ views and our views. Last year we learned how the government formed. This year we’re focusing on what’s going on now.”
“I think this class is fabulous,” said Laura Menocali, a student in Messinger’s class. “It’s much more hands-on. We’ve been learning about [the candidates’] flaws and strengths.”
Doupe’s eighth-graders have been looking at the Web site Realclearpolitics.com and learning about polls. “I learned a lot about how the president gets elected and how they have to get all the states to go to them,” said student Jasmine Mattar.
Even the eighth-graders have educated opinions about whom they would vote for. “I would vote for Obama,” said Faith Barrow-Hunte, a student in Doupe’s class. “I agree with him on health care issues.”
“[The election] is so exciting,” said Carey-Hill. “It’s happening right now. [The students] understand the issues and they have opinions.”
The classes are making predictions on who will win the presidency — but just like the rest of the country, they will have to wait and see.
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