This year’s presidential politics class is off to an astounding start. The first week went by in a blur as we delved into domestic and foreign affair acts of presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. All the while taking time to look at some nationally televised political commercials, campaign buttons and notable political speeches that had students saying, “Ich Bin Ein Berliner!” And “We Shall Overcome.”
In our second week we have continued our focus on the presidents, hitting Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and finally George W. Bush. During the last two weeks we have also focused on some pivotal court cases. Students have been role playing as the prosecutors, defendants and supreme court justices for many notable cases such as Nixon V. United States, Cruzan V. Director, Missouri Department of Health and International Union, UAW V. Johnson Controls, Inc. Debating these cases has allowed for students to not only learn about the ins and outs of our judicial system but encounter and healthily address the differing opinions of classmates in a manner that is conducive to strengthening and defending their own knowledge and beliefs.
Our last week will make way for the presidents that have served in these students’ lifetimes: Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. There will even be real-time discussion about the 2024 election between former President Trump and President Biden. But even more excitingly, this week will give spotlight to our great presidential debates. Each student has been given at random 4 presidents and must defend their legacy against other presidents in a March Madness style bracket of 36 different presidents. Alongside the debates students are also in the process of making their own Mount Rushmore by choosing their own 4 presidents that they believe deserve a spot for all to see.
I can’t wait to see what else our young judges, legislators and even presidents have in store for the remainder of this VAMPY!
